Florida
Native lady beetles
ENY-822 names Hippodamia convergens and Cycloneda sanguinea as Florida native ladybird beetles. The spotless orange-red adult on citrus is often Cycloneda. The convergent beetle wears two pale lines that meet on the pronotum. Both hunt aphids. Both are easier to keep than a bag of wild-collected adults shipped from a western mountain.
Spotless lady beetle
Cycloneda sanguinea is a common native on Florida citrus and ornamentals. Adults are orange to red without the black-spot pattern people expect from a crate label. Look at the pronotum and the frantic search, not the spot count.
Convergent lady beetle
Hippodamia convergens is among the most common lady beetles in North America. EENY-592 records it from grasslands, forests, fields, gardens, and parks. Adults eat aphids, scales, thrips, and other soft insects, then pollen and nectar when prey is scarce. In some areas Harmonia axyridis displaces it.
Pink-spotted
Coleomegilla maculata, the pink-spotted lady beetle, is a pollen feeder as well as a hunter. It shows up on corn tassels and flowers. Treat a pink-red adult with black spots as a hunter, not a pest.
How a yard keeps them
Habitat first: prey, pollen, and no broadcast insecticide on bloom. UF/IFAS warns that beetles bought in bulk may be programmed to fly west after mountain hibernation, and many are parasitized. A Central Florida yard that already has Cycloneda does not need a California shipment.
Questions
Is a spotless orange beetle a different insect?
Often it is Cycloneda sanguinea, a native lady beetle. Spots are not required.
Sources
- ENY-822 / IN120 Invertebrates as biological control agents. Larvae look like tiny alligators. Native Cycloneda sanguinea and Hippodamia convergens.
- EENY-592 / IN1037 Convergent lady beetle. Hippodamia convergens. Pollen and nectar when prey is scarce. Wild-collected sales.
- EENY-170 / IN327 Lady beetles of Florida. UF/IFAS Featured Creatures. About 105 Coccinellidae in Florida.
- IPM-146 / IN849 Purchasing and using commercial natural enemies. UF/IFAS. Read before buying beetles in a bag.