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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Water, Rove, Scarab, Longhorn, Leaf and Snout Beetles (Polyphaga) » Flower, Flat Bark and Ladybird Beetles (Cucujoidea) » Lady Beetles (Coccinellidae) » Coccinellinae » Coccinella » California Lady Beetle (Coccinella californica)
Photo#179660
Coccinella californica - California Ladybeetle? - Coccinella californica
Copyright © 2008 HandsOff

Coccinella californica - California Ladybeetle? - Coccinella californica
Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz County, California, USA
April 30, 2008
Looks similar to the Coccinella californica in the guide. Are these difficult to sex?
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Contributed by HandsOff on 29 April, 2008 - 5:19pm
Last updated 2 May, 2008 - 3:27pm

concur with C. californica
but from Gordon's ref.(1), it seems that we can't tell the sex of this species, or most other Coccinella, from dorsal markings. fyi, for future Coccinella, try to get an image of the head and pronotum - the spotless form of C. novemnotata looks very similar except for a solid white bar on the head and leading edge of the pronotum. We can just barely see that this one does not have that. These have a rather limited distribution - along the CA coast, so nice find! Ok to move to C. californica page.
Thanks,
Tim
… Tim R. Moyer, 30 April, 2008 - 9:35am login or register to post comments

 
Thanks, Tim, and sorry but...
...I entered Sunnyvale (Santa Clara County) out of habit. This was actually observed (wouldn't you know it?) along the coast! I saw this in Santa Cruz. I will correct the information!

I can appreciate you comment on getting the view of the head and the pronotum! I saw this specimen near a different insect I had been photographing and unfortunately it did not stick around long enough to get a good shot of the head.

Also, interesting about the distribution. I have another Coccinella species that was just inches from the C. californica. Hopefully, the pictures will be good enough for an ID.
… HandsOff, 2 May, 2008 - 3:24pm login or register to post comments

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