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Species Coleomegilla maculata - Spotted Lady Beetle
Classification Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Coleoptera (Beetles)
Suborder Polyphaga (Water, Rove, Scarab, Longhorn, Leaf and Snout Beetles)
Superfamily Cucujoidea (Flower, Flat Bark and Ladybird Beetles)
Family Coccinellidae (Lady Beetles)
Subfamily Coccinellinae
Genus Coleomegilla
Species maculata (Spotted Lady Beetle)
Other Common Names Pink Spotted Lady Beetle
Twelve-spotted Lady Beetle Synonyms and other taxonomic changes described in 1775 by De Geer, who originally placed it in genus Coccinella Numbers the only species in this genus in North America listed at nearctica.comSize body length of adult 5-6 mm
larva to 9 mm Identification Adult: pink to red, oval, with six black spots on each elytron (wing cover); area behind head often pink or yellowish with two large triangular black marks
Larva: body dark brown and alligator-like with three pairs of prominent legs
Egg: orange, spindle-shaped, about 1 mm long Range Found throughout most of New York, southern Ontario, and southern New England and across the south to the mid-western states. It can be very common.
Robert Gordon ( 1) distinguishes 3 subspecies, with some relatively slight variations in markings:
1) The most widespread subspecies, C. m. lengi Timberlake, occurs throughout the eastern states (except northern New England, and Florida) and west to the great plains.
2) C. m. fuscilabris (Mulsant) occurs in Florida and along the coasts, west to Louisiana, and north to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
3) C. m. strenua (Casey) occurs along the Mexican border from Texas to California (and presumably south into Mexico).
[the above text copied from former comment by Tim Moyer] Food Adults and larvae are important aphid predators but also prey on mites, insect eggs, and small larvae. Unlike most lady beetles, plant pollen may constitute up to 50% of the diet. Reported prey include pea, green peach, melon (cotton), cabbage, and potato aphids and greenbug; eggs of European corn borer, imported cabbageworm, fall webworm, and corn earworm; asparagus beetle, Mexican bean beetle, and Colorado potato beetle eggs and larvae. Life Cycle Adults overwinter in large aggregations beneath leaf litter and stones along hedgerows or in protected sites along crop borders, especially those of fields planted to corn in the previous season. They emerge from early to mid-spring and disperse, often by walking along the ground, to seek prey and egg laying sites in nearby crops.
Female lady beetles may lay from 200 to more than 1,000 eggs over a one to three month period commencing in spring or early summer. Eggs are usually deposited near prey such as aphids, often in small clusters in protected sites on leaves and stems. Larvae grow from about 1 mm to 5-6 mm in length and may wander up to 12 m in search of prey. The larva attaches itself by the abdomen to a leaf or other surface to pupate. The pupal stage may last from 3 to 12 days depending on temperature.
Eggs; newborns; larval instars 1, 2, 3, 4, prepupa (end of instar 4); pupa; adult.
Remarks Because pollen is an essential component of the diet of Coleomegilla, the planting or preservation of refuges, or interplantings, of early-flowering species with a high pollen load may be beneficial especially to provide a food source during late spring before the build up of aphids. Flowering dandelions, for example, have been recorded as a heavily used pollen source for dispersing adults in late spring potato fields.
Tolerance to some pesticides at recommended application rates is likely. Overwintering adults may be less susceptible than active adults and larvae. Internet References Cornell University illustrated species account
University of Minnesota live images of all stages
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