''Halyzia sedecimguttata'', or orange ladybird, is a species of

Coccinellidae Coccinellidae () is a widespread family of small beetles ranging in size from . They are commonly known as ladybugs in North America and ladybirds in Great Britain. Some entomologists prefer the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles as they ...

(ladybirds) family.

Distribution

''Halyzia sedecimguttata'' is common in Europe, European Russia, the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

, the Russian Far East,

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

Transcaucasia The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arme ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

, Northern China, Japan. It was formerly uncommon in the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

but the species has established itself over the 20th-century and it is now common in many parts.

Habitat

Common in

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

s, it is more frequent in dry areas, mainly in deciduous woodland (

Western European broadleaf forests The Western European broadleaf forests is an ecoregion in Western Europe, and parts of the Alps. It comprises temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, that cover large areas of France, Germany and the Czech Republic and more moderately sized parts o ...

, Palearctic temperate broadleaf and mixed forest) and in parkland, at forest edges, and on hedges.

Description

''Halyzia sedecimguttata'' can reach a length of . These beetles have an oval shaped body, rather round than elongated. Compound eyes are black. The antennae are light-brown, quite long and slightly thickened at the end. Their physical appearance is marked by a striking orange colour and the presence of 16 (sometimes less) creamy white large spots on the elytra (eight spots on each elytron). The neck shield usually covers the head and shows orange colored spots. A typical feature is the slightly transparent edges of the elytra. Transparent parts are also present on either side of the neck shield. This species is rather similar to '' Calvia decemguttata'' and ''

Vibidia duodecimguttata ''Vibidia duodecimguttata'' is a species of ladybird beetle belonging to the family Coccinellidae, subfamily Coccinellinae. Distribution This species is present in most of Europe, in the eastern Palearctic realm, and in the Near East. Descript ...

''.

Biology

Adults are visible from April to October. They spend the winter under the bark of the trees or in the forest litter under fallen leave. Both

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

e and adults feed on

mildew Mildew is a form of fungus. It is distinguished from its closely related counterpart, mould, largely by its colour: moulds appear in shades of black, blue, red, and green, whereas mildew is white. It appears as a thin, superficial growth consi ...

that infects the leaves of plants and occasionally on small

aphids Aphids are small sap-sucking insects and members of the superfamily Aphidoidea. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in color. The group includes the fluffy white woolly aphids. A t ...

. They mainly feed on Erisyphaceae infesting trees and bushes. In particular, they feed on ''

Phyllactinia guttata ''Phyllactinia guttata'' is a species of fungus in the family Erysiphaceae; the anamorph of this species is ''Ovulariopsis moricola''. A plant pathogen distributed in temperate regions, ''P. guttata'' causes a powdery mildew on leaves and stems ...

'' and ''

Podosphaera mors-uvae ''Podosphaera'' is a genus of fungi in the family Erysiphaceae. Species in this genus are plant pathogens, causing powdery mildew. Species *'' Podosphaera aphanis'' *'' Podosphaera balsaminae'' * ''Podosphaera clandestina'' var. ''aucupariae'' ...

'' Burakowski, B., Mroczkowski, M., and Stefańska, J., ''Katalog Fauny Polski''. Szęść XXIII, Chrząszcze– Coleoptera. Tom 13. Cucujoidea, część 2 (Państwowe wydawnictwo naukowe, Warszawa, 1986). and on aphids present on ''

Quercus robur ''Quercus robur'', commonly known as common oak, pedunculate oak, European oak or English oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. It is a large tree, native plant, native to most of Europe west of the Caucasus ...

'', ''

Tilia cordata ''Tilia cordata'', the small-leaved lime or small-leaved linden, is a species of tree in the family Malvaceae, native to much of Europe. Other common names include little-leaf or littleleaf linden, or traditionally in South East England, pry or p ...

'', ''

Ulmus minor ''Ulmus minor'' Mill., the field elm, is by far the most polymorphic of the European species, although its taxonomy remains a matter of contention. Its natural range is predominantly south European, extending to Asia Minor and Iran; its northern ...

'', ''

Acer pseudoplatanus ''Acer pseudoplatanus'', known as the sycamore in the British Isles and as the sycamore maple in the United States, is a species of flowering plant in the Sapindus, soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is a large deciduous, broad-leaved ...

'', ''

Corylus avellana ''Corylus avellana'', the common hazel, is a species of flowering plant in the birch family Betulaceae. It is native to Europe and western Asia. It is an important component of the hedgerows that were the traditional field boundaries in lowland En ...

'', ''

Fraxinus excelsior ''Fraxinus excelsior'', known as the ash, or European ash or common ash to distinguish it from other types of ash, is a flowering plant species in the olive family Oleaceae. It is native throughout mainland Europe east to the Caucasus and Albor ...

'', ''

Alnus viridis ''Alnus alnobetula'' is a common tree widespread across much of Europe, Asia, and North America. Many sources refer to it as ''Alnus viridis'', the green alder, but botanically this is considered an illegitimate name synonymous with ''Alnus alnob ...

'', ''

Alnus glutinosa ''Alnus glutinosa'', the common alder, black alder, European alder, European black alder, or just alder, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to most of Europe, southwest Asia and northern Africa. It thrives in wet locations whe ...

'' and on coniferous trees.

Gallery

File: Halyzia sedecimguttata (2128080656).jpg, Larva File:Halyzia sedecimguttata pupae (6940872589).jpg, Pupa File:Halyzia sedecimguttata - eclosion A - 04.jpg,

Ecdysis Ecdysis is the moulting of the cuticle in many invertebrates of the clade Ecdysozoa. Since the cuticle of these animals typically forms a largely inelastic exoskeleton, it is shed during growth and a new, larger covering is formed. The remna ...

imago In biology, the imago (Latin for "image") is the last stage an insect attains during its metamorphosis, its process of growth and development; it is also called the imaginal stage, the stage in which the insect attains maturity. It follows the f ...

emerging from

pupa A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...

. The colours will change, when the ladybird hardens. File: Coccinellidae - Halyzia sedecimguttata.JPG, Imago

References

External links

Ladybird Survey Northern Ireland 2005
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q2165154 Coccinellidae Beetles described in 1758 Beetles of Asia Beetles of Europe Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Articles containing video clips