Explanation of Names
Epilachna varivestis Mulsant 1850
varivestis - from Latin varius- "diverse" + vestis- "clothing, attire"
Size
Adults: 6-8.5mm, larvae a maximum of 9mm (U. Ga website)
Identification
A little larger than typical ladybugs. Each elytron has 8 spots; pronotum immaculate (spotless)
- noted here. Orange to copper colored.
(1) and (U. Ga website).
Range
e. US; c. Rockies to C. Amer. -
Map (2)
Originally Mexico and sw US, but since 1920 has spread into the e. US
(1). Also present in Ontario, Canada. (U. Guelph website)
Season
mostly Jun-Oct. (BG data)
Food
Beans, soybeans, cowpeas, clover, alfalfa, kudzu, and beggartick/beggarweed.
(1) and (U. Ga. website)
Adults and larvae feed on surface of leaves. Eaten leaves take on lacy appearance.
(1) and (U. Ga. website)
Life Cycle
Eggs develop into adults in approximately 1 month, with 1-4 generations per year depending on climate.
(1)
Adults overwinter in plant debris or protected location and emerge when temperature reaches 50 degrees F. Adults live approx. 6 weeks. Females lay hundres of yellow-orange, elliptical eggs which hatch in about a week. Larvae feed 2-4 weeks, pupation is 5-10 days. (U. Ga website)
Egg laying. Eggs. Larva. Older larva. Pupa. Adults
Remarks
A project to control these beetles in the eastern U.S. was attempted in the 1920s using a natural parasitic wasp predator from Mexico, but the wasp used did not survive in temperate climates.
(1)Internet References
Purdue Entomology (includes photo of life cycle stages and Indiana life cycle timeline)
Species des coléoptères trimères sécuripalpes, p.815 Mulsant's original description of the species (in French)