Coccinellidae ()
is a widespread
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
of small
beetle
Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...
s ranging in size from .
They are commonly known as ladybugs in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
and ladybirds in Great Britain. Some
entomologists
Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...
prefer the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles as they are not
true bugs
Hemiptera (; ) is an order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising over 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, assassin bugs, bed bugs, and shield bugs. They range in size from to aroun ...
. Many of the species have conspicuous
aposematic
Aposematism is the advertising by an animal to potential predators that it is not worth attacking or eating. This unprofitability may consist of any defences which make the prey difficult to kill and eat, such as toxicity, venom, foul taste or ...
colours and patterns, such as red with black spots, that warn potential
predators
Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...
that they are distasteful.
The majority of the more than 6,000 described species are generally considered
beneficial insect
Beneficial insects (sometimes called beneficial bugs) are any of a number of species of insects that perform valued services like pollination and pest (animal), pest control. The concept of ''beneficial'' is subjective and only arises in light of d ...
s, because many prey on herbivorous
hemiptera
Hemiptera (; ) is an order (biology), order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising over 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, Reduviidae, assassin bugs, Cimex, bed bugs, and shield bugs. ...
ns such as
aphid
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 ...
s or
scale insect
Scale insects are small insects of the order Hemiptera, suborder Sternorrhyncha. Of dramatically variable appearance and extreme sexual dimorphism, they comprise the infraorder Coccomorpha which is considered a more convenient grouping than the ...
s, which are
agricultural pests
A pest is any animal or plant harmful to humans or human concerns. The term is particularly used for creatures that damage crops, livestock, and forestry or cause a nuisance to people, especially in their homes. Humans have modified the environ ...
. Many coccinellids lay their eggs directly in aphid and scale insect colonies, ensuring their larvae have an immediate food source. However, some species such as the herbivorous
Mexican bean beetle
The Mexican bean beetle (''Epilachna varivestis'') is a species of lady beetle that can be an agricultural pest. It is one of the few North American lady beetles that feed on plants rather than other insects. It is found throughout Mexico and ...
are agricultural pests.
Etymology
The name ''coccinellids'', created by
Pierre André Latreille
Pierre André Latreille (; 29 November 1762 – 6 February 1833) was a French zoologist, specialising in arthropods. Having trained as a Roman Catholic priest before the French Revolution, Latreille was imprisoned, and only regained his freedom ...
, is derived from the Latin word ''coccineus'' meaning "scarlet". The name ''ladybird'' originated in Britain where the insects became known as "Our Lady's bird" or the Lady beetle.
Mary
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religious contexts
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
(Our Lady) was often depicted wearing a red cloak in early paintings, and the spots of the
seven-spot ladybird (the most common in Europe) were said to symbolise her
seven joys and
seven sorrows
Our Lady of Sorrows ( la, Beata Maria Virgo Perdolens), Our Lady of Dolours, the Sorrowful Mother or Mother of Sorrows ( la, Mater Dolorosa, link=no), and Our Lady of Piety, Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Our Lady of the Seven Dolours are names ...
.
In the United States, the name was popularly adapted to ''ladybug''. Common names in some other European languages share associations; for example, the German name ''Marienkäfer'' translates to Marybeetle or ladybeetle.
Entomologists
Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...
prefer the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles to avoid confusion with the
true bugs
Hemiptera (; ) is an order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising over 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, assassin bugs, bed bugs, and shield bugs. They range in size from to aroun ...
.
Description
Most coccinellids have round to elliptical, dome-shaped bodies with six short legs. They are often conspicuously coloured yellow, orange, or red with small black spots on their
wing covers, with black legs, heads and
antennae. There is, however, great variation in these colour patterns. For example, a minority of species, such as ''
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 ...
'', a twelve-spotted species, have whitish spots on a brown background. Coccinellids are found worldwide, with over 6,000 species described.
File:BIEDRONA mirrored, cropped.png, ''Coccinella septempunctata
''Coccinella septempunctata'', the seven-spot ladybird (or, in North America, seven-spotted ladybug or "C-7"), is the most common ladybird in Europe. Its elytra are of a red colour, but punctuated with three black spots each, with one further spot ...
'', black spots on red
File:Psyllobora.vigintiduopunctata.6920.jpg, ''Psyllobora vigintiduopunctata
''Psyllobora vigintiduopunctata'' (often abbreviated to ''Psyllobora 22-punctata''), the 22-spot ladybird, (earlier known as ''Thea vigintiduopunctata'') is a common, 3–5 mm long ladybird native to Europe . The elytra are yellow in ...
'', black spots on yellow
File:Coccinellidae - Vibidia duodecimguttata-1 (cropped).JPG, ''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 ...
'', whitish spots on brown
File:Brumoides suturalis (10.3897-zookeys.803.22543) Figure 16.jpg, ''Brumoides suturalis
''Brumoides suturalis'', the three-striped lady-beetle, is a species of ladybird described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1789. It is found in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal, Indonesia, Philippines and Papua New Guinea. I ...
'', longitudinally striped
File:Rhyzobius chrysomeloides.jpg, ''Rhyzobius chrysomeloides
''Rhyzobius chrysomeloides'' is a species of beetle
Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most ot ...
'', brown, unspotted
Evolution
Fossil history
The Coccinellidae are sparsely preserved in the fossil record.
Although
molecular clock
The molecular clock is a figurative term for a technique that uses the mutation rate of biomolecules to deduce the time in prehistory when two or more life forms diverged. The biomolecular data used for such calculations are usually nucleoti ...
estimates have placed their origin in the
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...
, the oldest fossils of the group are known from the
Oise amber
Oise ( ; ; pcd, Oése) is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise. Inhabitants of the department are called ''Oisiens'' () or ''Isariens'', after the Latin name for the river, Isara. It had a population of 829,419 ...
of France, dating to the Early
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...
(
Ypresian
In the geologic timescale the Ypresian is the oldest age (geology), age or lowest stage (stratigraphy), stratigraphic stage of the Eocene. It spans the time between , is preceded by the Thanetian Age (part of the Paleocene) and is followed by th ...
) around 53 million years ago, which belong to the extant genera ''
Rhyzobius
:Rhizobius'' is a genus in the fungi kingdom (see Disease resistance in fruit and vegetables), as well as an obsolete name for the aphid genus ''Pemphigus (aphid), Pemphigus.
''Rhyzobius'' is a genus in the lady beetle family (biology), family (C ...
'' and ''
Nephus''.
The greatest number of fossils comes from the younger Eocene
Baltic amber
The Baltic region is home to the largest known deposit of amber, called Baltic amber or succinite. It was produced sometime during the Eocene epoch, but exactly when is controversial. It has been estimated that these forests created more than 1 ...
, including members of the extant genera ''
Serangium''
and ''
Rhyzobius
:Rhizobius'' is a genus in the fungi kingdom (see Disease resistance in fruit and vegetables), as well as an obsolete name for the aphid genus ''Pemphigus (aphid), Pemphigus.
''Rhyzobius'' is a genus in the lady beetle family (biology), family (C ...
'' as well as extinct genera belonging to the tribes
Microweiseini (''Baltosidis'') and
Sticholotidini (''Electrolotis'').
Phylogeny
The Coccinellidae are within the superfamily
Coccinelloidea
Coccinelloidea is a superfamily of beetles in the order Coleoptera, formerly included in the superfamily Cucujoidea. There are more than 10,000 species in Coccinelloidea, including more than 6000 in the lady beetle family Coccinellidae.
Morphol ...
, which in turn is part of the infraorder
Cucujiformia
Cucujiformia is an infraorder of polyphagan beetles, representing most plant-eating beetles.
The infraorder contains the seven superfamilies:
* Chrysomeloidea (~7 families including longhorn beetles and leaf beetles)
* Cleroidea (checkered bee ...
, a group containing most of the plant-eating beetles. The ladybirds form the majority of the species in the Coccinelloidea; many of the rest are small
bark beetle
A bark beetle is the common name for the subfamily of beetles Scolytinae. Previously, this was considered a distinct family (Scolytidae), but is now understood to be a specialized clade of the "true weevil" family (Curculionidae). Although the ...
s. The
Cleroidea
Cleroidea is a small superfamily of beetles containing over 10,000 species. Most of the members of the group are somewhat slender, often with fairly soft, flexible elytra, and typically hairy or scaly.
Description
Cleroidea is defined by the fo ...
, a superfamily of mainly hairy beetles with soft elytra, is the
sister group
In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree.
Definition
The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram:
Taxon A and t ...
to the Coccinelloidea.
The internal
phylogeny
A phylogenetic tree (also phylogeny or evolutionary tree Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA.) is a branching diagram or a tree showing the evolutionary relationships among various biological spec ...
of the Coccinellidae has been studied using gene sampling across many species by LiHeng and colleagues in 2021. It identified three subfamilies including one newly-identified, the Monocoryninae. All three subfamilies were strongly supported, but the study noted that at lower classification levels, while the
tribe
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...
s are mostly
monophyletic
In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...
, their relationships are only weakly supported. The study suggests that the crown group appeared some 143
Mya in the
Early Cretaceous
The Early Cretaceous ( geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous (chronostratigraphic name), is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 145 Ma to 100.5 Ma.
Geology
Pro ...
, and that the group diversified rapidly during the Late Cretaceous, perhaps because the growth in diversity of
angiosperm
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
plants then encouraged the radiation of Sternorrhyncha such as aphids on which ladybirds could feed.
Biology
Life cycle
Predatory ladybirds are usually found on plants which harbour their prey. They lay their eggs near their prey, to increase the likelihood the larvae will find food easily. In ''Harmonia axyridis'', eggs hatch in three to four days from clutches numbering from a few to several dozen. The larvae pass through four
instar
An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'', "form", "likeness") is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each moult (''ecdysis''), until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow or ass ...
s, over a period of 10 to 14 days, the time taken depending on resource availability, after which
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 ...
tion occurs. After a
teneral
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 ...
period of several days, the adults become reproductively active and are able to reproduce again later, although they may become reproductively quiescent if they emerge late in the season. Total life span is one to two years on average.
Most species
overwinter
Overwintering is the process by which some organisms pass through or wait out the winter season, or pass through that period of the year when "winter" conditions (cold or sub-zero temperatures, ice, snow, limited food supplies) make normal activi ...
as adults in
diapause
In animal dormancy, diapause is the delay in development in response to regular and recurring periods of adverse environmental conditions.Tauber, M.J., Tauber, C.A., Masaki, S. (1986) ''Seasonal Adaptations of Insects''. Oxford University Press It ...
, aggregating on the south sides of large objects such as trees or houses during the winter months, and dispersing in response to increasing day length in the spring.
File:Mating ladybugs.jpg, Adults mating
File:MarienkäferEier 03.JPG, Eggs (match for scale)
File:Ladybug larva (Coccinellidae).jpg, 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 ...
File:Pupa de coccinélido, Hartelholz, Múnich, Alemania, 2020-06-27, DD 285-298 FS.jpg, 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 ...
Diet
Coccinellids are best known as
predator
Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...
s of
Sternorrhyncha
The Sternorrhyncha suborder of the Hemiptera contains the aphids, whiteflies, and scale insects, groups which were traditionally included in the now-obsolete order "Homoptera". "Sternorrhyncha" refers to the rearward position of the mouthparts re ...
such as
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 ...
and
scale insects
Scale insects are small insects of the order Hemiptera, suborder Sternorrhyncha. Of dramatically variable appearance and extreme sexual dimorphism, they comprise the infraorder Coccomorpha which is considered a more convenient grouping than the ...
, but the range of prey species that various Coccinellidae may attack is much wider. A genus of small black ladybirds, ''
Stethorus
''Stethorus'' is a genus of spider mite destroyers in the beetle family 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 Gre ...
'', predates non-Sternorrhyncha; they specialise in mites as prey, notably ''
Tetranychus
''Tetranychus'' is a genus of spider mite. ''Tetranychus'' is one of the most economically important genera of mites, due to its high potential to destroy agriculture. It contains over 140 species, the most significant of which is ''Tetranychus ...
'' spider mites. ''Stethorus'' species accordingly are important in
biological control
Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, such as insects, mites, weeds, and plant diseases, using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms, but typically also invo ...
on many fruit crops.
Several genera feed on various insects or their eggs; for example, ''
Coleomegilla'' species are significant predators of the eggs and larvae of moths such as ''
Spodoptera
''Spodoptera'' is a genus of moths of the family Noctuidae erected by Achille Guenée in 1852. Many are known as pest insects. The larvae are sometimes called armyworms. The roughly thirty species are distributed across six continents.
Descri ...
'' and the
Plutellidae
The Plutellidae are a family of moths commonly known as the diamondback moths, named after the diamondback moth (''Plutella xylostella'') of European origin. It was once considered to have three subfamilies: Plutellinae, Praydinae, and Scythropi ...
. Larvae and eggs of ladybirds, either
their own or of other species, can also be an important food resource when alternative prey are scarce. The Coccinellidae used to be regarded as purely carnivorous,
but they are far more omnivorous than previously thought, both as a family and in individual species; examination of gut contents of apparently specialist predators commonly yield residues of pollen and other plant materials. Most predatory coccinellids include other items in their diets, such as honeydew, pollen, plant sap, nectar, and fungi.
File:Epilachna guttatopustulata01.jpg, '' Henosepilachna guttatopustulata'', a herbivore, feeding on a potato
The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae.
Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...
leaf
File:Yellow Shouldered Ladybird (Apolinus lividigaster) with Aphis nerii.jpg, Yellow-shouldered ladybird, '' Apolinus lividigaster'' eating an aphid
File:Harmonia axyridis cannibalism.jpg, ''Harmonia axyridis
''Harmonia axyridis'' is a large lady beetle or ladybug species that is most commonly known as the harlequin, multicoloured Asian, or Asian lady beetle. This is one of the most variable species in the world, with an exceptionally wide range of col ...
'' larva cannibalism
Certain species lay extra infertile
trophic egg A trophic egg, in most species that produce them, usually is an unfertilised egg because its function is not reproduction but nutrition; in essence it serves as food for offspring hatched from viable eggs. The production of trophic eggs has been obs ...
s with the fertile eggs, providing a backup food source for the larvae when they hatch. The ratio of infertile to fertile eggs increases with scarcity of food at the time of egg laying.
Some species in the subfamily
Epilachninae
The Epilachninae are a subfamily of the family (biology), family of lady beetles, the Coccinellidae, in the order Beetle, Coleoptera. Superficially, they look much like other ladybirds in the larger subfamily Coccinellinae, but they differ imp ...
are
herbivore
A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpart ...
s.
Ecology
The main predators of ladybugs are birds, but they are also the prey of frogs, wasps, spiders, and dragonflies. The bright
aposematic
Aposematism is the advertising by an animal to potential predators that it is not worth attacking or eating. This unprofitability may consist of any defences which make the prey difficult to kill and eat, such as toxicity, venom, foul taste or ...
colours of many coccinellids
discourage potential predators, warning of their toxicity. Their
haemolymph
Hemolymph, or haemolymph, is a fluid, analogous to the blood in vertebrates, that circulates in the interior of the arthropod (invertebrate) body, remaining in direct contact with the animal's tissues. It is composed of a fluid plasma in which ...
contains toxic
alkaloid
Alkaloids are a class of basic, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Some synthetic compounds of similar ...
s, most commonly polyazamacrolides and
polyamine
A polyamine is an organic compound having more than two amino groups. Alkyl polyamines occur naturally, but some are synthetic. Alkylpolyamines are colorless, hygroscopic, and water soluble. Near neutral pH, they exist as the ammonium derivatives. ...
s, as well as foul-smelling
pyrazine
Pyrazine is a heterocyclic aromatic organic compound with the chemical formula C4H4N2. It is a symmetrical molecule with point group D2h. Pyrazine is less basic than pyridine, pyridazine and pyrimidine. It is a ''"deliquescent crystal or wax-lik ...
s. Some 50 types of alkaloids have been identified in ladybirds. When disturbed, ladybirds further defend themselves with
reflex bleeding
Autohaemorrhaging, or reflex bleeding, is the action of animals deliberately ejecting blood from their bodies. Autohaemorrhaging has been observed as occurring in two variations. In the first form, blood is squirted toward a predator. The blood of ...
, exuding droplets of "blood" from their tibio-femoral (knee) joints, effectively presenting predators with a sample of their toxic and bitter body fluid. Changing environmental conditions and invasive species can cause rapid changes in ladybird abundance, as has been documented in the British Isles.
File:Coccinella transversalis 2.jpg, '' Coccinella transversalis'', elytra
An elytron (; ; , ) is a modified, hardened forewing of beetles (Coleoptera), though a few of the true bugs (Hemiptera) such as the family Schizopteridae are extremely similar; in true bugs, the forewings are called hemelytra (sometimes alterna ...
in the open position
File:Lady beetle taking flight.jpg, Full wings of a ''Harmonia axyridis
''Harmonia axyridis'' is a large lady beetle or ladybug species that is most commonly known as the harlequin, multicoloured Asian, or Asian lady beetle. This is one of the most variable species in the world, with an exceptionally wide range of col ...
'' taking flight
Relationship to humans
Biological control
![Larvas Rodolia cardinalis](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Larvas_Rodolia_cardinalis.JPG)
Ladybirds are natural predators of a range of serious pests, such as the
European corn borer
The European corn borer (''Ostrinia nubilalis''), also known as the European corn worm or European high-flyer, is a moth of the family Crambidae which includes other grass moths. It is a pest of grain, particularly maize (''Zea mays''). The in ...
.
The larva of the vedalia ladybird ''
Rodolia cardinalis'' is a specialist predator on a few species of
Monophlebidae
Monophlebidae is a family of scale insects commonly known as the giant scales or monophlebids. They occur in most parts of the world but more genera are found in the tropics than elsewhere.[Icerya purchasi
''Icerya purchasi'' ( common name: cottony cushion scale) is a scale insect that feeds on more than 80 families of woody plants, most notably on ''Citrus'' and ''Pittosporum''. Originally described in 1878 from specimens collected in New Zealand ...]
''. It was introduced to California in 1887 from Australia, to protect citrus trees from cottony cushion scale. The project was markedly successful, making it "a textbook example of the great potential of classical biological control as a tactic for suppressing invasive pests." The vedalia beetle was then used in 29 countries, again with success. This led to many further attempts to use ladybird species against pests. Around 179 ladybird species were deliberately introduced to North America in the 20th century, of which only 18 became established. Further, establishment does not guarantee effective biological control of the target species. Thus, the vedalia beetle's success looks exceptional compared to the Coccinellidae as a whole; reasons for this include its high prey specificity, short generation time, efficient discovery of host patches, and larval development completed on a single host insect.
Some species are voracious specialist predators, making them valuable as agents of
biological control
Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, such as insects, mites, weeds, and plant diseases, using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms, but typically also invo ...
, at least when rapid impact is required, as with sudden outbreaks of
aphid
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 ...
s on crop plants. However, since many prey are transient or seasonal, high specificity and voracity can equally be a disadvantage. Ladybird species vary in specificity; those that are dominant in specific communities are often rather generalist in their diet. Species that are able to multiply quickly in response to aphid outbreaks are mostly generalists, enabling them to survive on other prey while aphids are scarce. The variability of ladybird responses to prey has made finding suitable species for use as biological control agents difficult; out of 155 deliberate introductions meant to control aphids by the year 2000, only one was deemed to be "substantially successful".
Invasive species
''
Harmonia axyridis
''Harmonia axyridis'' is a large lady beetle or ladybug species that is most commonly known as the harlequin, multicoloured Asian, or Asian lady beetle. This is one of the most variable species in the world, with an exceptionally wide range of col ...
'' (the multicoloured Asian lady beetle or harlequin ladybird) was introduced into North America from Asia in 1979 to control aphids, but it is now the most common species, outcompeting many of the native species.
It has become a domestic and agricultural pest in some regions, and gives cause for ecological concern. It has similarly arrived in South Africa, where it has proved variously unwelcome, perhaps most prominently in vine-related crops. The populations in South Africa and South America originated independently from eastern North America. The population in Europe originated partly from eastern North America, and partly from deliberate introduction as a biological control agent in 1982.
It has since spread to much of western Europe, reaching the UK in 2004.
''
Coccinella septempunctata
''Coccinella septempunctata'', the seven-spot ladybird (or, in North America, seven-spotted ladybug or "C-7"), is the most common ladybird in Europe. Its elytra are of a red colour, but punctuated with three black spots each, with one further spot ...
'', another introduced species in North America, similarly outcompetes and displaces native coccinellids.
Infestations
![Ladybugs wide angle](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Ladybugs_wide_angle.JPG)
In North America, coccinellids usually begin to appear indoors in the autumn when they leave their summer feeding sites in fields, forests, and yards and search out places to spend the winter. Typically, when temperatures warm to the mid-60s °F (around 18 °C) in the late afternoon, following a period of cooler weather, they swarm onto or into buildings illuminated by the sun. Swarms of the insects fly to buildings near fields or woods in September through November depending on weather conditions. After an abnormally long period of hot, dry weather in the
summer of 1976 in the UK, a marked increase in the aphid population was followed by a "plague" of ladybirds, with many reports of people being bitten as the supply of aphids dwindled.
The herbivorous
Mexican bean beetle
The Mexican bean beetle (''Epilachna varivestis'') is a species of lady beetle that can be an agricultural pest. It is one of the few North American lady beetles that feed on plants rather than other insects. It is found throughout Mexico and ...
is an agricultural pest.
The presence of coccinellids in grape harvests can cause
ladybird taint in wines produced from the grapes.
In culture
![Card cutout ladybirds for children's nature trail](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Card_cutout_ladybirds_for_children%27s_nature_trail.jpg)
Ladybirds have long been of interest to children. They once had many regional names in English, such as variations on Bishop-Barnaby (
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
and
Suffolk dialect
East Anglian English is a dialect of English spoken in East Anglia, primarily in or before the mid-20th century. East Anglian English has had a very considerable input into modern Estuary English, which has largely replaced it. However, it has r ...
) – Barnabee, Burnabee, the
Bishop-that-burneth, and bishy bishy barnabee. The etymology is unclear, but it may be from
St. Barnabas's feast in June, when the insect appears, or a corruption of "Bishop-that-burneth", from the fiery
elytra
An elytron (; ; , ) is a modified, hardened forewing of beetles (Coleoptera), though a few of the true bugs (Hemiptera) such as the family Schizopteridae are extremely similar; in true bugs, the forewings are called hemelytra (sometimes alterna ...
of the beetles.
In the 17th century, they were sometimes named "ladycows".
The ladybird was immortalised in the popular children's
nursery rhyme
A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and many other countries, but usage of the term dates only from the late 18th/early 19th century. The term Mother Goose rhymes is interchangeable with nursery rhymes.
From t ...
''
Ladybird Ladybird
"Ladybird! Ladybird!" is the first line of an English-language nursery rhyme that also has German analogues. It is included in the Roud Folk Song Index as number of 16215.
The rhyme
This traditional verse relates to Coccinellidae, ladybirds, ...
'':
This poem has its counterpart in German as ''Marienwürmchen'', collected in ''
Des Knaben Wunderhorn
''Des Knaben Wunderhorn: Alte deutsche Lieder'' (German language, German; "The boy's magic horn: old German songs") is a collection of German folk poems and songs edited by Ludwig Achim von Arnim, Achim von Arnim and Clemens Brentano, and publi ...
'', and set to music by
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...
as Op. 79, No. 13, and a
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
*Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
nursery rhyme
A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and many other countries, but usage of the term dates only from the late 18th/early 19th century. The term Mother Goose rhymes is interchangeable with nursery rhymes.
From t ...
, "Little Ladybirds' Anthem", of which a part ("fly to the sky, little ladybird, bring me a piece of bread") became a saying.
In Christian areas, they are often associated with the
Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
, and the name that the insect bears in the various languages of
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
corresponds to this. Although historically many European languages referenced
Freyja
In Norse paganism, Freyja (Old Norse "(the) Lady") is a goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, sex, war, gold, and seiðr (magic for seeing and influencing the future). Freyja is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a chario ...
, the
fertility
Fertility is the capability to produce offspring through reproduction following the onset of sexual maturity. The fertility rate is the average number of children born by a female during her lifetime and is quantified demographically. Fertili ...
goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...
of
Norse mythology
Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern period ...
, in the names, the Virgin Mary has now largely supplanted her as the "Lady", so that, for example, ''freyjuhœna'' (
Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...
) and ''Frouehenge'' have been changed into ''Mariehone'' in
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
, ''marihøne'' in
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
and ''Marienkäfer'' in
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
. In Swedish it is ''Maria Nyckelpiga'', Mary the key-maid (who holds the key to heaven). Sometimes, the insect is referred to as belonging directly to God, with
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
''bóín Dé'',
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
*Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
''boża krówka'',
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
божья коровка
'bozhya korovka'' and
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
''Vaquilla de Dios'', all meaning 'God's
ittlecow'.
The insects have been used to symbolise
Ladybird Books
Ladybird Books is a London-based publishing company, trading as a stand-alone imprint within the Penguin Group of companies. The Ladybird imprint publishes mass-market children's books.
It is an imprint of Penguin Random House, a subsidiary of ...
(part of
Penguin Group
Penguin Group is a British trade book publisher and part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. The new company was created by a merger that was finalised on 1 July 2013, with Bertelsmann initial ...
), and the Ladybird range of children's clothing sold by the former high street chain
Woolworth's
Woolworth, Woolworth's, or Woolworths may refer to:
Businesses
* F. W. Woolworth Company, the original US-based chain of "five and dime" (5¢ and 10¢) stores
* Woolworths Group (United Kingdom), former operator of the Woolworths chain of shops ...
in the UK, while the ladybird street tile is a symbol against
senseless violence
Senseless violence ( nl, zinloos geweld) is a term frequently used by among others the media, politicians and Non-governmental organization, NGOs to define the nature of several shocking events in Belgium and the Netherlands in recent years. The ...
in the Netherlands, and is often placed on the sites of deadly crimes. They have been adopted as the mascot of
Candanchú
Candanchú is a ski resort situated near the town of Canfranc in the High Aragon of the western Pyrenees (province of Huesca, Spain). The name of the area is an adaptation of French "Camp d'Anjou" as this was originally the site of a milit ...
, a ski resort near
Canfranc
Canfranc () is a municipality in the Aragón Valley of north-eastern Spain consisting of two villages, the original village and ''Canfranc Estación'', which developed with the establishment of Canfranc International railway station to serve railw ...
in the Spanish
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...
. The ladybird serves as a long-standing symbol for the
Swedish People's Party of Finland
The Swedish People's Party of Finland ( sv, Svenska folkpartiet i Finland (SFP); fi, Suomen ruotsalainen kansanpuolue (RKP)) is a political party in Finland aiming to represent the interests of the minority Swedish-speaking population of Finland ...
. Various lady beetle species have been adopted as
US state insects in states such as Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, and Tennessee; some of those designated species, such as ''
Coccinella septempunctata
''Coccinella septempunctata'', the seven-spot ladybird (or, in North America, seven-spotted ladybug or "C-7"), is the most common ladybird in Europe. Its elytra are of a red colour, but punctuated with three black spots each, with one further spot ...
'', are introduced rather than native to North America.
References
Sources
*
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coccinellidae
Beetle families
Articles containing video clips
Biological pest control beetles
Insects used as insect pest control agents
Taxa named by Pierre André Latreille
Insects in culture