Stats

Lifespan

Annual

Size

Small

Diet

Omnivore

Activity

Diurnal

Social

Solitary

Biome

Temperate grassland

Range

North America

Movement

Flight

Breeding

Egg-laying

Defense

Warning Colors

Status

Common

About

This spotted beetle lives among the stems and leaves of North American fields. It consumes up to fifty aphids in a single day to fuel its rapid growth cycle.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   egg

   A small egg is laid on or near the larval food source and hatches within days or weeks.
2. 2.
   juvenile

   An immature insect feeds and molts, growing through successive instars.
3. 3.
   subadult

   A near-adult insect has wing buds or near-mature form, one molt away from full size.
4. 4.
   adult

   Fully grown, with full wings and adult coloration.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Coleoptera

Family

Coccinellidae

Genus

Coleomegilla

Species

Coleomegilla maculata