Bug FAQMountain Lady Beetle
Coccinella monticola · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Coccinellidae
Also called: Tamarack Lady Beetle
The mountain lady beetle measures about 5.2 to 7 mm in length (0.20 to 0.28 in). Its wing covers are usually red but can appear orange or yellow, and each elytron bears two similar oval spots plus a single spot behind the head. It may be mistaken for Coccinella difficilis.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The beetle typically has red forewings that can also be orange or yellow. Each wing cover shows two similar oval spots, and there is a single spot just behind the head.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults are 5.2 to 7 mm long (0.20 to 0.28 in).
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
It can be confused with the species Coccinella difficilis.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 18 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Washington, California, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Oregon, Idaho, New Mexico.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in United States; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Same family (Coccinellidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coccinella_monticola
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.