Tytthaspis sedecimpunctata | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia
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Phylum: | Arthropoda
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Class: | Insecta
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Order: | Coleoptera
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Family: | Coccinellidae
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Genus: | Tytthaspis
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Species: | T. sedecimpunctata
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Binomial name | |
Tytthaspis sedecimpunctata (Linnaeus, 1761) [1]
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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.[2][3] 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.[4] 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) [5][6]
The 16-spot frequently forms very large aggregations on tree trunks, fence posts, logs and so on during winter.[7] 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.