Hosts or Prey
Aphids primarily
Identification
The adult lady beetle (ladybug or ladybird beetle) is 1/6 to 1/4 inch (4–6 mm) long with bright red to yellowish red wing covers. There are no spots on the wing covers except there may be two pale blotches immediately behind the thorax. The thorax is black and pale yellowish or white. Adults are round when viewed from above and dome shaped (convex) when viewed from the side. Females have a black and white frons (area on the head between the black eyes and above the mouthparts). The frons on males is white.
Eggs are football shaped and about 1/25 inch (1 mm) long. They are orange to yellow and laid on end in a group of about 10. Larvae have long legs and resemble tiny alligators up to about 1/4 inch (6 mm) long. They are black with yellow or white or both.
Pupae are oval and about 1/5 inch (5 mm) long. They occur openly with their rear end glued to plant parts. Pupae are initially pale then become brown, or orange with black and whitish.
Lookalikes
Adults of Cycloneda munda, C. polita, and Cycloneda sanguinea, all have orange or red wing covers with no spots except some whitish immediately behind the thorax and a thorax that is black and white or yellowish. Cycloneda sanguinea on each side of the thorax has a white or yellowish spot surrounded by black, which C. munda and C. polita lack. On each side of the thorax of C. munda and C. polita is a white or yellowish C shape, almost a complete ring, or uncommonly a complete circle.
Cycloneda munda and C. polita can generally be distinguished by the color or their legs and wing covers. The legs of C. munda are yellowish brown and C. polita has black or dark brown legs. The wing covers of C. munda are generally orange while C. polita typically has more reddish wing covers. However, either species can have orange or red wing covers. Expert dissection and examination of male genitalia may be necessary to confidently distinguish the species.
Life Cycle
Lady beetles develop through 4 life stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Adult females lay eggs in a group of about 10 to 20. After hatching, larvae develop through 4 increasingly larger instars. Mature larvae pupate glued to plants with the shriveled skin of the last instar at the bottom (rear) of the pupa.
Adults live longer when nectar and pollen are available for nourishment. An adult female consumes about 300 aphids during her several week life span. Each larva consumes about 400 aphids during its development. The western blood-red lady beetle has several generations per year.
Habitat
The western blood-red lady beetle can occur most places where plants are infested with aphids. Their habitat includes field and tree crops, gardens, landscapes, and wildlands.
To improve biological control
- Control ants because they attack lady beetles and other natural enemies.
- Grow flowering insectary plants to provide nectar and pollen to feed adult natural enemies.
- Reduce dustiness that disrupts the activities of natural enemies (e.g., periodically hose off small plants).
- Avoid the application of broad-spectrum, persistent insecticides for all pests because they are toxic to natural enemies.
See Protecting Natural Enemies and Pollinators for more information.
Species
At least 191 species of lady beetles occur in California. These include 3 similar-looking Cycloneda species: C. munda, C. polita, and C. sanguinea. All of these Cycloneda species are sometimes called spotless lady beetles.
More Information
- The California Beetle Database, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History
- The Coccinellidae (Coleoptera) of America North of Mexico, Journal of the New York Entomological Society
- Genus Cycloneda - Spotless Lady Beetles, BugGuide, Iowa State University
- Larval Systematics of North American Cycloneda Crotch (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), Entomologica Scandinavica
- Monarch, collections database, California Academy of Sciences
- The New World Genus Cycloneda Crotch (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae): Historical Review, New Diagnosis, New Generic and Specific Synonyms, and an Improved Key to North American Species, Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington
Scientific classification:
- Phylum: Arthropoda
- Class: Insecta
- Order: Coleoptera
- Family: Coccinellidae
