Species Cycloneda polita - Western Polished Lady Beetle

Polished Ladybug (1)

Western Blood-Red Lady Beetle (?source)

"Western Polished Ladybug" and "Western Spotless Ladybug" are both commonly used (JB)

Cycloneda polita (Casey)

Orig. Comb: Cycloneda polita Casey 1899

polita (L). "polished, refined" (2)

For the Cycloneda lady beetles, there are 3 species in the US and Canada: C. polita, C. munda, and C. sanguinea. They all have the pale curved markings on the pronotum, which can range from very shallow to completely enclosed. C. munda and C. polita can be distinguished by range on the East and West coasts (they may overlap in central and northwestern states). There's a C. polita with complete circles on the pronotum at the University of California's CalPhotos… Abigail M. Parker, 19 June, 2009

Pronotum with pale yellow lateral "C" or almost a complete yellow ring(3), but not a separate yellow "spot" as found in C. sanguinea (seen here):

Very similar to C. munda (seen here) but separated by distribution (see comments under Range below). In addition C. polita tend to be a "rich" red color, whereas C. munda trend more toward a "faded" orange/red. BugGuide images currently show this color difference well.

Most BG records from CA-OR-WA-BC (with a few from UT & MT) - Here's Gordon's suggested (odd) distribution: Map (3)

C. munda (similar in appearance) reportedly occurs from Eastern US, Maine to FL, and west in the northern states through the Great Plains.

Given the apparent proximity of C. polita and C. munda around the Great Plains, I'd suspect there's at least some distribution overlap possible.

Mar-Nov in CA (BG data)

Detailed photo series showing entire cycle from egg to adult.

Cycloneda sanguinea (Linnaeus)

Range: most western BG records from CA (with a few from OR & AZ)

Cycloneda polita Western Blood-red Lady Beetle (evergreen.edu)

Journal of the New York Entomological Society, v.7,p.93 - Casey's original description of the species