Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Coccinellidae
Species: Coccinella undecimpunctata
Scientific name: Coccinella undecimpunctata
Common name: Elevenspotted ladybird
The Ladybird Beetles are of the tribe Coccinellini and are amongst the most valuable predatory insects in the natural control of agricultural pests. They are almost wholly carnivorous, having a preference for aphids and mealy bugs, although eggs and younger stages of lepidoptera are often taken, the only plant food consisting of pollen and sometimes fungi. They range in size from 3.5 - 5 mm. The adults are brick-red with 11 black spots, a pair of yellowish spots on the anterio-median margins. Thorax black with cephalo-lateral margins yellowish; the head black. Eleven-spot ladybird often spurns only 9 spots. The shoulder spots being reduced or missing.
This common ladybird which flies feeds on a wide variety of insects and is found among the colonies of long-tailed mealy bugs and aphids. Both the adults and larvae are predatory and were introduced into New Zealand in 1874 for the control of aphids as they can each in a lifetime eat a 1000 aphids.
Oleanda aphis the diet for these ladybirds
Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
