Eighteen-spotted ladybug
| Eighteen-spotted ladybug | ||||||||||||
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Eighteen-spotted ladybug ( Myrrha octodecimguttata ) |
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| Myrrha octodecimguttata | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
The eighteen-spotted ladybird or pine-top ladybird ( Myrrha octodecimguttata ) is a beetle from the ladybird family (Coccinellidae).
features
The beetles are 3.5 to 5 millimeters long and have an oval, slightly flattened body. The animals are brown and have eight or nine light beige spots on their wings , of which especially those around the scutellum can be connected. The pronotum is brown, but light on the sides and in the middle. The color of the beetles is very variable, the spots can flow into one another in many different ways.
Occurrence
The beetles occur in Europe , especially in the Mediterranean region and east to Transbaikal (east of Lake Baikal ). They are missing in the far north. They live mainly in old pine forests and generally sit on conifers , especially high up on pines . In Germany , they are mainly found in the Upper Bavarian raised bogs on mountain pines , except when wood ants live there.
Way of life
The beetles feed on aphids . The larvae overwinter, they do this in groups at the base of the trunk under the bark of trees, usually together with other species of ladybirds. After mating, which can often take several hours, the female lays the eggs in aphid colonies so that the larvae that hatch later can find food immediately. The beetle tries to keep enemies such as birds and other insects at bay by the striking coloration and secretion of bitter defense secretions .
literature
- Harde, Severa: Der Kosmos Käferführer, The Central European Beetles , Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-440-06959-1
- Jiři Zahradnik, Irmgard Jung, Dieter Jung et al .: Beetles of Central and Northwestern Europe. Parey Berlin 1985, ISBN 3-490-27118-1
