Bug FAQCalifornia Lady Beetle
Coccinella californica · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Coccinellidae
Also called: Johnson's Lady Beetle, Lady beetle
Adults are about 5 to 7 mm long. They have a red wing cover with no spots, a mostly black thorax, and a black head marked with two pale spots; the pronotum edge is black with pale spots on the underside and back, and the wing cover shows a small scutellar spot and a dark brown seam. These beetles live along the coast in counties north of the Transverse Ranges.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The beetle’s red wing covers are usually spotless, the thorax is mostly black, and the head is black with two pale spots; the front edge of the pronotum is black with pale ventral and dorsal spots, and the wing cover has a small scutellar spot and a dark brown seam.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults measure roughly 5.1 to 6.8 mm in length.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
They are found in coastal habitats of the counties north of the Transverse Ranges.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 14 of 51 states and DC. Most records: California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Arizona, Texas, North Carolina, Georgia.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
How can I identify a California lady beetle?
Look for a small beetle about 5 to 7 mm long with red, usually spotless wing covers, a mostly black thorax, and a black head bearing two pale spots; the pronotum edge is black with pale spots and the wing cover has a tiny scutellar spot and a dark brown seam.
Source: Wikipedia
Where is the California lady beetle found?
It lives along the coast in the counties north of the Transverse Ranges.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Coccinellidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coccinella_californica
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.