Family Coccinellidae - Lady Beetles

Ladybird (especially in Canada)

Ladybug

Ladybeetle

käksə′nelə′dē (kox-ih-NELL-a-DEE)

Coccinellidae Latreille, 1807

A group with many interesting biological, cultural, and linguistic associations:

60 genera and 481 species in America north of Mexico, according to American Beetles.(2)

Family Coccinellidae Latreille, 1807

Subfamily STICHOLOTIDINAE Weiss, 1901

Very small (1-1.5mm), solid black. Strongly convex (dome-shaped), appearing hemispherical to spherical.

Tribe Microweisini Leng, 1920

Tribe SERANGIINI Pope, 1962

Tribe CEPHALOSCYMNINI Gordon, 1985

Subfamily SCYMNINAE Mulsant, 1846

Adults: Usually small, oval to oblong, highly convex (dome-shaped). Larvae: usually covered with white wax that may form long "hairy" tufts.

Tribe SCYMNILLINI Casey, 1899

Small, black, sometimes with red spots. Dorsal surface smooth, pubescent (having short, fine hairs), or both.

Tribe STETHORINI Dobzhansky, 1924

Small, dark brown or black, dorsal surface pubescent.

Tribe SCYMNINI Mulsant, 1846

Round, oval, or oblong. Brown or black; may have brown, yellow, or red markings. Dorsal surface and eye pubescent. Larvae covered in waxy white tufts.

Tribe DIOMINI Gordon, 1899

Tribe SELVADIINI Gordon, 1985

Tribe HYPERASPIDINI Mulsant, 1846

Round, oval, or oblong. Blue eyes. Bold markings, often colorful: black or dark brown with contrasting spots, stripes, wavy lines. One species metallic blue.

Tribe BRACHIACANTHINI Mulsant, 1850

Oval or oblong. Blue eyes. Dark with yellow to red or white markings (spots, triangles, diamonds); or yellow to red with black markings.

Tribe CRYPTOGNATHINI Mulsant, 1850

Subfamily CHILOCORINAE Mulsant, 1846

Round, oval, or shield-shaped. Profile strongly convex, explanate (helmet-like, with a flared "rim"). Often black with red or orange spots; sometimes red or orange with or without spots; one species blue. Larvae with long, multi-branched "spines."

Tribe CHILOCORINI Mulsant 1846

Subfamily COCCIDULINAE Mulsant, 1846

Tribe COCCIDULINI Mulsant, 1846

Tribe NOVIINI Mulsant, 1850

Tribe EXOPLECTRINI Crotch, 1874

Tribe AZYINI Mulsant, 1850

Subfamily COCCINELLINAE Latreille, 1807

Tribe COCCINELLINI Latreille, 1807

Many of the most familiar lady beetles. Oval or oblong, sometimes tapering to a point. Usually brightly colored with black markings; or black with colorful markings; a few are gray with black markings. Larvae: Dark, "alligator-like," often with colorful markings.

Tribe HALYZIINI Mulsant, 1846

Small to very small (1-3 mm). Pronotum transparent. White or light brown with brown, black, and sometimes orange spots. Larvae: light gray, may have black and orange markings.

Subfamily EPILACHNINAE Ganglbauer, 1899

Eat plants, unlike most other lady beetles. Round to oval, highly convex, orange or yellow with dark spots. Larvae: yellow with long spines, with reduced legs ("slug-like").

Tribe EPILACHNINI Costa, 1849

From under 1 mm to 10 mm. Larvae from under 1 mm to 12 mm.

Red lady beetles with black spots are among the most easily-recognized insects. There are many other colors and patterns, though, which can be hard to identify. The following physical features will identify all lady beetles, no matter what color they are.

Larvae

Larvae are very different-looking, and may not be recognized as lady beetles. They are soft-bodied, flattened and elongated ("alligator-shaped"). Predatory species have fully-developed legs, so they don't look as much like worms as many other beetle larvae. Many are gray or black and may have colorful markings (A). Others have waxy white tufts, resembling caterpillars or mealybugs (B). Plant-eating larvae are yellow with long spines (C).

A. B. C.

World-wide, including all of North America.

Anywhere with suitable food. Usually outdoors, but in cold weather large groups may enter houses.

Active adults and larvae are present from spring to fall. Some adults can survive cold winters, but are usually inactive. All life stages present year-round in the south.

Most lady beetles are predatory, eating a wide variety of other insects. Prey includes aphids (A, B), mealybugs, scale insects, fly larvae (C), and small caterpillars. They also eat insect eggs (D) and pupae (E) - even those of other lady beetles (F).

A. B. C.

D. E. F.

Some lady beetles are plant-eating, however, and can be destructive in gardens (A). Others consume fungus, such as mildew and plant molds (B). Predatory species may supplement their diet with pollen (C).

A. B. C.

The larvae are different from the adults - Some have tufts of white wax on the surface that make them look like mealybugs.

Their food is usually similar to that of the adults, and in the predatory species they're often important as pest controls

Before becoming adults, they go through an immobile stage with a shell-like skin. They shed this pupal case to emerge as adults.

see BugGuide Eggs, Larvae, and Pupa info page for more information including current images of species.

Identification within the family (at least for adults) often depends on patterns in the pronotum (the area in front of the wings/"shell", but behind the head). A view of your ladybird from the front will help with ID.

Some lady beetles, particularly Harmonia axyridis, serve as hosts to parasitic Laboulbeniales fungi, resulting in this appearance (click on pictures for more comments):

Most other beetles have longer antennae, but some are superficially similar:

The Century Dictionary--entry for Coccinella (1)

Castner, p. 120 (3)

White (4)

Larval key to Genera and selected Species - Rees, B.E. (5)

American Beetles, Vol. 2, Chapter 93 (2)

Lady Beetles of Ontario images and info (Steve Marshall, U. of Guelph)

University of Florida Lady Beetles

Univ. Florida ENY 3005 Family Identification--Coccinellidae

Angelfire

Wikipedia--good reference on cultural associations

Ladybird Morphology Interactive diagram of lady beetle anatomy.

Univ Minnesota Ladybird homepage with keys and photos to common species (including larvae and pupae) - dead link in December 2009

Gordon, Robert D. The Coccinellidae (Coleoptera) of America North of Mexico. Journal of the New York Entomological Society 93(1):1-912.