I’m back, and I need to say a big thank you for @cbishop and @arctika for helming this boat while I’m out and about. If you want to request an issue on an amazing animal, fabulous fungus, perplexing plant or awesome paleofauna, don’t hesitate to leave a request in the comments.
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Oddity Ark #99 (#279)
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Coccinellidae
Genus: Coccinella
Species:septampunctata
Related Species: The seven spotted ladybird is one of over ninety species within the genus Coccinellia known collectively as ladybird beetles(1).
Range: The seven-spotted ladybird is found across northern Asia and Europe, from the Korean Peninsula in the east, to the United Kingdom in the west.
IUCN Status: The seven-spotted ladybird is currently not listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Red and Black
The seven-spotted ladybird is a small beetle with a carapace length of up to 8mm. Typically the carapace is a dark red, with three black spots on each wing and a seventh spot just behind the thorax in the middle. The seven-spotted ladybird’s carapace is comprised of the forewings and splits vertically when the beetle is ready to take place. While somewhat cumbersome fliers, ladybirds can reach a top speed of 19mph (30kmph) and a maximum cruising altitude of 1,100m (2). While typically solitary seven-spotted ladybirds may swarm in warm weather, with populations occasionally reaching plague proportions, such as during the exceptionally warm and dry summer of 1976 in the United Kingdom. Older ladybirds occasionally tint yellow on the head, due to a process known as ladybird taint, which can spread onto surfaces that the beetles aggregate on (3).
Seven-spotted ladybirds are carnivorous, primarily feeding upon aphids, scale insects and other small insects. Seven-spotted ladybirds are predated upon by lacewing larvae and insectivorous birds, although the aposematic colouration of red and black advertises the beetles foul taste. When disturbed, ladybirds auto-haemorrhage toxic foul-smelling alkaloids from the joints on the legs to deter predators even further. Due to the toxic nature of the ladybird, other invertebrates such as ladybird spiders (Eresus species) mimic the colourations of ladybirds, despite having no toxins themselves to reduce their own predation (4).
Seven-spotted ladybirds lay their eggs near potential larval food sources, so the flightless larvae do not have to travel far to find prey. Like the adults, larval seven-spotted ladybird feed on aphids and when targeted by predators, ooze toxic secretions from their legs and back. Seven-spotted ladybirds go through four instars, moulting three times before they pupate (5). Upon emerging as an adult, seven-spotted ladybirds live for up to a year, hibernating during cold climates, occasionally in large aggregations in buildings.
Nature’s Most Wanted #22 – Harlequin Ladybird
The harlequin ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) is a small beetle native to eastern Asia, and has spread to Europe and North America, with populations beginning to become established in South America and Africa. Harlequin ladybirds have multiple carapace and spot colours and multiple spot patterns. Harlequin ladybirds gather in larger aggregations then other ladybird species and are more likely to enter human habitation. Harlequin ladybirds feed on plant predators such as aphids and were introduced to Europe and North America to control the populations but quickly expanded from the farms they were introduced to into neighbouring areas.
Where harlequin ladybird populations explode, native ladybird populations decline as they are outcompeted by the introduced harlequin ladybirds (6). Where they gather in large aggregations harlequin ladybirds can stain surfaces and crops, causing contamination of grapes resulting in the alteration of the taste of the wine produced (7). The main impact harlequin ladybirds is the spread of microsporidan parasites, such as Wolbachia, to native ladybird populations. While the harlequin ladybird is immune to the impact of these parasites, native ladybirds are impacted, and causes male larvae to develop into adult female beetles. While ladybirds are able to reproduce by parthenogenesis, the lack of genetic diversity makes native species more susceptible to disease.
Multiple control methods for harlequin ladybirds are utilised, primarily by the wine industry to control population. Control methods include trapping, insecticide spraying and removal of ladybirds, with the sealing of buildings in areas where large aggregations occur. Studies have shown that the alkaloids created by the harlequin ladybird contain an antimicrobial chemical called harmonine, with early tests suggest that certain chemicals may inhibit the growth of Plasmodium falciparum, the protozoan that causes malaria in humans (8).
References
2. Jeffries, D. L.; Chapman, J; Roy, H. E.; Humphries, S; Harrington, R; Brown, P. M. J.; Lawson Handley, L-J (2013). "Characteristics and drivers of high-altitude ladybird flight: Insights from vertical-looking entomological radar". PLOS ONE. 8 (12)
3. Pickering, Gary J.; Botezatu, Andreea (2021). "A Review of Ladybug Taint in Wine: Origins, Prevention, and Remediation". Molecules. 26 (14): 4341
4. Raška, J; Pekár, S (2018). "Do ladybird spiders really mimic ladybird beetles?". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 126 (1): 168–177
5. Majerus, Michael E. N. (2003). "Ladybugs". In Resh, Vincent H.; Cardé, Ring T. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Insects. Academic Press. pp. 618–622
6. Russell F. Mizell III (2007). "Impact of Harmonia axyridis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidea) on native arthropod predators on pecan and crape myrtle" (PDF). Florida Entomologist. 90 (3): 524–536
7. Gary Pickering; James Lin; Roland Riesen; Andrew Reynolds; Ian Brindle; George Soleas (January 2004). "Influence of Harmonia axyridis on the sensory properties of white and red wine". American Journal of Enology and Viticulture. 55 (2): 153–159
8. Christian Rene Röhrich; Che Julius Ngwa; Jochen Wiesner; Henrike Schmidtberg; Thomas Degenkolb; Christian Kollewe; Rainer Fischer; Gabriele Pradel; Andreas Vilcinskas (2011). "Harmonine, a defence compound from the harlequin ladybird, inhibits mycobacterial growth and demonstrates multi-stage antimalarial activity". Biology Letters. 8 (2): 308–311
Picture Credits
1. R.d21e1d2bf91ed67fc0d698da613af636 (885×941) (bing.com)
2. large.jpg (1024×731) (inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com)
3. R.4e9c1d9a7c09302b266d3376a24586b1 (905×800) (bing.com)
4. OIP.FMDa15As17GTc7qy6-_WNQHaF1 (474×373) (bing.com)
And that’s the last stop before reaching one-hundred issues, next week we have a big issue to celebrate reaching three figures. And if you want to see more amazing animals and plants, please check out the Oddity Arkive or past issues. And if you want even more animals, please check out dearly departed Impurest Cheese’s Guide to Animals which can be found here, or on the blog of @ficopedia clearly more of a beetle than a Beatle.
If you still have a yearning for learning, please check out the master list of Mr Monster’s Martial Arts Journey.
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