Light ladybug

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Light ladybug
Light ladybird (Calvia decemguttata)

Light ladybird ( Calvia decemguttata )

Systematics
Order : Beetle (Coleoptera)
Subordination : Polyphaga
Family : Ladybird (Coccinellidae)
Subfamily : Coccinellinae
Genre : Calvia
Type : Light ladybug
Scientific name
Calvia decemguttata
( Linnaeus , 1767)

The light ladybird ( Calvia decemguttata ), also known as the ten-spotted ladybird and ten-spotted ladybird , is a beetle from the family of ladybirds (Coccinellidae). It was given the name light ladybug because it is attracted to artificial light. According to Bernhard Klausnitzer and Erich Kreissl , this behavior occurs in 12 to 15 documented ladybird species, but it is particularly common in the light ladybird.

features

The light ladybug has a body length of 5 to 6.7 millimeters. It has a light brown-red color with five whitish spots per wing cover ( Elytre ), three of which lie on a line at the lower edge. The pronotum also has spots and looks faded. The underside is also light brown red. The antennae are relatively long, almost as long as the head is wide. The upper side of the body is bald, not hairy as in the subfamily Coccidulinae . It looks similar to the sixteen -spotted ladybird ( Halyzia sedecimguttata ), which is the same size and color, but has more spots. It differs from the fourteen-drop ladybird ( Calvia quatuordecimguttata ) by its darker color.

Larva of the light ladybug

The larva of the light ladybug is yellow-white with dark brown spots, the legs of the larva are dark brown with light spots. The eggs are well protected from the modern natural predator Asian ladybirds due to the chemical nature of their surface, which makes the eggs unappetizing .

Light ladybugs and the fourteen-drop ladybird use Allomone for defense . The messenger substances contain piperidine - amines with the empirical formula C 13 H 23 NO 2 , especially Calvin, but also 2-epicalvin and propylein (C 13 H 21 N).

Occurrence

The light ladybird lives in the forest ( silvicol ) and is mainly found between July and September on the edges of deciduous forests, namely there in bushes and wet meadows . It can also be found on trees and other woody plants such as sycamore maple , field maple , gray alder , silver birch , hazelnut , linden , elder , black alder , norway maple , pedunculate oak , sessile oak and willow . The occurrence is limited to Eurasia and ranges from Europe to Siberia. It is proven in all German federal states.

Way of life

The main source of food is aphids , which overwinter in the litter.

literature

  • Georg Möller, Reiner Grube, Ekkehard Wachmann : Beetles in and around the forest. (= The Fauna Beetle Leader. Volume 1). Fauna Verlag, Nottuln 2006, ISBN 3-935980-15-9 , pp. 142 and 146.

Web links

Commons : Light Ladybug ( Calvia decemguttata )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Bernhard and Hertha Klausnitzer: Ladybirds . Die Neue Brehm-Bücherei Volume 451, Westarp Wissenschaften, Magdeburg 4th edition 1997, ISBN 3-89432-812-6 , p. 95.
  2. ^ RL Ware, F. Ramon, A. Magro, C. Ducamp, J.-L. Hemptinne, MEN Majerus: Chemical protection of Calvia quatuordecimguenttata eggs against intraguild predation by the invasive ladybird Harmonica axyridis . BioControl 53 2008. p. 191 (English)
  3. Semiochemicals of the light ladybird in the pherobase (English, registration required)
  4. Description page on odezia-atrata.be (French, dead link)