Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Series Cucujiformia » Coccinelloidea » Coccinellid group » Lady Beetles (Coccinellidae) » Coccinellinae » Calvia » Cream-spotted Lady Beetle (Calvia quatuordecimguttata)

Species Calvia quatuordecimguttata - Cream-spotted Lady Beetle

Calvia quatuordecimguttata larva - Calvia quatuordecimguttata

Cream-spotted Lady Beetle in New Brunswick - Calvia quatuordecimguttata

Unusual ladybug, spots on head - Calvia quatuordecimguttata

Calvia quatuordecimguttata (Linnaeus) - Calvia quatuordecimguttata

Pink Spotted Beetle - Calvia quatuordecimguttata

Lady beetle on Prunus padus - Calvia quatuordecimguttata

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 Calvia

Species quatuordecimguttata (Cream-spotted Lady Beetle)

Other Common Names

Polkadot Lady Beetle (1), Eighteen-spotted Lady Beetle(?)

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Calvia quatuordecimguttata (Linnaeus)

Orig. Comb: Coccinella 14-guttata Linnaeus, 1758

Explanation of Names

From Latin quattuordecim- "14" + guttata- "spotted"

"Cream-spotted Lady Beetle" is in wide use, but describes only the Eurasian form (where the name was coined), as well as this American form:

Size

Length 4.0 to 5.5 mm, width 3.2 to 4.5 mm (2)

Identification

Gordon's Figures (2)

Adult: It comes in great variety of color forms. These are the major pattern variations, starting with the cream-spotted form:

Regardless of pattern, the pronotum is always shiny, and the underside is mostly black with a reddish border around the abdominal segments. The Eurasian form is chestnut-brown with 14 cream-white spots, and may occur as an adventive.

Larva: Black and white with large conical "spines" on every abdominal segment.

Range

Map - Holarctic. In N. Amer., from n. CA to NJ north (2)

Food

Psyllids, aphids, and other soft-bodied insects.

See Also

Coleomegilla maculata, Spotted Lady Beetle - Color and pattern similar to pink form of C. quatourdecimguttata, but shape is elongated, less convex in profile, and tapers towards rear. Second row of spots has one large spot on each side, not two spots like pink form of Calvia; at rear of body, one small spot on each side, not one large spot joined across the middle.

Larva of Propylea quatuordecimpunctata, Fourteen-spotted Lady Beetle - similar in color and pattern, but does not have pointed spines.

Print References

Gordon, 1985, especially pp. 774-776, figures 634-636.(2)

Semjanov, V.P. 1980. Biology of the ladybird beetle Calvia quattuordecimguttata L. (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae). Ent. Rev. 59(4): 47-53.

Internet References

Discover Life

Systema naturae, 10th ed., v.1, p.367 - Linnaeus' official original description of the species

Fauna svecica, p.143, no.397 - Linnaeus' earlier (1746) description, cited by the official original description.

Works Cited

1.	Ladybugs of Alberta John Acorn. 2007. University of Alberta Press, 169 pages.

2.	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 Joel Kits on 4 August, 2005 - 5:38pm
Additional contributions by Beatriz Moisset, Chuck Entz, Mike Quinn, James Bailey, Abigail Parker
Last updated 30 September, 2017 - 2:05pm

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