Six-spotted zigzag ladybird
The six-spotted zigzag ladybird is a tiny ladybird that comes in several different colour patterns. Some have spots and some have zigzag stripes, so even experts can mix them up. It is a busy little hunter of tiny plant bugs.
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Fun facts
Its colour pattern is controlled by two genes, which is why there are so many different looks.
Darker ones are more common in cooler places, maybe because dark colours soak up more warmth from the sun.
People brought it to Caribbean islands on purpose, to eat pests on crops.
It is only about 3 to 4 millimetres long, smaller than a grain of rice.
Most asked questions about Six-spotted zigzag ladybird
?What does the six-spotted zigzag ladybird eat?
Aphids, whiteflies, scale insects and other tiny bugs that harm plants.
?Does it always have six spots?
No. It comes in several colour patterns, so the name can be misleading.
?Is this ladybird dangerous?
No. It is harmless to people and helpful to gardeners and farmers.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Cheilomenes sexmaculata
- Group
- Ladybirds
- Family
- Coccinellidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Coleoptera > Coccinellidae
- Lives on
- Asia, Australia and Oceania, North America, South America
Where the facts come from
- Cheilomenes sexmaculata (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Renjusplace. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at hello@bugwiki.app and we will fix it.
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