Convergent lady beetle | |
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Sucking on an aphid, Rock Creek Park | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Coleoptera |
Family: | Coccinellidae |
Genus: | Hippodamia |
Species: | H. convergens
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Binomial name | |
Hippodamia convergens Guérin-Méneville, 1842
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Hippodamia convergens, commonly known as the convergent lady beetle, is one of the most common lady beetles in North America and is found throughout the continent.[1] They tend to live a variety of habitats, including grasslands and forests.[2]
Female H. convergens can lay over 1000 eggs over the span of a few months during the spring or early summer.[3] In some populations, the beetles may undergo diapause if there are limited food resources to delay reproduction.[4]
H. convergens eat soft-bodied insects, with aphids being the primary food resource.[2] Aphids are a known pest, so the H. convergens has been used as a method to control aphids by releasing the beetles to act as a predator for the aphids.[5]
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