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.

Posted on July 5, 2023 05:02 PM by awenninger