awenninger's Journal

Native Lady Beetle Highlight – The Cream-spotted Lady Beetle

The cream-spotted lady beetle (Calvia quatuordecimguttata) is an early-emerging lady beetle you might already have seen out and about this spring. What’s really exciting about this lady beetle is the wide variety of color patterns this one species is characterized by. The name “cream-spotted” comes from the color form of the species that is black in color and speckled with white to pink spots. However, in Alaska this lady beetle also has another common color form that looks pink with black spots! To further complicate matters, sometimes the spots are coalesced into larger splotches or swirls, and sometimes red spots are thrown into the mix. I am always excited to meet a new color form of this lady beetle, the photo below is from the species’ BugGuide page and showcases several, but not all, of the color variations.

The cream-spotted lady beetle tends to be arboreal, meaning it lives and feeds in trees. It feeds on a variety of small arthropods, including aphids, psyllids, and mites.

Calling all lady beetle enthusiasts! I've set up a project aimed at celebrating our native lady beetles while also gathering information on the distribution and diversity of lady beetles around the state of Alaska. Any observations of lady beetles made in Alaska will automatically be included in the project; prior to 2023 there were 377 lady beetle observations uploaded to iNaturalist, I'm excited to see how many we can spot this year! If you'd like to peruse our beautiful lady beetles you can do so here: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/alaska-lady-beetle-community-science-project

Native Lady Beetle Highlight – The Three-banded Lady Beetle

The three-banded lady beetle (Coccinella trifasciata) has orange to red elytra that feature a wide, black band across the anterior, as well as a divided band at each the middle and hind end of the elytra. The black bands are often surrounded by a pale, yellow ring. This species has been observed as early as April and as late as October in Alaska, and is found throughout both interior and Southcentral Alaska. The three-banded lady beetle largely feeds on aphids on shrubs, forbs, and grasses.

Native Lady Beetle Highlight – The Thirteen-spotted Lady Beetle

The thirteen-spotted lady beetle (Hippodamia tredecimpunctata) is characterized by having 13 small, black spots on its gold to orange elytra. (Though in some cases the three spots near the center/anterior of the elytra may be fused together, giving the appearance of less than 13 spots.) This species prefers marshy habitat and meadows, often associated with lakesides, river deltas, and flood plains. You can most often find the thirteen-spotted lady beetle on grasses and sedges where it feeds on aphids, but it also can be found in some crop systems or in gardens. This species is found throughout most of the Northern hemisphere, however, it is unfortunately in serious decline in some parts of Eastern Canada. The decline of this species (and several others) has been associated with changes in land use and introduction of non-native lady beetles.

Native Lady Beetle Highlight – Lady Beetle Life Cycle and Larval Stage

This week’s native lady beetle highlight isn’t of any one particular species, but rather highlights the life cycle of lady beetles, particularly the larval stage. The lady beetle life cycle proceeds through four distinct stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. The lady beetle is only in the egg stage for about a week before it emerges as a larva. Lady beetle larvae are voracious eaters, typically of other small invertebrates such as aphids, mites, and insect eggs, but some species of lady beetle also feed on fungi. Lady beetles spend several weeks feeding and developing as larvae. Once they have progressed through their larval development they anchor themselves to a substrate, often a leaf or plant stem, to undergo pupation. The pupa is a non-feeding stage of life during which the larval body undergoes many changes, transforming it into its adult form. The pupal stage typically only lasts a week or two, after which the lady beetle spends the rest of its life in its adult form.

The larvae look quite a bit different from the adults; they have slender bodies with agile legs and often appear spikey, almost reminiscent of very tiny alligators. They are typically black in color and often feature white or orange markings, though some species are lighter grey in color.
Lady beetle larvae can sometimes be confused with leaf beetle larvae in appearance; lady beetle larvae typically have longer, more slender legs whereas leaf beetle larvae have shorter legs. Leaf beetle larvae also differ in that they feed on plant tissue and often are found in association with feeding damage on trees or shrubs.