Anisosticta novemdecimpunctata Linnaeus

Water ladybird

[Morphology] 3.5 - 5 mm. Small elongated mostly bright orange ladybird but also in shades of brown or pink. Seldom flies. Much smaller than hippodamia spec.

When cultivating we successfully raised them on Hyalopterus pruni. We noticed no cannibalism at all, which for carnivorous ladybird-larvae is remarkable when in captivity.
[Ecology] On phragmites, typha and other plants along water. Favours plants that root in the water, less so the reeds found on the shore.
Sometimes on Willow.
[Distribution] Locally abundant. Probably much more widespread than previously thought, somehow it seems to be overlooked often.


° NL:Negentienpuntlieveheersbeestje ° FR:coccinelle des roseaux ° D:Teich-Marienkäfer °