The antennae of this beetle are longer and more thread-like than those of Chilocorus stigma (the twice-stabbed lady beetle) and its close relatives. So that rules out a lot of "black with red spots" species right away. Whew!

The oval shape, proportions of head and body, surface texture, and blue eyes point to the Hyperaspis signata group - three species in the same genus that can't be separated by external features alone. Here are some examples - the one on the right is from VA:



The white markings that some of them have don't indicate species. A white border on the pronotum (area between head and wings) means it's a male; females don't have a white border, but some males don't either.

Wow! Thanks so much for the extremely quick response and expert information. ...I can see I'm waaaaaay over my head. It never occurred to me that looking at the underside would be a smart thing to do, until I started trying to look it up on BugGuide, a couple hours after releasing my captive into the wilds of my garden. Now I will know to get as many views as possible and to try even harder to get the head (and antennae) sharp.

The "black w/ two red spots" beetles are something I'm working hard to learn about. It's not easy!

Whatever color a lady beetle is, try to get a photo from above (dorsal) and from the side (lateral) - seeing if the profile is dome-shaped or helmet-like (with a flared rim at the bottom) is always useful. Photos from below (ventral) are very important for the "black w/ two red spots" varieties, but I know that the beetles don't always cooperate by staying on their backs!

Two important words for talking about beetles are "pronotum" - hard shell between head and wings - and "elytra" - the hard, glossy wing covers. Beetle experts and enthusiasts use them a lot because it's easier to say "elytra" instead of "hard glossy wing covers." It took me a while to figure out what "pronotum" meant when I first started learning about lady beetles on BugGuide :-)