Hippodamia tredecimpunctata, commonly known as the thirteen-spot ladybeetle, is a species of lady beetle.
Description
Adult H. tredecimpunctata have domed backs, mainly oval, often shiny with short legs and antennae. They have two wing covers. They are usually red to orange in color. This species has thirteen dark or black spots. In North America, it can be found in Canada and the northern United States. The relative abundance of this species has decreased in many regions (midwestern US, Maine, Quebec, and New Brunswick) following the introduction of the non-native ladybeetle Coccinella septempunctata. On the other hand, H. tredecimpunctata appears to coexist with non-native ladybeetles in Manitoba and Ontario.
Habitat
It is a stenotypic (limited habitat) species most associated with wet meadows, lakesides, flood plains and river deltas, marshes, marshy alder thickets, carr, and bodden; on Carex, Sparganium, Phragmites, and Salix.
Biology
It feeds on Aphis farinosa on grasses and sedges associated with Sipha glyceriae, and on aphids associated with Gramineae, Umbelliferae, and some other plants. It also feeds on Erysiphales on reeds, before the emergence of aphids. It has also been found on cane, rotten hay, detritus, and under peeled-off bark.
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Image:Hippodamia_tredecimpunctata_larva.jpg|Larva
Image:Hippodamia_tredecimpunctata_02.jpg|Adult
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