Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Coccinella septempunctata

"Just" a tiny Seven-spotted Ladybug, seen in my back garden on 19 June 2014. "The Seven-spotted Lady Beetle (Coccinella septempunctata) is probably our most familiar Lady Beetle, being found in gardens, parks and natural areas across the continent. It wasn't always this way though - this, large, attractive beetle was brought over in the 1950's from Europe to the eastern US to supplement the aphid-eating prowess of the native lady beetles. This hardy alien has since spread across the continent. There is concern that this alien lady beetle is causing a decline in some native lady beetle species, particularly of the once common Transverse Lady Beetle. Are the robust Seven-spots out-competing the natives, eating the eggs of the natives, spreading disease or hybridizing with natives? No one knows for sure, but it is another cautionary example of the dangers of introducing alien species. One thing that ecologically conscientious gardeners can do is to refrain from buying alien species as biological controls and purchase native ones instead." From talkaboutwildlife.ca (no longer available). "The Seven-spotted Ladybird Beetle was brought in from Europe in the hope that it would help control populations of pests like aphids. It is doubtful that it has made any real difference, but what has happened is some of our native species have suffered a decline in populations since the Seven-spotted was introduced, perhaps because the Seven-spotted outcompetes them. Two-spotted Ladybird Beetles are the ones that most often turn up in people's homes in winter. Perhaps the best solution to ensure the beetles survive is to take them to a greenhouse that uses biocontrol." www.royalalbertamuseum.ca/natural/insects/bugsfaq/ladybir.. . John Acorn's book, "Ladybugs of Alberta", covers all 75 species of ladybugs found here in Alberta.

Taken on Saturday, 21 September 2013, when two friends and I joined a group of people from Medicine Hat College to drive a long way across the prairie to an area called the Pinhorn Grazing Lease. Yucca plants, which are not found in Alberta, had been discovered there and were being closely monitored. They spent a few hours counting every single plant and clone, how many new clones, how many old ones, how many seedpods and how many tiny exit holes from a certain insect were in each pod. Most of the plants were in enclosed "cages", the largest of which could be entered. The GPS location was recorded for every plant, and careful notes were made. Very tedious work, and I commend everyone for doing this. Have to admit that I wandered the area with my camera, photographing the plants in various stages and the surrounding scenery. We were so lucky because two of the plants were in a second bloom, whereas all the other plants had seedpods. It was a treat to be able to see Yucca flowers, and a surprise for the folks from the College. We aren't sure how these plants got where they are, but it's possible that they were brought north by Native Americans. We were very close to the border with the US and could see the beautiful Sweetgrass Hills rising from the flat prairie in the distance. A very interesting day for us and one that we were so lucky to experience. "Coccinella septempunctata's elytra are of a red colour, but punctuated with three black spots each, with one further spot being spread over the junction of the two, making a total of seven spots, from which the species derives both its common and scientific names (from the Latin septem = "seven" and punctus = "spot"). C. septempunctata has a broad ecological range, living almost anywhere there are aphids for it to eat. Both the adults and the larvae are voracious predators of aphids, and because of this, C. septempunctata has been repeatedly introduced to North America as a biological control agent to reduce aphid numbers, and is now established in North America, and has been subsequently designated the official state insect of five different states (Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Tennessee). In North America, this species has outcompeted many native species, including other Coccinella." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coccinella_septempunctata

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY! "Just" a regular Seven-spotted Ladybug that I came across yesterday afternoon, while on an afternoon botanizing trip at the Kerfoot Ranch, NW of Cochrane (which is NW of Calgary). This was a new location for me - the Kerfoot property is on the beautiful, rolling hills that you see when driving along the Grand Valley Rd. A small group of us searched for any species of plant, moss, lichen, bird, insect, and animal that were there, and the resulting list will be given to the landowners. In the morning, a friend and I had hiked at the Perrenoud natural area, looking for anything new - and anything that was interesting and beautiful, whether flora or fauna. The spring and summer months are so busy with botanizing different areas - all so interesting, but increasingly exhausting and painful for me ... sigh. However, I go where I am able and do as much as I can - I have to do as much walking as I can, for bone density reasons and to try and keep my joints mobile. A painful process, which kind of balances out with the pure joy I get from seeing and photographing some of the things we find. Heavily cropped image, so I'm surprised it still came out quite sharp.

Have to love it when you happen to stumble upon a vibrant little Ladybug crawling on a neon-green Leafy Spurge plant. Sadly, both Leafy Spurge and the Seven-spotted Ladybug are non-native, invasive, doing so much damage to other species that are native to Alberta. Photographed at Burnsmead, Fish Creek Park. They do make a nice, bright photo, though : ) "The Seven-spotted Lady Beetle (Coccinella septempunctata) is probably our most familiar Lady Beetle, being found in gardens, parks and natural areas across the continent. It wasn't always this way though - this, large, attractive beetle was brought over in the 1950's from Europe to the eastern US to supplement the aphid-eating prowess of the native lady beetles. This hardy alien has since spread across the continent. There is concern that this alien lady beetle is causing a decline in some native lady beetle species, particularly of the once common Transverse Lady Beetle. Are the robust Seven-spots out-competing the natives, eating the eggs of the natives, spreading disease or hybridizing with natives? No one knows for sure, but it is another cautionary example of the dangers of introducing alien species. One thing that ecologically conscientious gardeners can do is to refrain from buying alien species as biological controls and purchase native ones instead." talkaboutwildlife.ca/profile/index.php?s=1429 "The Seven-spotted Ladybird Beetle was brought in from Europe in the hope that it would help control populations of pests like aphids. It is doubtful that it has made any real difference, but what has happened is some of our native species have suffered a decline in populations since the Seven-spotted was introduced, perhaps because the Seven-spotted outcompetes them. Two-spotted Ladybird Beetles are the ones that most often turn up in people's homes in winter. Perhaps the best solution to ensure the beetles survive is to take them to a greenhouse that uses biocontrol." www.royalalbertamuseum.ca/natural/insects/bugsfaq/ladybir... John Acorn's book, "Ladybugs of Alberta", covers all 75 species of ladybugs found here in Alberta.

Saw this little non-native, Seven-spotted Ladybug yesterday afternoon at the Erlton/Roxborough Natural Area. Called in for a very short walk on my way home from a volunteer shift. This is perhaps the richest area in the city for wildflower species. Unfortunately, it is being seriously overtaken by invasive weeds, like the Goat's-beard (seedhead) in my image. It has a beautiful yellow flower, but .... Another weed doing a lot of damage there is Baby's-breath (Gypsophila paniculata), which probably started when someone tossed an old vaseful of flowers over the fence from the cemetery that backs on to the natural area. Apologies for replacing my photos from today - the other two only had one comment each, in 7 hours, which seemed strange and unusual. I wondered if maybe my photos weren't showing, which sometimes happens. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragopogon_dubius

At the end of two consecutive walks down in Weaselhead three days ago (the annual Dawn Chorus walk and then a bird group walk), I came across this little Seven-spotted Ladybug hugging a metal sign. "The Seven-spotted Lady Beetle is probably our most familiar Lady Beetle, being found in gardens, parks and natural areas across the continent. It wasn't always this way though - this, large, attractive beetle was brought over in the 1950's from Europe to the eastern US to supplement the aphid-eating prowess of the native lady beetles. This hardy alien has since spread across the continent. There is concern that this alien lady beetle is causing a decline in some native lady beetle species, particularly of the once common Transverse Lady Beetle. Are the robust Seven-spots out-competing the natives, eating the eggs of the natives, spreading disease or hybridizing with natives? No one knows for sure, but it is another cautionary example of the dangers of introducing alien species. One thing that ecologically conscientious gardeners can do is to refrain from buying alien species as biological controls and purchase native ones instead." talkaboutwildlife.ca/profile/index.php?s=1429

This little Seven-spotted Ladybug caught my eye when I was on a walk in Confluence Park a week ago. "With approximately 35 species of Ladybug in Alberta, identifying the exact species is a bit more of a challenge. The Seven-spotted is one of our largest ladybird beetles, getting up to 7 mm long. It has seven round black spots on the elytra (modified front wings that protect the body). Immatures are rather like short caterpillars, and are dark grey with yellow spots ..... Seven-spotted Ladybird Beetles are now the most common ladybird beetle in Alberta and can be found in most habitats. These and other ladybird beetles are often encountered in large numbers in the fall when they are preparing to hibernate .... This species was originally introduced into North America from Europe in the 1950s .... The Seven-spotted Ladybird Beetle was brought in from Europe in the hope that it would help control populations of pests like aphids. It is doubtful that it has made any real difference, but what has happened is some of our native species have suffered a decline in populations since the Seven-spotted was introduced, perhaps because the Seven-spotted outcompetes them." From www.royalalbertamuseum.ca .

These Seven-spotted Ladybugs were introduced from Europe. About 400 different types of Ladybug exist in North America.