Bug FAQLarge Spotted Ladybird
Harmonia conformis · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Coccinellidae
Also called: Common Spotted Ladybird Beetle, Large Spotted Lady Beetle, Large Spotted Ladybird Beetle
The large spotted ladybird is about 6 to 7 mm long and has a reddish body with around 20 black spots, most of which are on its wing covers. It lives in Australia and has been introduced to northern New Zealand, where it is common. Both the larvae and adults hunt other insects such as aphids, and the larvae pass through four growth stages.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Its coloration is light reddish with roughly twenty large black spots, eighteen of which are on the elytra.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
It measures about six to seven millimetres in length, which is large for a ladybird.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It is found in Australia and has become common in the northern parts of New Zealand after introduction.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Both the larval and adult stages feed on other insects, especially aphids.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
The species has an annual life cycle, with the length of each stage depending on temperature. Larvae develop through four distinct instars before becoming adults.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its native range is Australia.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
A smaller native species, Harmonia antipodum, also occurs in New Zealand and can be confused with this ladybird.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 1 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Hawaii.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: introduced in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
Are they a garden pest?
They actually help control aphids, so they are not considered a pest for plants.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Coccinellidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmonia_conformis
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.