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Adelia Bipunctata
Adelia bipunctata is the scientific name for the two-spotted lady beetle. This ladybug averages 5 millimeters in length and has a red dome-shaped shell. The two-spotted can be distinguished from other spotted lady bugs by the distinct two black spots on the outer shell (elytra). One of 450 species of ladybugs in North America, they appear in early to mid-spring and live for one to two years.
The Diet of the Two-Spotted Ladybug
Because the larva of the two-spotted ladybug is also carnivorous, the "two-spot" lays her eggs where the young can feed on colonies of aphids. Therefore, the two-spotted lady beetle can be found anywhere aphids inhabit. Aphids are dangerous because they eat new shoots and tender leaves and leave behind a residue that causes a fungus to grow on the plant host. Aphids feed on everything from crops to pine trees. The preference of the two-spotted to eat aphids has prompted farmers and gardeners to use lady bugs to control aphid populations.
Habitat Range
The major requirement for the two-spotted lady beetle along with food source is temperature. Since the ladybug can inhabit terrains from Canada to Texas, the two-spotted lady beetle can live within any ecosystem that has foliage-eating insects and a temperate environment. Like most insects, ladybugs are not active during the winter and metabolize their own fat during hibernation. When food sources are low, some ladybugs resort to cannibalism and eat two-spotted lady beetles, which reduces their population.
Habitat Based on Food Source
The ladybug also eats mealybugs, which look like a grain of rice rolled in meal. Mealybugs inhabit temperate climates and feed on plants and flowers. Like the aphid, the citrus mealybug secretes "honeydew" that causes mold to grow on the plant. Some favorites of the citrus mealybug are begonias, amaryllis and narcissus. Therefore, these plants are also places the two-spotted ladybug inhabits.