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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Series Cucujiformia » Coccinelloidea » Coccinellid group » Lady Beetles (Coccinellidae) » Coccinellinae » Coccinella » pale elytral suture (Coccinella pale elytral suture) » Seven-spotted Lady Beetle (Coccinella septempunctata)
Photo#24711
Lady Beetle eats Aphid - Coccinella septempunctata
Copyright © 2005 Bruce Marlin

Lady Beetle eats Aphid - Coccinella septempunctata
DuPage County, Illinois, USA
June 26, 2005
I'm fairly certain this is a seven-spotted ladybird with an aphid - my question is, what is this beetle doing to this aphid, eating it? Milking it? It appears there are guts coming out. And, is that a parasite, the orange blob on the aphid? Anyone know what brand aphid this is? (So many questions!)
More photos, full size here:
http://www.cirrusimage.com/beetles_ladybird_eats_aphid.htm
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Contributed by Bruce Marlin on 19 July, 2005 - 10:18pm
Last updated 7 May, 2012 - 9:52am

Aphid
The aphid may be Uroleucon, but perhaps a few others are also dark red.
It is hard to believe that there are over 1300 species of aphids and we only have a handful of them in the guide. We should be taking more pictures of them.
… Beatriz Moisset, 26 December, 2007 - 8:10am login or register to post comments

Gruesome
Thanks, Stephen. Very interesting, one of those gruesome spectacles that make me glad I'm not six-legged.
Bruce Marlin
Cirrus Digital Imaging
… Bruce Marlin, 20 July, 2005 - 9:01am login or register to post comments

Beetle Eats Aphid
The beetle is eating the aphid. Both larva and adults of the Ladybird Beetles can feed heavily on aphids. As far as I know, ants are the only creatures to feed on the aphid honeydew.

Not sure about the blob you ask about. It is attached to a body part called the "cornicle," little tubes that are believed to secrete a substance used in predator defense, and so this may be one of those defensive secretions.

--Stephen

Stephen Cresswell
Buckhannon, WV
www.stephencresswell.com
… Stephen_WV, 20 July, 2005 - 5:14am login or register to post comments

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