This is a yellowish red or tannish red beetle 1/6th to ¼ th inch long. The beetle usually has 12 black spots on the elytra although sometimes this number varies. . There are white lines converging behind the head and these are common to all members of this species. It does not have the typical oval shape of most lady beetles. It was identified with the help of experts at Bugguide.net.
This is a very common beetle throughout the continent. Its occurrence at Fontenelle Forest is not known. This is the first photograph of one at the forest and was taken at Camp Brewster. We would expect it to be common at Fontenelle Forest also.
This beetle is also known as the pink-spotted lady beetle and the twelve spotted- lady beetle. In addition to insects they also eat pollen, nectar, water and honeydew. When normal prey is scarce, both adults and larvae sometimes show cannibalistic tendencies, eating eggs, larvae and pupae of their own species.
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