Eye ladybug
| Eye ladybug | ||||||||||||
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Eye ladybug ( Anatis ocellata ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Anatis ocellata | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
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The eyes ladybug or eye-spot ladybird ( anatis ocellata ) is a beetle from the family of ladybugs (Coccinellidae). It is the only representative of the genus Anatis in Central Europe.
features
At eight to nine millimeters in length, the largest central European ladybirds have a broad, slightly oval and arched body. The top of the body is finely structured in dots. Their coloring is very variable. On their orange to red colored wings you can see 10 black, yellowish lined spots, where the black core can sometimes be missing. The pronotum is colored black and has a light yellow edge in front, which ends in an irregular light yellow spot on both sides. In front of the scutellum there are two more light yellow, small spots. The head is black and has two light yellow spots between the compound eyes . Their antennae are light brown, their legs predominantly dark brown, the tibia and tarsi are somewhat lighter.
Occurrence
The animals are found in Europe and Asia , except in the far north, and have also been introduced into North America . They live in coniferous forests at low altitudes up to the tree line . They are frequent to very common regionally.
Way of life
The beetle feeds primarily on aphids on various coniferous plants , especially species of the families of Lachnidae , Adelgidae and tube aphids (Aphididae), but they also eat larvae of sawflies and caterpillars of butterflies . The adults overwinter in groups in the litter or between cracks in the bark. They are mostly found on spruce trees and together with four-spotted ball ladybirds .
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 .: Käfer Central and Northwestern Europe , Parey Berlin 1985, ISBN 3-490-27118-1
