Wildlife
Seven-spot ladybird
Seven-spot ladybirds are, or should be, a gardener's best friend as they are natural allies against devastating aphids. These beautiful beetles, and their larvae in particular, are avid and very active aphid predators, devouring more than 5,000 during their year-long life. The seven-spot is easily one of Britain's most common and easily recognised beetles. As well as across their natural range in Europe, seven-spots now live wild in North America where they were introduced to help control aphid pests.
Did you know?
Seven-spot ladybirds can devour more than 5000 aphids during their year-long life.
Scientific name: Coccinella septempunctata
Rank: Species
Common names:
- Seven-spotted ladybeetle,
- Seven-spotted ladybug
Watch video clips from past programmes (2 clips)
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Ant vs ladybird
Life in the Undergrowth
Ants tend aphids like a shepherd tends his sheep.
David Attenborough looks at aphids and their relationship with ants in a garden. The ants protect the aphids from a predatory ladybird.
Aphid attack
When aphids attack farm crops their damage isn't stopped by ladybirds, but by an unsung hero.
When aphids attack farm crops their damage isn't stopped by ladybirds, but by an unsung hero.
Distribution
The Seven-spot ladybird can be found in a number of locations including: Europe, North America, United Kingdom, Wales. Find out more about these places and what else lives there.
Habitats
The following habitats are found across the Seven-spot ladybird distribution range. Find out more about these environments, what it takes to live there and what else inhabits them.
Oak wood
Farmland
Brownfield land
Chalk grassland
Coastal
Beech wood
Heathland
Hedgerows
Wildflower meadow
Mediterranean forest
Mountain grassland
Moorland
Parkland
Broadleaf forest
Coniferous forest
Temperate grassland
Urban
WetlandsBehaviours
Discover what these behaviours are and how different plants and animals use them.
Predation defence
Warning colours
Carnivorous
Adapted to flying
Hibernation
Metamorphosis
Egg layer
Predator
Visual communicationAdditional data source: Animal Diversity Web
About
Coccinella septempunctata, the seven-spot ladybird (or, in North America, seven-spotted ladybug or "C-7"), is the most common ladybird in Europe. Its elytra are of a red colour, but punctuated with three black spots each, with one further spot being spread over the junction of the two, making a total of seven spots, from which the species derives both its common and scientific names (from the Latin septem = "seven" and punctus = "spot").
C. septempunctata has a broad ecological range, living almost anywhere there are aphids for it to eat. Both the adults and the larvae are voracious predators of aphids, and because of this, C. septempunctata has been repeatedly introduced to North America as a biological control agent to reduce aphid numbers, and is now established in North America, and has been subsequently designated the official state insect of six different states (Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee).
In the United Kingdom, there are fears that the seven-spot ladybird is being out-competed for food by the harlequin ladybird. Conversely, in North America, this species has outcompeted many native species, including other Coccinella.
This entry is from Wikipedia, the user-contributed encyclopedia. If you find the content in the 'About' section factually incorrect, defamatory or highly offensive you can edit this article at Wikipedia. For more information on our use of Wikipedia please read our FAQ.
BBC News about Seven-spot ladybird
- Ladybird swarms invading coast Holidaymakers on the north Norfolk coast have been faced with an invasion of the common seven-spot ladybird.
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Garden wildlife
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Elsewhere on the web
- Animal Diversity Web (animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu)
- ARKive: Images of Life on Earth (arkive.org)
- Seven-spot ladybird facts (brickfieldspark.org)
- Seven-spot ladybird fact file (cumbria-wildlife.org.uk)
- Parasitoid wasps v. ladybirds (microscopy-uk.org.uk)
- Coccinella septempunctata (wikipedia.org)
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