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.

Posted on June 6, 2023 04:18 PM by awenninger