parenthesis lady beetle

not listed

NNR - Unranked

not listed

Parenthesis lady beetle is a common, native, small, black-spotted lady beetle. It occurs throughout North America. It occurs across the continental United States, but it is absent from the southeast, and it is rare in the Pacific Northwest. It is common and sometimes locally abundant in Minnesota.

Adults feed on aphids, small insects, and insect eggs. They are active from April through November in Minnesota. They are found in meadows, grasslands, and fields.

Adults are ⅛″ to 3⁄16″ (3.75 to 5.60 mm) in length and 1⁄16″to 3⁄16″ (2.25 to 4.50 mm) wide. The body is oblong.

The head is black with a white spot above each eye and a white, vertical stripe in the middle.

The upper thoracic plate (pronotum) is much wider than long. It is mostly black but there is a broad white band around the front and side margins; a deep, narrow, white notch in the front; and a white, usually large spot at the middle of the rear margin.

The hardened wing covers (elytra) are orange or reddish orange with five black spots. On the front half of each elytron, there is a small, round spot in the shoulder (humeral) area; and a short stripe (sutural stripe) in the inner margin at the base. The stripe broadens at the rear, creating a bell-shaped mark that spans both elytra. On the rear half of each elytron there is a large, variable, curved mark that more or less resembles a parenthesis. This is the feature that gives the beetle its common name and species epithet. The parenthesis mark is compressed in the middle and is sometimes broken into two separate spots. It never extends to the inner margin, and there is no black spot on the inner margin at the rear.

The last part of each leg (tarsus), corresponding to the foot, has four segments, but the third segment is very short, and it is tucked within the extended lobes of the second segment, making the leg appear to have only three segments. The tip of the last tarsal segment on the middle and hind legs has a pair of claws. Each claw has a single, closely appressed tooth.

Total length: ⅛″ to 3⁄16″ (3.75 to 5.60 mm)

Meadows, grasslands, and fields

April through October

Aphids, small insects, and insect eggs

Sources

27, 29, 30, 82, 83.

Common

Location: Albany, NY