Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods) ➔ Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods) ➔ Class Insecta (Insects) ➔ Order Coleoptera (Beetles) ➔ Family Coccinellidae (Ladybirds)

Aphidecta obliterata (Linnaeus, 1758)

Nadelbaum-Marienkäfer Larch Ladybird

Synonyms and other combinations:

Coccinella obliterata Linnaeus, 1758 | Coccinella livida DeGeer, 1775 | Coccinella pallida Thunberg, 1784 | Coccinella sexnotata Thunberg, 1784 | Coccinella m-nigrum Fabricius, 1792 | Coccinella obsoleta Schneider, D. H., 1792 | Coccinella formosa Gravenhorst, 1807 |

  • Aphidecta obliterata  2696
    Aphidecta obliterata (Linnaeus, 1758)  Nadelbaum-Marienkäfer  Larch Ladybird 
    Aphidecta obliterata
    DE, Chemnitz, Markersdorf; 2009-02-07 15:11:00
    Image number: 2696

    DE, Chemnitz, Markersdorf
    2009-02-07 15:11:00


Further vernacular names:
Larch Ladybug
Classification:
Aphidecta obliterata belongs to the subfamily Coccinellinae, tribe Coccinellini.
Distribution:
Europe, Asia Minor, Caucasus; introduced to North America for pest control.
Habitat:
Coniferous and mixed forests: On Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and other pine species, Norway spruce (Picea abies) and European larch (Larix decidua).
Description:
Apidecta obliterata is the only species of the genus in Central Europe.
The Larch Ladybird has a body length of 3.3 - 5 mm. Its upper side is usually dirty yellow to brownish, the underside black. A blurred dark spot is often found in the rear third of the oblong elytra. This can be missing or further extended. In extreme case, the entire beetle appears black. The pronotum is finely edged at the base and widest behind the middle. The middle and hind femora tower above the edges of the elytra. The middle and rear tibia have no spurs.
The colour polymorphism should only be pronounced in females. The males of Apidecta obliterata are usually monochrome brownish and smaller than the females.
Biology:
Both the adults and the larvae of the Larch Ladybird feed on various species of plant lice that develop on conifers (Adelgidae, Aphididae). Apidecta obliterata overwinters as adult in sheldered sites, such as bark crevices at the bases of trunks of conifers. The species forms one generation per year.

References, further reading, links:
  1. de Jong, Y.S.D.M. (ed.) (2013) Fauna Europaea version 2.6.2 Web Service available online at https://fauna-eu.org/
  2. O. Eichhorn, P. Graf: Sex‐linked Colour Polymorphism in Aphidecta obliterata L. (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), Zeitschrift für Angewandte Entomologie, Volume 67, Issue 1‐4, p. 225-231.