ladybird
Coccinella magnifica
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Suborder:	Polyphaga
Superfamily:	Cucujoidea
Family:	Coccinellidae Latreille, 1807 [1]
Subfamilies
Chilocorinae Coccidulinae Coccinellinae Epilachninae Ortaliinae Scymninae Sticholotidinae

The Coccinellidae are a family of beetles, known variously as ladybirds (UK, Ireland, Australia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, South Africa, New Zealand, India, Malta, some parts of Canada and the US), or ladybugs (North America). When they need to use a common name, entomologists widely prefer the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles^[2] as these insects are not true bugs. Lesser-used names include God's cow, ladyclock, lady cow, and lady fly.^[3]

Overview[link]

Coccinellids are small insects, ranging from 1 mm to 10 mm (0.04 to 0.4 inches), and are commonly yellow, orange, or scarlet with small black spots on their wing covers, with black legs, head and antennae. Such color patterns vary greatly however; for example, a minority of species, such as Vibidia duodecimguttata, a twelve-spotted species. has whitish spots on a brown background.

Basic anatomy of a coccinellida

A specimen of Harmonia axyridis in South Africa, freshly out of its pupa. Its black spots will develop as its exoskeleton hardens.

In this coccinellid the black spots are so large that they meet and leave only patches of yellow as spots. In some species the black is so extensive as to form the background to small coloured spots. In some species either type of pattern occurs.

This Yellow Shouldered Ladybird feeding on an Aphid has only two colour spots. Some species have none.

In some species the spots are so large that they merge, leaving the remaining bright colours as spots on a black background. Many coccinellid species are mostly, or entirely, black, grey, or brown and may be difficult for non-entomologists to recognize as coccinellids at all. Conversely,non-entomologists might easily mistake many other small beetles for coccinellids. For example the tortoise beetles, like the ladybird beetles, look similar because they are shaped so that they can cling to a flat surface so closely that ants and many other enemies cannot grip them.

Coccinellids are found worldwide, with over 5,000 species described,^[4] more than 450 native to North America alone.

The Coccinellidae are generally considered useful insects, because many species feed on aphids or scale insects, which are pests in gardens, agricultural fields, orchards, and similar places. However, some species do have unwelcome effects. Among these the most prominent are the subfamily Epilachninae, which are plant eaters. Usually Epilachninae are only mild agricultural pests, eating the leaves of grain, potatoes, beans and various other crops, but their numbers can increase explosively in years when their natural enemies are few, such as parasitoid wasps that attack their eggs. When that happens they can do major crop damage. They occur in practically all the major crop producing regions of temperate and tropical countries.

Harmonia axyridis (or the harlequin ladybird/bug) is an example of how an animal might be partly welcome and partly harmful. It was introduced into North America from Asia in 1916 to control aphids, but is now the most common species, out-competing many of the native species.^[5] It has since spread to much of western Europe, reaching the UK in 2004.^[5][6] It has become something of a domestic and agricultural pest in some regions and gives ecological cause for concern. It similarly has turned up in parts of Africa, where it has proved variously unwelcome, perhaps most prominently in vine-related enterprises.

A common myth, totally unfounded, is that the number of spots on the insect's back indicates its age.^[7][8] In fact the number, shape, and placement of the spots all are determined by the species of the beetle, and are fixed by the time it emerges from its pupa. The same applies to the colour, except that it may take some days before the colour of the adult beetle to mature and stabilise. Generally the mature colour tends to be fuller and darker than the colour of the callow.

Etymology[link]

Coccinelid is derived from the Latin word coccineus meaning scarlet.^[9] The name ladybird originated in Britain where the insects became known as Our Lady's bird or the Lady beetle.^[10][11] Mary (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.^[10] In the United States the name was adapted to ladybug. Common names in other European languages have the same association, for example, the German name Marienkäfer translates to Marybeetle.^[12]

Physical appearance[link]

Most coccinellids have oval, dome-shaped bodies with six short legs. Depending on the species, they can have spots, stripes, or no markings at all. Seven-spotted coccinellidae are red or orange with three spots on each side and one in the middle; they have a black head with white patches on either side.

Biology[link]

See also : List of Coccinellidae genera

Coccinella transversalis, elytra in the open position

Coccinellida larva

Eggs with the head of a match for scale

Coccinellids are typically predators of Hemiptera such as aphids and scale insects, though larvae and eggs of their own species can also be important resources when alternative prey are scarce.

Members of the subfamily Epilachninae are herbivores, and can be very destructive agricultural pests (e.g., the Mexican bean beetle). While predatory species are often used as biological control agents, introduced species of coccinellidae (such as Harmonia axyridis or Coccinella septempunctata in North America) out-compete and displace native coccinellids and become pests in their own right.^[13]

The main predators of coccinellids are usually birds, but they are also the prey of frogs, wasps, spiders, and dragonflies. The bright colours of many coccinellids discourage some potential predators from making a meal of them. This phenomenon is called aposematism and works because predators learn by experience to associate certain prey phenotypes with a bad taste. A further defense known as "reflex bleeding" exists in which an alkaloid toxin is exuded through the joints of the exoskeleton, triggered by mechanical stimulation (such as by predator attack) in both larval and adult beetles, deterring feeding.

Coccinellids in temperate regions enter diapause during the winter, so they often are among the first insects to appear in the spring. Some species (e.g., Hippodamia convergens) gather into groups and move to higher elevated land, such as a mountain, to enter diapause. Most coccinellids overwinter as adults, aggregating on the south sides of large objects such as trees or houses during the winter months, dispersing in response to increasing day length in the spring.^[14]

It is thought that certain species of Coccinellids lay extra infertile eggs with the fertile eggs. These appear to provide 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.^[15]

Predatory coccinellids are usually found on plants which harbour their prey. They lay their eggs near their prey, to increase the likelihood the larvae will find the prey easily. In Harmonia axyridis, eggs hatch in 3–4 days from clutches numbering from a few to several dozen. Depending on resource availability, the larvae pass through four instars over 10–14 days, after which pupation occurs. After a teneral period of several days, the adults become reproductively active and are able to reproduce again, although they may become reproductively quiescent if eclosing late in the season. Total life span is 1–2 years on average.

Infestations and impacts[link]

In the United States, Coccinellids usually begin to appear indoors in the fall. They leave their summer feeding sites in fields, forests and yards looking for a place to spend the winter. Typically when temperatures warm to the mid-60s Fahrenheit in the late afternoon, following a period of cooler weather, they will swarm onto or into buildings illuminated by the sun. Swarms of Coccinellids fly to buildings in September through November depending on location and weather conditions. Also, homes or buildings near fields or woods are more prone to infestation.^[16]

The presence of Coccinellids in grape harvests can cause ladybird taint in wines produced from the grapes.

After an abnormally long period of hot dry weather in the Summer of 1976 in the UK, there was a marked increase in the aphid population followed by a "plague" of Coccinellids, with many reports of people being bitten as the supply of aphids dwindled.^[17][18] Recent studies suggest that Coccinellids can also cause allergic reactions, such as eye irritation or asthma.^[19]

UK ladybird survey[link]

Coccinella septempunctata pair mating.

The ladybird atlas Ladybirds (Coccinellidae) of Britain and Ireland published in 2011^[20] showed a decline of more than 20% in native species due to environmental changes and competition from foreign invaders. The distribution maps, compiled over a twenty year period with help from thousands of volunteers, showed a decline in the numbers of the common 10-spot and 14-spot ladybirds and a number of other species including the 11-spot, 22-spot, Cream-spot, Water and Hieroglyphic ladybirds, Coccidula rufa, Rhyzobius litura and Nephus redtenbacheri. Conversely, increases were seen in the numbers of Harlequin, Orange, Pine and 24-spot ladybirds as well as Rhyzobius chrysomeloides. The Kidney spot ladybird was recorded in Scotland for the first time in recent years, probably due to climate change, and the once-extinct 13-spot was found to have recolonised Cornwall, Devon and the New forest. The most commonly recorded species was the 7-spot, closely followed by the Asian Harlequin — an invader that arrived from continental Europe in 2003 after being introduced to control pests. An 'explosion' in the number of Orange ladybirds, which feed on mildew, is thought to be have been due to the warmer damper conditions that now prevail in parts of England.^[21]

In Popular Culture[link]

Folk History[link]

Ladybird on a nettle leaf.

Coccinellids are and have been for very many years a favorite insect of children. The insects had many regional names (now mostly disused) in English, such as the lady-cows, may-bug, golden-knop, golden-bugs (Suffolk); and variations on Bishop-Barnaby (Norfolk dialect) – Barnabee, Burnabee, the Bishop-that-burneth, and bishy bishy barnabee.^[22] The etymology is unclear but it may be from St. Barnabas feast in June, when the insect appears or a corruption of "Bishop-that-burneth", from the fiery elytra of the beetles.^[23]

The ladybird was immortalized in the still-popular children's nursery rhyme Ladybird, Ladybird:

Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home
Your house is on fire and your children are gone
All except one, and that's Little Anne
For she has crept under the warming pan.

This poem has its counterpart in German as Marienwuermchen, collected in Des Knaben Wunderhorn, and set to music by Robert Schumann as Op. 79, No. 13.

Many cultures consider Coccinellids lucky and have nursery rhymes or local names for the insects that reflect this. For instance, the Turkish name for the insect is uğur böceği, literally meaning good luck bug. In many countries, including Russia, Turkey, and Italy, the sight of a coccinellid is either a call to make a wish or a sign that a wish will soon be granted.

In Christian areas, Coccinellids are often associated with the Virgin Mary and the name that the insect bears in the various languages of Europe corresponds to this. Though historically many European languages referenced Freyja, the fertility goddess of Norse mythology, in the names, the Virgin Mary has now largely supplanted her, so that, for example, freyjuhœna (Old Norse) and Frouehenge have been changed into marihøne (Norwegian) and Marienkäfer (German), which corresponds with Our Lady's Bird.^[24] Sometimes, the insect is referred to as belonging directly to God (Irish bóín Dé, Romanian vaca-Domnului, Polish boża krówka, all meaning "God's [little] cow").^[25] In Dutch it is called lieveheersbeestje, meaning "little animal of our Good Lord".

In both Hebrew and Yiddish, it is called "Moshe Rabbenu's (i.e. Moses's) little cow" or "little horse", apparently an adaptation from Slavic languages. Occasionally, it is called "Little Messiah".^[26]

Popular Media[link]

"Ladybugs" or "ladybirds" feature in a range of children's literature as well as in art, TV, and film. They are often depicted in an anthropomorphic or otherwise fictionalised manner.

In Roald Dahl's children's book James and the Giant Peach, The Ladybird (among a cast of anthropomorphic minibeast characters grown to human size) becomes perhaps the closest friend of the protagonist James, treating him with motherly affection. In the American-produced 1996 animated film version, she was voiced by Jane Leeves and renamed The Ladybug, despite Leeves' northern English interpretation.

In the animated film A Bug's Life, Francis the Ladybug (voiced by Dennis Leary) is an aggressive Coccinellid and the clown in P.T. Flea's circus. The contrast between him being a male and a 'lady'bug is a recurring joke in the film.

Tree Fu Tom features ladybirds as "cows" being ranched by a southern-belle cowgirl.

Ledyba and Ledian of the Pokémon series are based on Coccinellids.

As a logo[link]

Symbol of the Dutch Foundation Against Senseless Violence

Bold colors and simple shape have led to use as a logo for a wide range of organizations and companies including:

• Ladybird Books (owned by Pearson PLC)
• Ladybird range of children's clothing sold by Woolworths.co.uk and formerly by the (now defunct) Woolworth's chain store in the UK
• Polish supermarket chain Biedronka
• Atmel AVR Studio software logo
• Estonian mobile operator EMT^[27]
• Software development firm Axosoft.
• Symbol of the Finnish Swedish People's Party.
• The ladybird street tile (pictured) is a symbol against senseless violence in The Netherlands and is often placed on the sites of deadly crimes.^[28]

In addition, it has been chosen as

• State insect of: Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, and Tennessee, though only New York has selected a species native to the United States (Coccinella novemnotata); the other states have all adopted an invasive European species (Coccinella septempunctata).
• An "official national mascot"^[29] for Alpha Sigma Alpha, a national sorority in the United States.

References[link]

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/animals/creaturefeature/ladybug/

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Coccinellidae

Wikispecies has information related to: Coccinellidae

• The Lost Ladybug Project Ongoing North American Ladybeetle Survey and Citizen Science Project based at Cornell University - Submit Photos
• Ladybirds of Australia
• Harlequin Ladybird survey in the British Isles
• Biological control: Predators: Lady beetles Cornell University's Guide to natural enemies in North America
• Lady Beetles of Florida on the UF / IFAS Featured Creatures Web site