Three-banded Lady Beetle


Three-banded Lady Beetle ( Coccinella trifasciata subversa )



2004-0128-01100137-COL00341-Coccinella_trifasciata_subversa[1303h03s,F,A,plant-leaf]{EXD}-G.jpg


IDENTIFICATION
Identification:	Coccinella trifasciata subversa (LeConte, 1854)
Common Name:	Three-banded Lady Beetle
Life Stage:	A

PHYLOGENY

Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Superorder:	Holometabola
Order:	Coleoptera
Suborder:	Polyphaga
Family:	Coccinellidae
Subfamily:	Coccinellinae
Genus:	Coccinella
Taxon Code:	COL00341
ITIS TSN#:	692668
LOCATION DETAILS
Location

ECI Site#:	CA01100137
RECOGNITION
Adult: Elytra are red with a single, dark basal band. The pronotum is black with a white anterior margin and a pale ventral spot. Larva: Pale yellow with small dark spots, notably paler than the larvae of other ladybirds.
Body Length
4-5 mm.
Similar Taxa
Similar to C. t. perplexa, but uslaly have the transverse bands reduced, interrupted or absent.
BIOLOGY
Food
Aphids and other soft-bodied insects.
Habitat
Found on grasses, weeds, succulents and crops that host aphids in meadows, weeds, gardens and agricultural fields.
Active Period
Active from spring through summer months and on warm days of fall; diapausing through the colder winter months.
Development
Females lay a cluster of small, pale yellow football shaped eggs, usually in the spring and summer. Eggs are glued to the underside of a leaf where there are abundant aphids, and sometimes on other substrates. Eggs hatch in about a week. Emerging larvae resemble tiny dark alligators. There are four instars before pupation. Mature larvae anchor to plants or other substrates. Pupation lasts from a few days to more than a week.
Range
California, north to British Columbia.
Distribution
The west coast of North America
HABITAT
Found on grasses, weeds, succulents and crops that host aphids in meadows, weeds, gardens and agricultural fields.
CREDITS
Photographer Eddie Dunbar
REFERENCES
Subspecies Coccinella trifasciata subversa. (http://bugguide.net/node/view/98692). Accessed February 1, 2016. [ IMAGES ] Integrated Taxonomic Information System TSN#692668 The Coccinellidae (Coleoptera) of America North of Mexico. Robert D. Gordon (1985), from the Journal of the New York Entomological Society. Subspecies Coccinella trifasciata subversa. (http://bugguide.net/node/view/98692). Accessed February 1, 2016.