---
title: "What the sources say about the Seven-Spot Ladybird | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "44 claims from the Seven-Spot Ladybird profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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# What the sources say about the Seven-Spot Ladybird (*Coccinella septempunctata*)

> 44 claims from the Seven-Spot Ladybird profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Seven-Spot Ladybird](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/seven-spot-ladybird/)

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

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Coccinella_septempunctata/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| bleeds poison from its leg joints | has 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) |
| Open fields, grasslands, farmland and gardens | This normally includes small herbaceous plants, shrubs and trees in open fields, grasslands, marshes, agricultural fields, suburban gardens and parks. (note: stats.habitat) |
| native to Europe and Asia, introduced to North America | originated in Europe and Asia, but is now found throughout the Middle East, India and North America (U.S. and Canada). (note: stats.habitat) |
| Mostly aphids and other small insects, with pollen when prey is scarce | it mainly preys on aphids and other similar scale insects, but when such resources are low, adults will eat pollen. (note: stats.diet) |
| Bleeds toxic alkaloids from its leg joints | has several toxic N-oxides and alkaloids that exude from the gland between the femora and tibia (note: stats.superpower) |
| Not Evaluated | is considered an invasive species and is not on any conservation lists, globally, nationally, or within any state. IUCN Red List No special status (note: 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.) |
| is about 6.5 to 7.8 mm long | Range length 6.50 to 7.8 mm |
| It usually has seven black spots on orange-red wing covers, though the count can run from 0 to 9 | This 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') |
| orange-red wing covers | looks like the quintessential ladybug: it is medium sized, has orangish-red elytra and black spots. |
| The red and black colours are a warning | The typical bright colors of coccinellids, with high contrasting orange and black spots, functions as aposematic warning coloration. |
| When threatened or attacked, the beetle leaks toxic chemicals from a gland between two leg segments, the femur and the tibia | 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 predators |
| They are highly toxic to many beetle predators, such as birds and small mammals | These 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) |
| as it moults | Size increases with each consecutive molting. |
| It tracks aphids partly by smell. Aphids release an alarm pheromone, a warning scent, that attracts the beetle | Several 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 |
| adults can eat pollen, and larvae can eat other ladybird larvae | when such resources are low, adults will eat pollen. ... Larvae are predators of aphids generally, but will eat other Coccinellidae larvae if aphids are absent. |
| An adult that survives the winter generally lives 1 to 2 years | An 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 species spends winter mostly as adults, sheltering in groups of around 10 to 15, and groups of over 200 have been recorded | adults will form groups of around 10 to 15 individuals (although aggregates of over 200 individuals have been documented) |
| The species is native to Europe and Asia | originated in Europe and Asia |
| US releases for aphid control between 1951 and 1971 were not thought to have created a wild population | Several 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 |
| One turned up in 1973 in Hackensack Meadowlands, New Jersey, and it was thought to have come from an accidental release | until 1973 when an established population was found in Hackensack Meadowland, New Jersey. However, this population was thought to have arisen from an accidental release. |
| It went on to become one of the most common and widespread ladybirds in North America | Since 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) |
| Animal Diversity Web calls it an invasive species | is considered an invasive species |
| No. It originated in Europe and Asia. | originated in Europe and Asia |
| In North America, populations arose in the eastern US and Canada from both deliberate and accidental releases. | Populations 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)) |
| Adults and larvae both eat aphids, small insects that feed on plant sap | Aphids are small Hemipterans that eat the phloem from a diverse set of plants |
| The seven-spot ladybird's red and black colours are a warning | The 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") |
| backed by toxic chemicals it leaks when threatened | 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 predators (note: vibe.reason animal clause, same source as the body claim "When threatened or attacked, the beetle leaks toxic chemical") |
| tags: chemical-defense | Coccinella 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 predators (note: #998) |

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

https://ipm.ucanr.edu/natural-enemies/sevenspotted-lady-beetle/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Mostly aphids and other small insects, with pollen when prey is scarce | Soft-bodied insects including leaf beetle larvae, mealybugs, psyllids, whiteflies, and especially aphids (note: stats.diet) |
| The larva looks like a tiny alligator, grows up to 8 mm and passes through four stages, called instars | Larvae develop through 4 increasingly larger instars and grow up to 1/3 inch (8 mm) long. They resemble tiny alligators |
| young larvae usually pierce prey and suck out the contents. Older larvae and adults chew and can eat the whole insect | Young 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'.) |
| In the growing season a female lives about two months and lays about 200 to 300 eggs | The adult female lays about 200 to 300 eggs during her growing-season lifespan of about two months. |
| The species spends winter mostly as adults | The species overwinters mostly as adults in protected places. |

## Ladybugs or Ladybird Beetles. University of Maryland Extension.

https://extension.umd.edu/resource/ladybugs-or-ladybird-beetles/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Ladybird beetles are commonly called ladybugs or lady beetles. | There are many species of ladybird beetles, which are commonly called ladybugs or lady beetles. |
| Adults and larvae both eat aphids | Life Stage(s) that feed on pests Larvae and adults. ... Insect(s) upon which they prey Aphids |

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

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2435.2012.01961.x

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Researchers raised seven-spot ladybird larvae on a low or a high aphid diet. The well-fed beetles carried more of the defensive alkaloid precoccinelline | We reared larval seven‐spot ladybirds (Coccinella septempunctata) on a Low or High aphid diet ... High‐diet individuals had greater total precoccinelline levels (note: 'well-fed' = High diet; abstract only, rearing study) |
| The more carotenoid pigment in a beetle's wing covers, the more precoccinelline it carried | Elytra 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) |
| To predators, yes: they carry defensive alkaloids | levels of defensive alkaloids (precoccinelline, coccinelline) |
| One 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 | levels of defensive alkaloids (precoccinelline, coccinelline) ... However, larval diet did not significantly affect adult body mass or size, spot size or coccinelline levels. |

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

https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2311.1998.00102.x

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Aphids 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 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) |

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

https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00330017

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| In 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 | Seven 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 crop (note: correlation only, no cause claimed) |

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

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-005-5923-8

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Soybean plants under aphid attack release more methyl salicylate, and traps baited with it were highly attractive to adults in field tests | Significantly 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 |
| Partly 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. | Significantly 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. septempunctata (note: GC-EAD = antenna recording in the lab; 'electrical' = electrophysiological) |

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

https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms2576

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The 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 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) |