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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Series Cucujiformia » Coccinelloidea » Coccinellid group » Lady Beetles (Coccinellidae) » Coccinellinae » Hippodamia » Convergent Lady Beetle (Hippodamia convergens)

Species Hippodamia convergens - Convergent Lady Beetle

Classification · Explanation of Names · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited
Hippodamia convergens Convergent Lady Beetle - Hippodamia convergens Mating lady beetles on Baccharis pilularis - Hippodamia convergens - male - female Hippodamia convergens - male - female Convergent Lady Beetle - Hippodamia convergens Hippodamia convergens Guerin - Hippodamia convergens Hippodamia convergens lady beetle - Hippodamia convergens
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 Hippodamia
Species convergens (Convergent Lady Beetle)
Explanation of Names
Hippodamia convergens Guerin, 1842
Size
Length 4.2 to 7.3 mm (1)
Identification
Gordon's figures (1)
full complement of 13 spots or only a few. The white lines that converge behind the head are common to all individuals.
Range
Throughout US and western Canada - Map (1)
in part to commercial sales for biological control.
Ranges to South America (Hoffmann and Frodsham 1993, White 1983). - University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
Habitat
may be abundant in agro-ecosystems (2)
Food
Aphids, also whiteflies and other soft bodied insects.
Life Cycle
They can adjust their life cycle according to the availability of aphids. Resident populations in the eastern United States are active throughout spring and summer if aphids are present.
Remarks
Often found in numbers along lake shores, in mountain canyons, and elsewhere...particularly in the spring and fall (3)
Print References
Carnes, E.K. 1912. An explanation of the hibernating habits of Hippodamia convergens. Monthly bulletin (California. State Commission of Horticulture) 1: 177-188.
Douglass, J.R. 1930. Hibernation of the convergent lady beetle, Hippodamia convergens Guer., on a mountain peak in New Mexico. Journal of Economic Entomology , 23: 288.
Lee, R.E., Jr. 1980. Aggregation of lady beetles on the shores of lakes (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae). American Midland Naturalist, 104(2): 295-304. (3)
Fenton, F.A. 1958. Seasonal distribution in Alfalfa of the Convergent Lady Beetle, Hippodamia convergens Guer. Proceedings of the Oklahoma Academy of Science (for 1957) 38: 54-58.
Hamilton, R.M., E.B. Dogan, G.B. Schaalje, and G.M. Booth. 1999. Olfactory response of the lady beetle Hippodamia convergens (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) to prey related odors, including a scanning electron microscopy study of the antennal sensilla. Environmental Entomology 28: 812-822.
Hawkes, O.A.M. 1926. On the massing of the ladybird, Hippodamia convergens (Coleoptera), in the Yosemite Valley. Proceedings of the General Meetings for Scientific Business of the Zoological Society of London, 1926: 693-705
Rankin, M.A. and S. Rankin. 1980 Some factors affecting presumed migratory flight activity of the convergent ladybeetle, Hippodamia convergens (Coccinellidae: Coleoptera). Biological Bulletin, 158: 356-369.
Internet References
Featured Creatures - U. Florida
UC IPM
University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
Larva image at UC IPM / Another Larva image at UC IPM
Works Cited
1.The Coccinellidae (Coleoptera) of America North of Mexico
Robert D. Gordon. 1985. Journal of the New York Entomological Society, Vol. 93, No. 1.
2.Survey of lady beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) found on Texas high plains cotton, alfalfa and weeds.
Carroll, S.C., M.N. Parajulee, and M.D. Arnold. 2007. Proceedings of the World Cotton Conference (September 10–14, 2007), Lubbock, TX.
3.Aggregation of lady beetles on the shores of lakes (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae).
Lee, R.E., Jr. 1980. American Midland Naturalist, 104(2): 295-304.
Contributed by john and jane balaban on 31 October, 2004 - 10:51am
Additional contributions by Beatriz Moisset, Mike Quinn, Ted Kropiewnicki, Aaron Schusteff, JohnMaxwell22
Last updated 13 February, 2023 - 1:34am

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