"Home-grown ladybirds put to flight by alien invasion". Ilma, Blat u Hajja: Is-Sisien tal-Ambjent Naturali Malti (in Maltese). ^ Savoiskaya, G.I., Coccinellid Larvae (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae) of the Fauna of the USSR (Nauka, Leningrad Branch, Leningrad, 1983) ( Keys to the Fauna of the USSR, Published by the Zoological Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, No.Seven-spotted lady beetle Seven-spotted ladybug". ^ " Coccinella septempunctata (Linnaeus,1758:365).In the United States, it is also the official state insect of five different states ( Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Tennessee). septempunctata has been designated the national insect of Finland. The species has undergone significant declines on the island of Malta, yet it is unclear whether this decline has occurred at the same rate elsewhere. septempunctata took place in the drought summer of 1976 in the UK. In North America, this species has outcompeted many native species, including other Coccinella. It has since spread by natural dispersion to New York and Connecticut and to Oklahoma, Georgia and Delaware by recolonization. The first record of successful establishment (after numerous failed attempts to introduce the species) in the United States was in 1973. The species has been repeatedly introduced to North America as a biological control agent to reduce aphid numbers. Interaction with humans Biological control, introductions, and infestations The species can be found in Europe, North Africa, Australia, Cyprus, European Russia, the Caucasus, Siberia, the Russian Far East, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, the Transcaucasia, Kazakhstan, Middle Asia, Western Asia, Middle East, Afghanistan, Mongolia, China, North and South Korea, Pakistan, Nepal, North India, Japan, Sri Lanka, southeast Asia, and tropical Africa. The seven-spot ladybird synthesizes the toxic alkaloids, N-oxide coccinelline and its free base precoccinelline depending on sex and diet, the spot size and coloration can provide some indication of how toxic the individual insect is to potential predators. A threatened ladybird may both play dead and secrete the unappetising substance to protect itself. The species can secrete a fluid from joints in their legs which gives them a foul taste. Their distinctive spots and conspicuous colours warn of their toxicity, making them unappealing to predators. ![]() In addition to insect prey, seven-spot lady-birds consume pollen and nectar.Īn adult seven-spot ladybird may reach a body length of 7.6–12.7 mm (0.3–0.5 in). In the United Kingdom, there are fears that the seven-spot ladybird is being outcompeted for food by the harlequin ladybird. ![]() ![]() This includes, amongst other biotopes, meadows, fields, Pontic–Caspian steppe, parkland, gardens, Western European broadleaf forests and mixed forests. septempunctata has a broad ecological range, generally living wherever there are aphids for it to eat. ![]() Adults overwinter in ground litter in parks, gardens and forest edges and under tree bark and rocks.Ĭ. There are one or two generations per year. septempunctata larvae and adults mainly eat aphids, they also feed on Thysanoptera, Aleyrodidae, on the larvae of Psyllidae and Cicadellidae, and on eggs and larvae of some beetles and butterflies. Its elytra are of a red colour, but punctuated with three black spots each, with one further spot being spread over the junction of the two, making a total of seven spots, from which the species derives both its common and scientific names (from the Latin septem = "seven" and punctus = "spot").Īlthough C. Coccinella septempunctata, the seven-spot ladybird (or, in North America, seven-spotted ladybug or " C-7" ), is the most common ladybird in Europe.
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