#3495 · 🪲 beetles

Spotted Pink Lady Beetle

Coleomegilla maculata

🪲 Beetles 📍 outside Europe

10 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences

1. © Mike Quinn, San Marcos · CC BY-NC 4.0
2. © James Nelson · CC BY-NC 4.0
3. © Alex Bairstow · CC BY-NC 4.0
4. © Dusty · CC BY-NC 4.0
5. © Kimberlie Sasan · CC BY-ND 4.0
6. © Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org · CC BY 4.0
7. © Cayla N · CC BY-NC 4.0
8. © Tiarelle · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
9. © grinnin · CC BY-NC 4.0
10. © Gary James · CC BY-NC 4.0

what is it?

Coleomegilla maculata , commonly known as the spotted lady beetle , pink spotted lady beetle or twelve-spotted lady beetle , is a large coccinellid beetle native to North America. The adults and larvae feed primarily on aphids and the species has been used as a biological control agent. Based on name connotation and to avoid confusion with other species also called "spotted ladybeetle", spotted pink ladybeetle is probably the most appropriate common name for this species.

base stats

NL sightings 0iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 31,732iNaturalist observations

Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).

fun facts

No confirmed wild sightings in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: you'd have to travel for this one.
31,732 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
Scientifically named by Charles De Geer in 1775 (251 years ago).