The Tytthaspis sedecimpunctata is a type of beetle known as the sixteen-spot ladybird. It can be found in various regions including Europe, North Africa, and parts of Asia. This beetle lives in grassy areas like dunes, sandy shores, and meadows, and feeds on aphids, pollen, mites, and thrips. During winter, these ladybirds often gather in large groups on tree trunks and other surfaces. They are small, measuring around 2-3mm, and are typically cream or beige with fused spots and a distinct dark line on their backs.
Tytthaspis sedecimpunctata is a species of beetle in the family Coccinellidae. Its common English name is the sixteen-spot ladybird. It is found in the Palearctic - Europe, North Africa, European Russia, the Caucasus, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Transcaucasia, Northern Kazakhstan, Western Asia and Northwest China.
It is an inhabitant of the grass layer occurring on dunes, inland dunes, sandy shores and bodden, in Eurasian steppe or on wastelands and dry meadows and occasionally in marshy meadows. It is recorded as feeding on aphids but also on Pucciniales and powdery mildew, on the pollen on Gramineae, Compositae, and Convolvulaceae, and also on mites and thrips (Thysanoptera)
The 16-spot frequently forms very large aggregations on tree trunks, fence posts, logs and so on during winter. It is a small ladybird of around 2-3mm. It is usually a cream or beige colour, although darker forms do occur. It has a distinctive dark line on the middle of its elytra, and its spots are often fused, with three fused spots often forming a line on either side of the ladybird.
== References ==
The Tytthaspis sedecimpunctata is a type of beetle known as the sixteen-spot ladybird. It can be found in various regions including Europe, North Africa, and parts of Asia. This beetle lives in grassy areas like dunes, sandy shores, and meadows, and feeds on aphids, pollen, mites, and thrips. During winter, these ladybirds often gather in large groups on tree trunks and other surfaces. They are small, measuring around 2-3mm, and are typically cream or beige with fused spots and a distinct dark line on their backs.
Ancestry Graph
%%{
init: {
'theme': 'base',
'themeVariables': {
'primaryColor': '#83a09c',
'primaryTextColor': '#212d2b',
'primaryBorderColor': '#fff',
'lineColor': '#fff',
'secondaryColor': '#006100',
'tertiaryColor': '#fff'
}
}
}%%
flowchart LR
classDef active fill:#fff
arthropods("phylum: Arthropods"):::active
arthropods-->insects("class: Insects"):::active
insects-->beetles("order: Beetles"):::active
beetles-->lady-beetles("family: Lady Beetles"):::active
lady-beetles-.->10-spot-ladybird(["species: 10-spot Ladybird"])
lady-beetles==>16-spot-ladybird(["species: 16-spot Ladybird"]):::active
lady-beetles-.->22-spot-ladybird(["species: 22-spot Ladybird"])
lady-beetles-.->asian-lady-beetle(["species: Asian Lady Beetle"])
lady-beetles-.->coccinula-quatuordecimpustulata(["species: Coccinula quatuordecimpustulata"])
lady-beetles-.->fourteen-spotted-lady-beetle(["species: Fourteen-spotted Lady Beetle"])
lady-beetles-.->hieroglyphic-lady-beetle(["species: Hieroglyphic Lady Beetle"])
lady-beetles-.->kidney-spot-ladybird(["species: Kidney-spot Ladybird"])
lady-beetles-.->pine-ladybird(["species: Pine Ladybird"])
lady-beetles-.->seven-spotted-lady-beetle(["species: Seven-spotted Lady Beetle"])
lady-beetles-.->water-ladybird(["species: Water Ladybird"])
click 10-spot-ladybird href "/en/catalogue/arthropods/insects/beetles/lady-beetles/10-spot-ladybird/"
click 16-spot-ladybird href "/en/catalogue/arthropods/insects/beetles/lady-beetles/16-spot-ladybird/"
click 22-spot-ladybird href "/en/catalogue/arthropods/insects/beetles/lady-beetles/22-spot-ladybird/"
click asian-lady-beetle href "/en/catalogue/arthropods/insects/beetles/lady-beetles/asian-lady-beetle/"
click coccinula-quatuordecimpustulata href "/en/catalogue/arthropods/insects/beetles/lady-beetles/coccinula-quatuordecimpustulata/"
click fourteen-spotted-lady-beetle href "/en/catalogue/arthropods/insects/beetles/lady-beetles/fourteen-spotted-lady-beetle/"
click hieroglyphic-lady-beetle href "/en/catalogue/arthropods/insects/beetles/lady-beetles/hieroglyphic-lady-beetle/"
click kidney-spot-ladybird href "/en/catalogue/arthropods/insects/beetles/lady-beetles/kidney-spot-ladybird/"
click pine-ladybird href "/en/catalogue/arthropods/insects/beetles/lady-beetles/pine-ladybird/"
click seven-spotted-lady-beetle href "/en/catalogue/arthropods/insects/beetles/lady-beetles/seven-spotted-lady-beetle/"
click water-ladybird href "/en/catalogue/arthropods/insects/beetles/lady-beetles/water-ladybird/"
click arthropods href "/en/catalogue/arthropods/"
click insects href "/en/catalogue/arthropods/insects/"
click beetles href "/en/catalogue/arthropods/insects/beetles/"
click lady-beetles href "/en/catalogue/arthropods/insects/beetles/lady-beetles/"
Further Information
Copyright
