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What the sources say

Seven-Spot LadybirdCoccinella septempunctata

Every figure, record and mechanism on the Seven-Spot Ladybird profile was written from a source, and this is the working table behind it: 44 claims checked word for word against these sources. The left column is what the page says. The right column is the source's own words, copied, not paraphrased; a ... marks a cut and[brackets] an insertion. Open any source and check it yourself.

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Source
01

Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology

Coccinella septempunctata, sevenspotted lady beetle. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology.

The page saysbleeds poison from its leg joints
The source sayshas several toxic N-oxides and alkaloids that exude from the gland between the femora and tibia ... These compounds are highly toxic to many common beetle predators like birds and small mammals.Note: tagline; 'leg joints' paraphrases the gland between the femora and tibia (the femur-tibia joint); 'poison' = toxic N-oxides and alkaloids. Reviewer: 'many' hedge applies to predators, not stated in the tagline, which names no victim
The page saysOpen fields, grasslands, farmland and gardens
The source saysThis normally includes small herbaceous plants, shrubs and trees in open fields, grasslands, marshes, agricultural fields, suburban gardens and parks.Note: stats.habitat
The page saysnative to Europe and Asia, introduced to North America
The source saysoriginated in Europe and Asia, but is now found throughout the Middle East, India and North America (U.S. and Canada).Note: stats.habitat
The page saysMostly aphids and other small insects, with pollen when prey is scarce
The source saysit mainly preys on aphids and other similar scale insects, but when such resources are low, adults will eat pollen.Note: stats.diet
The page saysBleeds toxic alkaloids from its leg joints
The source sayshas several toxic N-oxides and alkaloids that exude from the gland between the femora and tibiaNote: stats.superpower
The page saysNot Evaluated
The source saysis considered an invasive species and is not on any conservation lists, globally, nationally, or within any state. IUCN Red List No special statusNote: stats.conservationStatus. ADW says no IUCN Red List special status; it does not say Not Evaluated. GBIF's Red List category for Coccinella septempunctata returns nothing (prefetch, 2026-09-29) and Crossref's IUCN prefix 10.2305 has no assessment for the binomial (orchestrator search, 2026-09-29), so it has no Red List category. Precedent chicken.
The page saysis about 6.5 to 7.8 mm long
The source saysRange length 6.50 to 7.8 mm
The page saysIt usually has seven black spots on orange-red wing covers, though the count can run from 0 to 9
The source saysThis species typically has seven black spots on its elytra (although it can range from 0 to 9).Note: elytra = wing covers; colour from ADW 'orangish-red elytra'
The page saysorange-red wing covers
The source sayslooks like the quintessential ladybug: it is medium sized, has orangish-red elytra and black spots.
The page saysThe red and black colours are a warning
The source saysThe typical bright colors of coccinellids, with high contrasting orange and black spots, functions as aposematic warning coloration.
The page saysWhen threatened or attacked, the beetle leaks toxic chemicals from a gland between two leg segments, the femur and the tibia
The source sayshas several toxic N-oxides and alkaloids that exude from the gland between the femora and tibia. These chemicals can be released due to threats or attacks from predators
The page saysThey are highly toxic to many beetle predators, such as birds and small mammals
The source saysThese compounds are highly toxic to many common beetle predators like birds and small mammals.Note: Reviewer cut ADW's 'up to 20% of the body weight': a single 2013 student page, and alkaloids as a fifth of body weight is not supported by any other cached source
The page saysas it moults
The source saysSize increases with each consecutive molting.
The page saysIt tracks aphids partly by smell. Aphids release an alarm pheromone, a warning scent, that attracts the beetle
The source saysSeveral chemical cues are also used in finding prey, particularly aphids. For instance, the alarm pheromone that aphids release from their cornicles when a predator is sensed (used as a warning between aphids) is an attractant to C. septempunctata
The page saysadults can eat pollen, and larvae can eat other ladybird larvae
The source sayswhen such resources are low, adults will eat pollen. ... Larvae are predators of aphids generally, but will eat other Coccinellidae larvae if aphids are absent.
The page saysAn adult that survives the winter generally lives 1 to 2 years
The source saysAn adult Coccinella septempunctata lifespan is generally between 1 to 2 years, depending on its survival through the winter.Note: ADW only (2013). Kept at its scope, conditional on winter survival; UCANR's two months is the growing-season lifespan of a female, a different figure, and UCANR confirms adults overwinter
The page saysThe species spends winter mostly as adults, sheltering in groups of around 10 to 15, and groups of over 200 have been recorded
The source saysadults will form groups of around 10 to 15 individuals (although aggregates of over 200 individuals have been documented)
The page saysThe species is native to Europe and Asia
The source saysoriginated in Europe and Asia
The page saysUS releases for aphid control between 1951 and 1971 were not thought to have created a wild population
The source saysSeveral intentional introductions of C. septempunctata occurred between 1951 to 1971 in the U.S. for biological control of crop threatening aphids. None of these releases were thought to be successful in creating a natural population
The page saysOne turned up in 1973 in Hackensack Meadowlands, New Jersey, and it was thought to have come from an accidental release
The source saysuntil 1973 when an established population was found in Hackensack Meadowland, New Jersey. However, this population was thought to have arisen from an accidental release.
The page saysIt went on to become one of the most common and widespread ladybirds in North America
The source saysSince then, this species has become one of the most common and widespread coccinellid species in the Nearctic range.Note: Nearctic = North America; past-tense framing, as of the 2013 page
The page saysAnimal Diversity Web calls it an invasive species
The source saysis considered an invasive species
The page saysNo. It originated in Europe and Asia.
The source saysoriginated in Europe and Asia
The page saysIn North America, populations arose in the eastern US and Canada from both deliberate and accidental releases.
The source saysPopulations continued to arise in the eastern U.S. and Canada, either purposefully or unintentionally in the following years.Note: reviewer rewrote FAQ 2: the old 'releases brought it' contradicted ADW (no release thought to establish; 1973 population thought accidental)
The page saysAdults and larvae both eat aphids, small insects that feed on plant sap
The source saysAphids are small Hemipterans that eat the phloem from a diverse set of plants
The page saysThe seven-spot ladybird's red and black colours are a warning
The source saysThe typical bright colors of coccinellids, with high contrasting orange and black spots, functions as aposematic warning coloration.Note: vibe.reason animal clause, same source as the body claim "The red and black colours are a warning"
The page saysbacked by toxic chemicals it leaks when threatened
The source sayshas several toxic N-oxides and alkaloids that exude from the gland between the femora and tibia. These chemicals can be released due to threats or attacks from predatorsNote: vibe.reason animal clause, same source as the body claim "When threatened or attacked, the beetle leaks toxic chemical"
The page saystags: chemical-defense
The source saysCoccinella septempunctata has several toxic N-oxides and alkaloids that exude from the gland between the femora and tibia. These chemicals can be released due to threats or attacks from predatorsNote: #998

Source
02

UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program, University of California

Sevenspotted Lady Beetle, Coccinella septempunctata. UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program, University of California.

The page saysMostly aphids and other small insects, with pollen when prey is scarce
The source saysSoft-bodied insects including leaf beetle larvae, mealybugs, psyllids, whiteflies, and especially aphidsNote: stats.diet
The page saysThe larva looks like a tiny alligator, grows up to 8 mm and passes through four stages, called instars
The source saysLarvae develop through 4 increasingly larger instars and grow up to 1/3 inch (8 mm) long. They resemble tiny alligators
The page saysyoung larvae usually pierce prey and suck out the contents. Older larvae and adults chew and can eat the whole insect
The source saysYoung lady beetle larvae usually pierce and suck the contents from their prey. Older larvae and adults chew prey and can consume the entire insect.Note: Source states it for lady beetles in general; the page scopes it with 'As in other lady beetles'.
The page saysIn the growing season a female lives about two months and lays about 200 to 300 eggs
The source saysThe adult female lays about 200 to 300 eggs during her growing-season lifespan of about two months.
The page saysThe species spends winter mostly as adults
The source saysThe species overwinters mostly as adults in protected places.

Source
03

University of Maryland Extension

Ladybugs or Ladybird Beetles. University of Maryland Extension.

The page saysLadybird beetles are commonly called ladybugs or lady beetles.
The source saysThere are many species of ladybird beetles, which are commonly called ladybugs or lady beetles.
The page saysAdults and larvae both eat aphids
The source saysLife Stage(s) that feed on pests Larvae and adults. ... Insect(s) upon which they prey Aphids

Source
04

Blount et al. 2012

Blount et al. (2012). How the ladybird got its spots: effects of resource limitation on the honesty of aposematic signals. Functional Ecology.

The page saysResearchers raised seven-spot ladybird larvae on a low or a high aphid diet. The well-fed beetles carried more of the defensive alkaloid precoccinelline
The source saysWe reared larval seven‐spot ladybirds (Coccinella septempunctata) on a Low or High aphid diet ... High‐diet individuals had greater total precoccinelline levelsNote: 'well-fed' = High diet; abstract only, rearing study
The page saysThe more carotenoid pigment in a beetle's wing covers, the more precoccinelline it carried
The source saysElytra carotenoid concentrations correlated positively with total precoccinelline levels in both diet groups and sexes.Note: 'wing covers' = elytra; correlation in both diet groups and sexes; coccinelline relationship depended on sex, so only precoccinelline is named
The page saysTo predators, yes: they carry defensive alkaloids
The source sayslevels of defensive alkaloids (precoccinelline, coccinelline)
The page saysOne study measured two of them, precoccinelline and coccinelline, and found that how well a larva was fed made no significant difference to the adult's coccinelline
The source sayslevels of defensive alkaloids (precoccinelline, coccinelline) ... However, larval diet did not significantly affect adult body mass or size, spot size or coccinelline levels.

Source
05

Losey & Denno 1998

Losey & Denno (1998). The escape response of pea aphids to foliar-foraging predators: factors affecting dropping behaviour. Ecological Entomology.

The page saysAphids try to escape by dropping. In a series of laboratory and field-cage tests on alfalfa, less than 7% of pea aphids dropped with no predator present. With a seven-spot ladybird there, nearly 60% dropped
The source saysThe effects of predator species, aphid density, aphid age, diel period, and habitat complexity on the dropping behaviour of the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum were assessed in a series of laboratory and field-cage experiments. 2. The presence of foliar-foraging predators significantly increased the proportion of aphids that dropped from alfalfa plants. In the absence of predators, less than 7% of the aphids dropped. ... Nearly 60% of the aphids dropped when the ladybird beetle, Coccinella septempunctata, was present.Note: 'try to escape' rests on the title's 'escape response'; abstract only

Source
06

Elliott, Kieckhefer & Kauffman 1996

Elliott, Kieckhefer & Kauffman (1996). Effects of an invading coccinellid on native coccinellids in an agricultural landscape. Oecologia.

The page saysIn crop fields in eastern South Dakota, one native ladybird was on average 20 to 32 times scarcer in the years after this species became established than before, depending on the crop
The source saysSeven native coccinellid species inhabited alfalfa, corn, and small grain fields in eastern South Dakota prior to invasion and establishment of Coccinella septempunctata L. ... Annual abundance of C. transversoguttata richardsoni averaged 20-32 times lower during post-invasion years than in years prior to invasion, depending on cropNote: correlation only, no cause claimed

Source
07

Zhu & Park 2005

Zhu & Park (2005). Methyl Salicylate, a Soybean Aphid-Induced Plant Volatile Attractive to the Predator Coccinella septempunctata. Journal of Chemical Ecology.

The page saysSoybean plants under aphid attack release more methyl salicylate, and traps baited with it were highly attractive to adults in field tests
The source saysSignificantly more methyl salicylate was released from infested plants at both the V1 and V2 plant growth stages. ... In field tests, traps baited with methyl salicylate were highly attractive to adult C. septempunctata
The page saysPartly by scent. In lab recordings, the antennae of seven-spot ladybirds gave a significant electrical response to methyl salicylate, a chemical that aphid-infested soybean plants give off.
The source saysSignificantly more methyl salicylate was released from infested plants ... Gas chromatographic-electroantennographic detection of volatile extracts from infested soybean plants showed that methyl salicylate elicited significant electrophysiological responses in C. septempunctataNote: GC-EAD = antenna recording in the lab; 'electrical' = electrophysiological

Source
08

Peisker, Michels & Gorb 2013

Peisker, Michels & Gorb (2013). Evidence for a material gradient in the adhesive tarsal setae of the ladybird beetle Coccinella septempunctata. Nature Communications.

The page saysThe beetle itself grips with adhesive hairs on its feet, soft and rich in the elastic protein resilin at the tips and stiff at the bases
The source saysthe adhesive tarsal setae of the ladybird beetle Coccinella septempunctata feature pronounced gradients in the material composition and properties along their length. The Young's modulus ranges from 1.2 MPa at the tips, where we found the incorporation of high proportions of the elastic protein resilin, to 6.8 GPa at the bases of the setae.Note: tarsal setae = hairs on the feet; soft/stiff = low/high Young's modulus; 'grips' = attach to surfaces. The 'likely evolutionary optimization' is not stated

How the table was made: a writer drafted the profile from these sources and logged each claim with its quote, a reviewer with nothing but this table checked every sentence said no more than its quote, and a script confirmed each quote appears word for word in the source. The method is in the site'sAbout page.