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Lady Bugs (Coccinellidae)
Coccinellidae is the name of the family of the ladybugs (also calles ladybirds) represented in Europe with 88 species. Ladybugs are usually distinguished by color and the number of spots on the wing case. The most common beetle of this family is the "Sevenspotted Lady Beetle" (Coccinella septempunctata, see the pictures above) whose coloration is very constant. It has a red base color with seven black spots on the wing case.
The species Adalia bipunctata (Twospotted Ladybug) on the other hand has a very variable coloration: The "normal" coloration is a red base color with two (Bipunctata) black spots, but there are two "inverted" variations with black base color and either four or six spots (see the pictures above of Adalia bipunctata). Although they don't have the same number of spots they still belong to the same species. The red variant is more likely to survive the winter whereas the black variant is capable of propagating itself faster than the red variant. This results in more red variants (and less black variants) in the spring and more black variants (and less red variants) in the fall.
Note that the number of spots does not indicate the age of a ladybird! Ladybugs usually only become one year old.
The coloring of many ladybug serves as deterrent for predators and points out that ladybugs can secrete a yellow liquid that smells and taste disgusting (see the first picture of Coccinella septempunctata).
Many ladybird species are carnivorous and devour numerous plant lice in their lives (as larva and as adult beetle).
But there are also species that are herbivorous such as "Thea vigintiduopunctata" (see the picture above) which eat mildew.
The fact that many ladybugs eat agricultural pests has made them to one of the most polpular and favoured beetle families in the world.
Below the image gallery of ladybugs:
Please notice the Licencing Information for these pictures!
(Click on an image to enlarge it)
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