The ladybirds (Coccinellidae) are a worldwide family of hemispherical, flying beetles with over 6,000 species. There are countless country- and local-specific names, which either have a religious reference or are due to the different number of dots on the back. These include lady beetle, lucky beetle, God beetle, Lord God beetle, heaven beetle, dear Lord God beetle, Mother God beetle, seven-point beetle and sun beetle.
The insects have different numbers of dots on their wings. There are species with 2, 4, 5, 7, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22 and 24 dots. However, the number of dots does not mean a priori a separate species, the dots often merge into one another. The colour can range from light beige to yellow, orange, all shades of brown, pink, red and black. The body size varies from 1 to 12 mm. The two most common species in Europe are Adalia bipunctata (2 spots) and Coccinella septempunctata (7 spots). The Asian ladybird is gaining ground worldwide (usually 19 dots).
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Markus J. Eser
Weinakademiker und Herausgeber „Der Weinkalender“