Bug FAQTortoise-shelled Lady Beetle
Harmonia testudinaria
Adult tortoise-shelled lady beetles are about 6 mm long and start out completely yellow, later gaining black spots and two black stripes on the pronotum. They live on plant leaves and stems in Australia, New Guinea, Indonesia and introduced populations in Hawaii, where they feed on aphids such as the giant willow aphid.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Newly emerged adults are all yellow; as they age they develop black spots and two black stripes across the pronotum.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults measure roughly 6 mm in length.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
They are found on the leaves and stems of various plants.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
They prey on aphids and other small insects, including the giant willow aphid (Tuberolachnus salignus).
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Eggs are laid on suitable plants, hatch into larvae that molt several times, and then become pupae before emerging as adults.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
The species occurs naturally in Australia, New Guinea and Indonesia, and has been introduced to Hawaii.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 51 of 51 states and DC. Most records: California, Texas, New York, Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Arizona, Massachusetts.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What do tortoise-shelled lady beetles eat?
They feed on aphids and other insects, such as the giant willow aphid.
Source: Wikipedia
Where can I find this lady beetle?
It lives on plant leaves and stems in Australia, New Guinea, Indonesia and introduced populations in Hawaii.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family ()
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Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmonia_testudinaria
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.