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seven-spotted lady beetle |
More photos… |
Coccinella septempunctata |
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| Order |
Coleoptera (Beetles) |
| Suborder |
Polyphaga (Water, Rove, Scarab, Longhorn, Leaf and Snout Beetles) |
| Superfamily |
Cucujoidea (Ladybird Beetles) |
| Family |
Coccinellidae (Flower, Flat Bark and Ladybird Beetles) |
| Nativity |
Native to Europe. Introduced for aphid control. Escaped and naturalized. |
| Season |
Early spring to fall |
| Habitat |
Meadows, fields, gardens, houses. Any place having plants with aphids. |
| Size |
¼″ to 5 ⁄16″ |
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| Identification |
This is a ¼″ to 5 ⁄16″ long ladybird beetle.
The body is oval and dome-shaped.
The head and thorax plate (pronotum) is black with a white or pale spot on each side of the head.
The thick, hardened, shell-like forewings (elytra) are orange or red with 7 black spots. The spots are in a 1–4–2 pattern. The forward spot is spread over the junction of the two elytra. There is a white spot at the base of each side of the forward spot. |
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| Larval Food |
Aphids |
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| Adult Food |
Aphids, thrips, mites, scale insects, and eggs of butterflies and moths. |
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| Life Cycle |
Adults live for weeks or months, depending on availability of food. There may be 1 or 2 generations in a year before adults enter hibernation for overwintering. |
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Similar
Species |
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| Sightings |
Blanket Flower Prairie SNA
Bonanza Prairie SNA
Felton Prairie SNA
Shrike Unit |
Mound Spring Prairie SNA
Staffanson Prairie
Western Prairie SNA |
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| Comments |
The term lady beetle is more appropriate than ladybug because bug refers to insects in the order Hemiptera. |
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| Synonyms |
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Common
Names |
seven-spotted lady beetle
Sevenspotted lady beetle |
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