Bug FAQPainted Lady Beetle
Mulsantina picta · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Coccinellidae
Also called: Painted Ladybird
The Painted Lady Beetle is a tiny ladybug about 3.3 to 5.3 mm long and 2.2 to 4.0 mm wide. Its wing-case markings vary a lot and may be missing, while the pronotum has more consistent spots. It lives mainly in pine forests and is common in older pine trees, and it is found across the United States and southern Canada.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The markings on the elytra are highly variable and can even be absent. The pronotum shows more reliable and recognizable markings.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults measure about 3.3 to 5.3 mm in length and 2.2 to 4.0 mm in width.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It is especially associated with pine forests. It tends to dominate in habitats with older pine trees.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 43 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Washington, California, Oregon, Colorado, Arizona, Vermont, Ohio, New York.
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
Questions people ask
How can I identify a Painted Lady Beetle?
Look for a very small ladybug about 3 to 5 mm long; the wing-case spots may vary or be missing, but the pronotum usually has distinct markings.
Source: Wikipedia
Where is the Painted Lady Beetle found?
It lives throughout the United States and southern Canada, especially in pine forests and older pine trees.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Coccinellidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulsantina_picta
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.