Invertebrates
Two-spot Ladybird
Adalia bipunctata
On a rose stem in a garden, a two-spot ladybird works along a cluster of aphids, a small red beetle with two black dots, or perhaps a black one with four red.
Overview
The two-spot ladybird, Adalia bipunctata, is a small aphid-eating beetle of gardens, woodland, and hedgerows across Europe, northern Asia, and North America. Its colour forms, linked to pollution in the past, and its decline in the face of an invader make it one of the most studied ladybirds.
A beetle that changed colour with the air
When coal smoke blackened European cities, dark two-spot ladybirds became more common, and as the air cleaned up their numbers fell, a textbook example of natural selection in action.
Status
Not Evaluated, but common, though declining where the harlequin has spread.
Two-spot Ladybird: common questions
Why do some two-spot ladybirds look black?
The species comes in several colour forms, controlled by its genes, including a black form with four red spots, and the black form was once more common in smoky cities.
What does a two-spot ladybird eat?
Both the adults and the larvae eat large numbers of aphids and other small soft-bodied insects.
Why has it declined in some places?
The invasive harlequin ladybird competes with it for food and eats its eggs and larvae.
Where is the two-spot ladybird found?
It lives in gardens, woodland, hedgerows, and parks across Europe, northern Asia, and North America.