The spotted lady beetle is about 1/4th of an inch long and is more flattened than most lady beetles. There are six spots on each wing cover, The thorax is a similar shade of red with two large triangular black patches.
These lady beetles can be seen wherever the insects on which they prey are found. They eat mostly aphids but also mites, insect eggs and small larvae. The overall occurrence of this beetle in Fontenelle Forest is not known. This one was photographed on Missouri river trail.
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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