Adults are good fliers and readily migrate among plants and locations. The convergent lady beetle can be found in almost any habitat where plants are infested by aphids. Convergent lady beetle has two or more generations per year in California. These adults migrate to the Coastal Range or Sierra in summer from coastal and valley locations, then in late winter migrate back to lower elevations. A large portion of the California populations overwinter in foothills of the Coastal Range or Sierra Nevada. Overwintering is in aggregations, commonly on low-growing vegetation at moist locations. After hatching, larvae develop through four increasingly larger instars. Adult females can lay several hundred eggs during their growing-season lifespan of about two months. Lady beetles develop through four life stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. The species are reliably distinguished only by expert dissection and examination of male genitalia. Hippodamia quinquesignata quinquesignata and Hippodamia quinquesignata ambigua have forms with black spots on orange wing covers and converging white marks on the thorax and cannot be reliably distinguished from convergent lady beetle based on external appearance. Unlike all other lady beetles, Hippodamia species have cleft (split, two-pointed) tarsal claws at the end of each foot.Īt least ten species of Hippodamia in California have forms with converging white bars on the thorax. Most other lady beetles are more rounded when viewed from above, not distinctly oblong as with Hippodamia species. Numerous species of aphid-feeding lady beetles are orange with black spots. They initially are orange, but increasingly develop black blotches prior to adult emergence. Pupae are 1/5 inch (5 mm) long and glued to plant parts near where they fed as larvae. They grow up to 1/4 inch (6 mm) long and are blackish with orange blotches that become more prominent on older instars. Larvae are active with long legs and resemble tiny alligators. They are laid on end in clusters of about 10 to 30 on leaves and green stems near aphids or other prey. The species is named for the two distinct white markings on the thorax that are angled towards each other (convergent markings).Įggs are oblong, yellow, and about 1/25 inch (1 mm) long. Some individuals have fewer spots or no spots. The head has short, clubbed antennae and chewing mouthparts, which commonly are pointed downward and may not be apparent when viewed from above.Īdult wing covers are orange and commonly have 13 black spots. The hard, shiny body is 1/6 to 1/4 inch (4–7 mm) long. The adults (also called ladybugs or ladybird beetles) are dome shaped (convex) on top, flat on the bottom, and oblong when viewed from above. Soft-bodied insects, insect eggs, and especially aphids Identification
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