Coccinella septempunctata - Seven-spot Ladybird, Seven-spotted Ladybug

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

Coccinella (Coccinella) septempunctata Linnaeus, 1758

Siebenpunkt-Marienkäfer Seven-spot Ladybird

Synonyms and other combinations:

Coccinella (Coccinella) divaricata Olivier, 1808 | Coccinella (Coccinella) brucki Mulsant, 1866 |

Coccinella septempunctata Linnaeus, 1758 Siebenpunkt-Marienkäfer Seven-spot Ladybird
Coccinella septempunctata
DE, Chemnitz; 2004-06-06 13:05:51
Image number: 2675

DE, Chemnitz
2004-06-06 13:05:51
Coccinella septempunctata Linnaeus, 1758 Siebenpunkt-Marienkäfer Seven-spot Ladybird
Coccinella septempunctata
DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald; 2005-06-11 14:47:59
Image number: 2771

DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald
2005-06-11 14:47:59
Coccinella septempunctata Linnaeus, 1758 Siebenpunkt-Marienkäfer Seven-spot Ladybird
Coccinella septempunctata
DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald; 2006-07-30 13:19:58
Image number: 2754

DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald
2006-07-30 13:19:58
Coccinella septempunctata Linnaeus, 1758 Siebenpunkt-Marienkäfer Seven-spot Ladybird
Coccinella septempunctata
DE, Chemnitz, Hutholz; 2008-09-13 12:35:09
Image number: 2729

DE, Chemnitz, Hutholz
2008-09-13 12:35:09
Coccinella septempunctata Linnaeus, 1758 Siebenpunkt-Marienkäfer Seven-spot Ladybird
Coccinella septempunctata
DE, Chemnitz, Hutholz; 2011-04-03 11:13:07
Image number: 4497

DE, Chemnitz, Hutholz
2011-04-03 11:13:07
Coccinella septempunctata Linnaeus, 1758 Siebenpunkt-Marienkäfer Seven-spot Ladybird
Coccinella septempunctata
DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald; 2018-08-19 14:17:20
Image number: 2757

DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald
2018-08-19 14:17:20
Coccinella septempunctata Linnaeus, 1758 Siebenpunkt-Marienkäfer Seven-spot Ladybird
Coccinella septempunctata
DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald; 2007-06-03 12:24:55
Image number: 2742

DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald
2007-06-03 12:24:55
Coccinella septempunctata Linnaeus, 1758 Siebenpunkt-Marienkäfer Seven-spot Ladybird
Coccinella septempunctata, mating
DE, Chemnitz, Hutholz; 2012-08-05 14:21:52
Image number: 5572
mating
DE, Chemnitz, Hutholz
2012-08-05 14:21:52
Coccinella septempunctata Linnaeus, 1758 Siebenpunkt-Marienkäfer Seven-spot Ladybird
Coccinella septempunctata, conf. Christoph Benisch
DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald; 2021-05-09 13:55:53
Image number: 9927

DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald
2021-05-09 13:55:53
conf. Christoph Benisch
Coccinella septempunctata Linnaeus, 1758 Siebenpunkt-Marienkäfer Seven-spot Ladybird
Coccinella septempunctata, larva
DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald; 2013-07-22 10:02:18
Image number: 6444
larva
DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald
2013-07-22 10:02:18
Coccinella septempunctata Linnaeus, 1758 Siebenpunkt-Marienkäfer Seven-spot Ladybird
Coccinella septempunctata, larva
DE, Chemnitz, Harthwald; 2015-06-14 12:24:04
Image number: 7006
larva
DE, Chemnitz, Harthwald
2015-06-14 12:24:04

Further vernacular names:

Seven-spotted Ladybug

Classification:

Coccinella septempunctata belongs to the subfamily Coccinellinae, tribe Coccinellini.

Distribution:

Europe, Asia, North America.

Habitat:

Meadows, fields, steppes, gardens, parks, deciduous and mixed forests.

Description:

The 5.2 - 8 mm large Seven-spot Ladybird Coccinella septempunctata has red elytra with 7 (small) black spots and a bulge at the side edge of the elytra. At the inner eye edges of the black head there are 2 white spots. The pronotum is black, with white side spots on the front corners. The white side spots of the pronotum overlap only as narrow seam to 1/3 to the back of the underside. The legs are black.
Further characteristics of the genus: ventral thorax with two keel lines, tibia with two end spurs (thickened bristles), claws toothed.

Biology:

After mating, the females of Coccinella septempunctata lay their eggs in batches of about 10 to 50 pieces on the underside of the leaves of plants infested with aphids. The most important food source of the larvae are aphids, of which a single larva eats more than 400 in the course of its development. In addition to aphids, thrips (Thysanoptera), whiteflies (Aleyrodidae), larvae of psyllids (Psyllidae) and leafhoppers (Cicadellidae) and eggs and larvae of some beetle and butterfly species are eaten. Occasionally, cannibalism occurs among conspecifics. The larvae pass through 4 larval stages until pupation. The development time from egg to adult beetle in Central Europe is about 40 days. It is influenced by environmental conditions such as temperature and food supply.
The Seven-spot Ladybird hibernates as an adult in the litter, under tree bark and in other protected places. Coccinella septempunctata forms one, sometimes also a partial 2nd generation in Central Europe and 2 generations in Southern Europe.

Natural enemies:

The adults of the Seven-spot Ladybird have very few natural enemies. In the event of a threat, toxic secretions from the glands between the femora and tibia can be released by the beetles (reflex bleeding). These secretions are toxic to many predators, such as birds and small mammals. The high-contrast colouring of the beetles is an indication of toxinity and helps to deter predators.
Other enemies of Coccinella septempunctata are parasitic wasps of the families Eulophidae (Chalcidoidea) and Braconidae, e.g. <Dinocampus coccinellae.

References, further reading, links:

de Jong, Y.S.D.M. (ed.) (2013) Fauna Europaea version 2.6.2 Web Service available online at https://fauna-eu.org/
Keith J. Bensusan, Josep Muñoz Batet & Charles E. Perez: Coccinella algerica Kovář, 1977: A New Species to the Fauna of Mainland Europe, and a Key to the Coccinella Linnaeus, 1758 of Iberia, the Maghreb and the Canary Islands (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae), Boletín Sociedad Entomológica Aragonesa, no 39 (2006):323−327.
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