Native Lady Beetle Highlight – The Sickle-marked Lady Beetle (Hippodamia falcigera)

The sickle-marked lady beetle is one of our species of lady beetles that bears stripes rather than spots. The elytra are yellow to gold in color and feature three longitudinal stripes – one down the center that tapers near the end, and one on each elytron that makes a small, sickle-like curl near the end. The sickle-marked lady beetle is typically found in wet, marshy habitat where it feeds predominantly on aphids.

Native Lady Beetle Highlight – The Transverse Lady Beetle (Coccinella transversoguttata)

The transverse lady beetle is one of our most commonly encountered lady beetles here in Alaska. It gets its name from the wide, horizontal band near the front of its gold to red elytra. The transverse lady beetle does well in a variety of habitats including forests, meadows, parks, gardens, and agricultural fields where it feeds predominantly on aphids but also other small, soft-bodied arthropods.

This species has been in decline throughout many parts of North America; unfortunately, other states and Canadian provinces have reported seeing remarkable declines in the transverse lady beetle after introduction of the non-native seven-spotted lady beetle and/or multicolored Asian lady beetle. Once abundant throughout Canada, the transverse lady beetle has not been detected in over two decades across five Canadian provinces, and has been reduced to small populations in four others. The seven-spotted lady beetle has begun to show up in some urban areas of Alaska which has sparked some concern about the potential for negative impacts on our native transverse lady beetle population.

Native Lady Beetle Highlight – The Twenty-spotted Lady Beetle (Psyllobora vigintimaculata)

The twenty-spotted lady beetle is one of our smallest species of lady beetles in Alaska. This little beauty measures in at only 1.75-3 mm long, which is only about a third of the size of our large eye-spotted lady beetle that was highlighted a few weeks ago. The twenty-spotted lady beetle is cream-colored with many dark brown spots that often coalesce into zig-zag like patterns. The last few weeks I’ve highlighted many of our aphid-feeding species, however, the twenty-spotted lady beetle differs in that it feeds predominantly on fungus; this species is often found on shrubs and other vegetation feeding on powdery mildews from the leaf surfaces.

Native Lady Beetle Highlight – Lady Beetle Life Cycle and Larval Stage

This week’s native lady beetle highlight isn’t of any one particular species, but rather highlights the life cycle of lady beetles, particularly the larval stage. The lady beetle life cycle proceeds through four distinct stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. The lady beetle is only in the egg stage for about a week before it emerges as a larva. Lady beetle larvae are voracious eaters, typically of other small invertebrates such as aphids, mites, and insect eggs, but some species of lady beetle also feed on fungi. Lady beetles spend several weeks feeding and developing as larvae. Once they have progressed through their larval development they anchor themselves to a substrate, often a leaf or plant stem, to undergo pupation. The pupa is a non-feeding stage of life during which the larval body undergoes many changes, transforming it into its adult form. The pupal stage typically only lasts a week or two, after which the lady beetle spends the rest of its life in its adult form.

The larvae look quite a bit different from the adults; they have slender bodies with agile legs and often appear spikey, almost reminiscent of very tiny alligators. They are typically black in color and often feature white or orange markings, though some species are lighter grey in color.
Lady beetle larvae can sometimes be confused with leaf beetle larvae in appearance; lady beetle larvae typically have longer, more slender legs whereas leaf beetle larvae have shorter legs. Leaf beetle larvae also differ in that they feed on plant tissue and often are found in association with feeding damage on trees or shrubs.

Native Lady Beetle Highlight – The Thirteen-spotted Lady Beetle

The thirteen-spotted lady beetle (Hippodamia tredecimpunctata) is characterized by having 13 small, black spots on its gold to orange elytra. (Though in some cases the three spots near the center/anterior of the elytra may be fused together, giving the appearance of less than 13 spots.) This species prefers marshy habitat and meadows, often associated with lakesides, river deltas, and flood plains. You can most often find the thirteen-spotted lady beetle on grasses and sedges where it feeds on aphids, but it also can be found in some crop systems or in gardens. This species is found throughout most of the Northern hemisphere, however, it is unfortunately in serious decline in some parts of Eastern Canada. The decline of this species (and several others) has been associated with changes in land use and introduction of non-native lady beetles.

Native Lady Beetle Highlight – The Three-banded Lady Beetle

The three-banded lady beetle (Coccinella trifasciata) has orange to red elytra that feature a wide, black band across the anterior, as well as a divided band at each the middle and hind end of the elytra. The black bands are often surrounded by a pale, yellow ring. This species has been observed as early as April and as late as October in Alaska, and is found throughout both interior and Southcentral Alaska. The three-banded lady beetle largely feeds on aphids on shrubs, forbs, and grasses.

Native Lady Beetle Highlight – The Cream-spotted Lady Beetle

The cream-spotted lady beetle (Calvia quatuordecimguttata) is an early-emerging lady beetle you might already have seen out and about this spring. What’s really exciting about this lady beetle is the wide variety of color patterns this one species is characterized by. The name “cream-spotted” comes from the color form of the species that is black in color and speckled with white to pink spots. However, in Alaska this lady beetle also has another common color form that looks pink with black spots! To further complicate matters, sometimes the spots are coalesced into larger splotches or swirls, and sometimes red spots are thrown into the mix. I am always excited to meet a new color form of this lady beetle, the photo below is from the species’ BugGuide page and showcases several, but not all, of the color variations.

The cream-spotted lady beetle tends to be arboreal, meaning it lives and feeds in trees. It feeds on a variety of small arthropods, including aphids, psyllids, and mites.

The following is a list of lady beetle species known from Alaska (as of May 2023), based on specimen data and literature records cataloged by the University of Alaska Museum of the North Entomology Collection (available through the Arctos database). The species are organized by subfamily, and when available I added the species' common name in quotations.

FAMILY COCCINELLIDAE (“Lady beetles”)

Subfamily Chilocorinae
Brumoides septentrionis
Chilocorus stigma – “Twice-stabbed lady beetle”

Subfamily Coccidulinae
Coccidula lepida – “Snow lady beetle”

Subfamily Coccinellidae
Adalia bipunctata – “Two-spotted lady beetle”
Anatis mali – “Eye-spotted lady beetle”
Anisosticta bitriangularis – “Marsh lady beetle”
Anisosticta borealis
Calvia quatuordecimguttata – “Cream-spotted lady beetle”
Ceratomegilla ulkei
Coccinella californica – “California lady beetle”
Coccinella fulgida – “Gleaming lady beetle”
Coccinella hieroglyphica – “Hieroglyphic lady beetle”
Coccinella johnsoni (considered by some to be a subspecies of C. californica)
Coccinella monticola – “Mountain lady beetle”
Coccinella transversoguttata – “Transverse lady beetle”
Coccinella trifasciata – “Three-banded lady beetle”
Hippodamia americana – “American lady beetle”
Hippodamia arctica
Hippodamia expurgata – “Expurgate lady beetle”
Hippodamia falcigera – “Sickle-marked lady beetle”
Hippodamia parenthesis – “Parenthesis lady beetle”
Hippodamia quinquesignata – “Five-spotted lady beetle”
Hippodamia sinuata – “Sinuate lady beetle”
Hippodamia washingtoni - “Washington’s lady beetle” – please collect this species if you see it and send to the University of Alaska Museum, this species has been identified on iNaturalist however no specimens have yet been included in the statewide insect collection at UAM. Information on submitting specimens can be found here: https://www.uaf.edu/museum/collections/ento/donations/
Hippodamia tredecimpunctata – “Thirteen-spotted lady beetle”
Macronaemia episcopalis – “Episcopal lady beetle”
Mulsantina hudsonica – “Hudsonian lady beetle”
Myzia pullata – “Streaked lady beetle”
Psyllobora vigintimaculata – “Twenty-spotted lady beetle”

Subfamily Scymninae
Didion punctatum
Nephus georgei – “George’s lady beetle”
Nephus ornatus – “Ornate lady beetle”

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NON-NATIVE SPECIES (may be found in the state but arrived through human introduction):
Coccinella septempunctata - "Seven-spotted lady beetle", introduced to North America from Europe, considered invasive in some states/provinces due to competition with key native species resulting in reduction of native lady beetle populations
Hippodamia convergens - "Convergent lady beetle", introduced in Alaska but native farther south in North America where it is wild-collected and sold commercially. It is unclear whether this species is established in Alaska, but even without establishment there are risks posed by continuing to introduce these lady beetles. The Xerces society has an article that describes some of the the risks of releasing these commercially collected beetles even in areas where the species is native: https://xerces.org/sites/default/files/2018-07/18-018_01Xerces%20Soceity%20Lady%20beelte%20Release%20Statement.pdf

Native Lady Beetle Highlight - The Two-Spotted Lady Beetle (Adalia bipunctata)

The name “two-spotted lady beetle” is a little bit of a misnomer here in Alaska. The typical form of this lady beetle has nice orange to red wing covers over the back (called ‘elytra’), each with a single black spot. However, this species has a beautiful variety of different color patterns, and different individuals of this species might have anywhere from 0 to 14 spots! Here in southcentral Alaska I most often see the versions with a row of spots in the middle of the elytra and another near the rear of the elytra, which are sometimes coalesced into a wavy band as shown in the photo.

The two-spotted lady beetle prefers hanging out in trees and shrubs where it feeds on aphids, mites, insect eggs, and other small, soft-bodied insect prey. In spring, adults may also feed on pollen, nectar, or honeydew for energy.

This species has been in decline in many parts of its native range, both in North America and in Europe. Factors such as habitat loss, competition from introduced lady beetles, pathogens, and parasites are thought to be causes for these declines. My hope is that here in Alaska we can learn from the impacts these factors have had elsewhere in the United States and prevent the same demise to our own two-spotted lady beetles.

Native Lady Beetle Highlight – The Eye-spotted Lady Beetle (Anatis mali)

The Eye-spotted Lady Beetle is one of our largest species of lady beetles in Alaska. This pretty giant can grow up to nearly a centimeter long and features a red to brown body color with many black spots that are each surrounded by a pale ring. This species is encountered throughout both interior and southcentral Alaska, though it seems to be more commonly observed in the interior. This lady beetle is an important predator of aphids and other small insects in trees, both in conifers and hardwoods. In spring they are often observed on trunks of birch or aspen where their red bodies stand out against the white or grey tree bark. If you look closely you might even see one laying a cluster of oval-shaped, orange eggs on the tree!