Saturday, June 16, 2012

Variations on a spotty theme

Eighteen-spotter:

Ladybug on a napkin, Tim Horton's, Tsawwassen

And six-spotter:

Ladybug on a leaf, at home in Upper Delta.

And they're the same species, Harmonia axyridis, as shown by the W on the pronotum.
These beetles can sometimes be difficult to identify because of the variations in color, spot size, and spot count of the elytra. The easiest way to identify H. axyridis is to look at the pronotum and see if the black markings look like a letter "W" or "M" (depending on if the marking is viewed from the front or the back). (From Wikipedia)



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2 comments:

biobabbler said...

Cool!

Powell River Books said...

I love ladybugs. Not sure I've ever seen one up at the cabin, don't think so. - Margy