Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
 

Register · Log In
HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
Upcoming Events

Registration is open for the 2024 BugGuide gathering in Idaho July 24-27

Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2023

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2018 gathering in Virginia, July 27-29


Previous events
TaxonomyBrowse
Info
ImagesLinksBooksData
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Series Cucujiformia » Coccinelloidea » Coccinellid group » Lady Beetles (Coccinellidae) » Coccinellinae » Coccinella » narrow black elytral suture (Coccinella narrow black elytral suture) » California Lady Beetle (Coccinella californica)

Species Coccinella californica - California Lady Beetle

Classification · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Identification · Range · See Also · Print References · Works Cited
Coccinella californica? - Coccinella californica Coccinella californica? - Coccinella californica Asymmetrical spotting - Coccinella californica Coccinella californica? - Coccinella californica Coccinella californica - johnsoni form - Coccinella californica SBBG-SCL-TIC_000632 - Coccinella californica SBBG-SCL-TIC_000632 - Coccinella californica lady beetle at Sabercat Creek on 2022 March 09 - Coccinella californica
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Coleoptera (Beetles)
Suborder Polyphaga
No Taxon (Series Cucujiformia)
Superfamily Coccinelloidea
No Taxon (Coccinellid group)
Family Coccinellidae (Lady Beetles)
Subfamily Coccinellinae
Genus Coccinella
No Taxon (narrow black elytral suture)
Species californica (California Lady Beetle)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Coccinella californica (Mannerheim)
Orig. Comb: Coccinella californica Mannerheim 1843
Syn: Coccinella johnsoni - considered a jr syn of C. californica (Belicek 1976)
Identification
Gordon's figures - Typical form:
Red or orange, no spots, black suture (where the wings meet, down the middle of the back). The black suture may expand into a small diamond-shaped patch near the base of the wings.
Pronotum (between wings and head) black with a white patch on each side
Head black with two small white spots between the eyes

Gordon's figure - "johnsoni" form:
Same as above but with black spots on elytra
Range
range hugs the west coast - Map (1)
See Also
Nine-spotted Lady Beetle (Coccinella novemnotata), spotless form, has white line connecting the two white patches on the pronotum, and a white patch between the eyes rather than two spots.


Three-banded Lady Beetle (Coccinella trifasciata), spotless form, has white line connecting the two white patches on the pronotum, and does not have a black suture (line down the back).
Print References
Belicek, J. 1976. Coccinellidae of western Canada and Alaska with analyses of the transmontane zoogeographic relationships between the fauna of British Columbia and Alberta (Insecta: Coleoptera: Coccinellidae). Quaestiones Entomologicae, 12(4): 283-409. Full PDF
Works Cited
1.The Coccinellidae (Coleoptera) of America North of Mexico
Robert D. Gordon. 1985. Journal of the New York Entomological Society, Vol. 93, No. 1.
Contributed by Will Chatfield-Taylor on 20 July, 2006 - 10:32pm
Additional contributions by Chuck Entz, Mike Quinn, Tim Moyer, Chris Mallory, Abigail Parker
Last updated 15 April, 2016 - 9:21pm

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2024 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology at Iowa State University logo

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Statement
Site Map
Contact