This is one of the larger ladybird species and one which feeds solely on plant matter. It has an orange background colour with 11 even-sized black spots. A single specimen was found in Bandon, Co. Cork in 2019 and to date, no others have been found in Ireland.
Distribution in Ireland: Only known from a single specimen in Bandon, Co. Cork.
Habitat: The Irish specimen was discovered in a private household. Its natural habitats include gardens, parkland, grassland and farmland, usually low down on herbaceous vegetation.
Habits: A herbivorous species which feeds on a variety of plant species in the family Cucurbita, including White Bryony in the UK and melons and cucumbers elsewhere in Europe. It arrived in the UK in SW London in 1990 and has been found at several other localities since. It is probable that the Irish specimen was a single vagrant or was accidentally introduced and consequently, it is unlikely that a breeding population exists. Despite climate change-induced spreads elsewhere in Europe, it is unlikely to colonise Ireland due to the scarcity of White Bryony and other related Cucurbita.
