Eleven-spot ladybird, Eleven-spotted lady beetle
Coccinella undecimpunctata, the eleven-spot ladybird or eleven-spotted lady beetle, it is native to central Asia, though commonly found in Europe, and formerly North America as its populations are decreasing. It is of the family Coccinellidae, commonly referred to as ladybugs or lady beetles.
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
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OviparousOviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
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starts withC. undecimpunctata is a lady beetle with eleven black spots found on its red/orange elytra. Its size can range from around 4.0 to 5.0mm. It may look like this beetle has six spots on each elytron, however the black spot in the center of the elytra, just behind the pronotum, counts as just one.
Endemic to the Palearctic - Europe, North Africa, European Russia, the Caucasus, Siberia, the Russian Far East, Ukraine, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Middle Asia, Western Asia, Afghanistan, Mongolia, China, Pakistan, North India. C. undecimpunctata has been introduced to Australia as a biological control agent. It has been said that C. undecimpunctata was introduced to New Zealand as a form of pest control as well, however this has proven to be false.
C. undecimpunctata feeds on aphids associated with grasses - in fields, in ruderal biotopes, on steppe (including Pannonian steppe), stone quarries, wastelands, dry forest edges in meadows and coastal meadow, in open habitats with grasses, and near rivers. Frequently in biotopes with Ammophila arenaria it also occurs on alluvial soils, detritus, on dead grass and in biotopes with Salix purpurea. It is salt resistant and can feed on aphids inhabiting Atriplex tatarica and other grasses associated with saline areas.
C. undecimpunctata reproduces sexually, and has a tendency to cannibalize other individuals/pairs eggs. They do this because it improves their own eggs viability, increases their fecundity, and decreases development time of remaining offspring. However, these benefits depend on which sex is cannibalizing eggs—paternal cannibalization increases fecundity and egg viability, where maternal cannibalization only increases egg viability. If both parents cannibalize eggs, pupation and general developmental time decreases.
