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Coccinellidae

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Insects, Reptiles and
Fish

                iCoccinellidae
   Coccinella septempunctata
   Coccinella septempunctata
          Scientific classification

   Kingdom:     Animalia
   Phylum:      Arthropoda
   Class:       Insecta
   Order:       Coleoptera
   Superfamily: Cucujoidea
   Family:      Coccinellidae
                Latreille, 1807

                                 Subfamilies

   Chilocorinae
   Coccidulinae
   Coccinellinae
   Epilachninae
   Scymininae
   Sticholotidinae
   etc. see list of Coccinellidae genera
   Pupal stage
   Enlarge
   Pupal stage
   Early larva stage
   Enlarge
   Early larva stage
   Mid-larva stage
   Enlarge
   Mid-larva stage
   Coccinellids mating
   Enlarge
   Coccinellids mating

   Coccinellidae is a family of beetles, known variously as ladybirds (
   Commonwealth English), ladybugs ( North American English) or lady
   beetles (preferred by scientists). The word "lady" in the name is
   thought to allude to the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Catholic faith.
   Coccinellids are found worldwide, with over 4,500 species described,
   more than 450 native to North America alone. Coccinellids are small
   insects, ranging from 1 mm to 10 mm (0.04 to 0.4 inches), and are
   usually yellow, orange, or red with small black spots on their
   carapace, with black legs, head and feelers. As the family name
   suggests, they are usually quite round in shape. Because they are
   useful, colourful, and harmless to humans, coccinellids are typically
   considered cute even by people who hate most insects. Some people
   consider seeing them or having them land on one's body to be a sign of
   good luck to come, and that killing them presages bad luck.

Biology

   Coccinellids are brightly coloured to ward away potential predators.
   This defence works because most predators associate bright colours
   (especially orange and black or yellow and black) with poison and other
   unpleasant properties. This phenomenon is called aposematism. In fact,
   most coccinellids are indeed poisonous to smaller predators, such as
   lizards and small birds; however, a human would have to eat several
   hundred coccinellids before feeling any effects. Adult coccinellids are
   able to reflex-bleed from their leg joints, releasing their oily yellow
   toxin with a strong repellent smell. This becomes quite obvious when
   one handles a coccinellid roughly.

   Most Coccinellids mate in the spring or summer, and the female lays a
   cluster of eggs (numbering from a few to a few hundred, depending on
   species) as near as possible to an aphid colony. In most species these
   eggs hatch into a larval state within a week. This state lasts 10-15
   days, and they then go into a pupal stage before becoming an adult
   coccinellid. The entire life cycle of the Coccinellid is only 4-7
   weeks.

   Coccinellids lay extra infertile eggs with the fertile eggs. These
   appear to provide a backup food source for the larvae when they hatch.
   The ratio of infertile to fertile eggs increases with scarcity of food
   at the time of egg laying. (Perry & Roitberg, 2005)

Commercial use

   Coccinellids are beneficial to organic gardeners because most species
   are insectivores, consuming aphids, fruit flies, thrips, and other tiny
   plant-sucking insects that damage crops. In fact, their name is derived
   from "Beetle of Our Lady", recognising their role in saving crops from
   destruction. Today, they are commercially available from a variety of
   suppliers.

   In agriculture, coccinellids, like other beetles, can find protection
   in beetle banks.

Culture

   Coccinellids are and have for very many years been favourite insects of
   children. The insects had many regional names (now mostly disused) such
   as the lady-cow, may-bug, golden-knop, golden-bugs ( Suffolk); and
   variations on Bishop-Barnaby (Barney, Burney) Barnabee, Burnabee, and
   the Bishop-that-burneth.

   The ladybird is immortalised in the still-popular children's nursery
   rhyme Ladybird, Ladybird:

                Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home
                Your house is on fire and your children are gone
                All except one, and that's Little Anne
                For she has crept under the warming pan.

   Many variants exist, including one that seems ancient (recounted in an
   1851 publication):

                Dowdy-cow, dowdy-cow, ride away heame,
                Thy house is burnt, and thy barns are tean,
                And if thou means to save thy barns
                Take thy wings and flee away!

   The name which the insect bears in the various languages of Europe is
   clearly mythic. In this, as in other cases, the Virgin Mary has
   supplanted Freyja, the fertility goddess of Norse mythology; so that
   Freyjuhaena and Frouehenge have been changed into Marienvoglein, which
   corresponds with Our Lady's Bird. There can, therefore, be little doubt
   that the esteem with which the lady-bird, or Our Lady's cow, is still
   regarded and is a relic of ancient beliefs. In parts of Northern
   Europe, tradition says you get a wish granted if a ladybird lands on
   you. In Italy, it is said by some that if a Ladybird flies into your
   bedroom, it is considered good luck. In central Europe, a ladybird
   crawling across a girl's hand is thought to mean she will get married
   within the year. In Russia a ladybird is called Божья-Коровка (God's
   cow) and a popular children's rhyme exists with a call to fly to the
   sky and bring back bread. Similarly, in Denmark a ladybird, called a
   mariehøne (Mary's hen), is asked by children to fly to 'our lord in
   heaven and ask for fairer weather in the morning'.

   The ladybird is the symbol of the Dutch Foundation Against Senseless
   Violence, as you can see in the logo here. Other companies using
   ladybirds as their corporate logo include: Ladybird Books (owned by
   Pearson PLC); the Ladybird range of children's clothing sold by
   Woolworth's in the UK; and Axosoft, a US-based software development
   firm whose flagship product helps manage the software development
   process, including defect (bug) tracking.

   In the popular Pixar animated film, A Bug's Life, Francis the Ladybug
   is an aggressive male flea circus performer who is deeply annoyed when
   his gender is confused.

Advertisement

   Two ladybirds are featured in the Peugeot 207 TV commercial. They are
   shown mating inside a Peugeot 207 to the tune of The Marcels'
   Heartaches.

Notable species

   Note that not all individuals show the number of spots suggested by
   their names:
   Asian lady beetle, Harmonia axyridis
   Enlarge
   Asian lady beetle, Harmonia axyridis
     * Seven-spotted lady beetle, Coccinella septempunctata
     * Two-spotted lady beetle, Adalia bipunctata
     * Convergent lady beetle, Hippodamia convergens
     * Thirteen-spotted lady beetle, Hippodamia tredecimpunctata
     * Spotted lady beetle, Coleomegilla maculata
     * Twice-stabbed lady beetle, Chilocurus stigma
     * Mexican bean beetle, Epilachna varivestis Mulsant
     * Asian lady beetle or Harlequin lady beetle, Harmonia axyridis
     * Mealybug ladybird, Cryptolaemus montrouzieri

   For a complete list of genera, see list of Coccinellidae genera. See
   also the list of British ladybirds

Long-range weather forecast

   In long-range weather forecast, one species of ladybirds was studied
   over a period of ten years. In mild winters, they would hibernate in
   relatively shallow nestings. In cold winters, they would hibernate in
   deeper nestings. How they are able to predict the season's severity is
   still a mystery, but they were never wrong in ten years' time.

Additional Photographs

   Pupal stage of a coccinellid

   Coccinellids mating en masse ( Colorado Springs, CO)

   Unusual pattern on a coccinellid

   P-14 coccinellid consuming an aphid

   Lady beetle larvae just hatched from their eggs

   Lady beetle emerges from pupal stage as adult

   Close-up view of an adult lady beetle

   Lady beetle deploying wings

   Lady beetle hiding within a flower bud

   Lady beetle larva eating an aphid
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coccinellidae"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
