Eighteen-spotted ladybird | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | |
Phylum: | |
Class: | |
Order: | |
Family: | |
Genus: | |
Species: | M. octodecimguttata
|
Binomial name | |
Myrrha octodecimguttata | |
Subspecies | |
The eighteen-spotted ladybird (Myrrha octodecimguttata), or 18-spot ladybird, is a species of beetle in the genus Myrrha in the ladybird family that lives primarily in pine forests and mixed (deciduous/conifer) forests inhabiting the upper part of the canopy and feeding on aphids. [1] They favour old pines and breed in the crowns of pine trees in Germany [2] M. octodecimguttata also occurs on high bogs ( West Siberian Plain , East Siberian taiga) [3] Adults overwinter in aggregations under peeled-off bark and in crevices at the bases of old pine trunks. [4] It is usually 4 to 5 millimetres (0.16 to 0.20 in) in length. [5] [6]
Europe, North Africa. European Russia, the Caucasus, Siberia, the Russian Far East, Belarus, Ukraine, Transcaucasia, Kazakhstan, Western Asia, Mongolia. [7] [8]