Bug FAQTrident Lady Beetle
Hyperaspis trifurcata · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Coccinellidae
The trident lady beetle is a tiny beetle about 2.3 to 3 mm long. Adults have a black pronotum with a reddish-yellow edge and black elytra marked with red or yellow patterns. Both larvae and adults hunt cochineal scale insects on prickly-pear cacti.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The beetle’s pronotum is black with a reddish-yellow border, and its wing covers are black with variable red or yellow markings.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults measure roughly 2.3 to 3 mm in length.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It occurs in North America, recorded from Durango in Mexico, Arizona and Texas. It has been introduced to Israel for biological control and has recently been found in Jordan.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Both the larvae and adults specialize in preying on cochineal scale insects (Dactylopius spp.) that feed on Opuntia cacti.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Females lay eggs inside the wax secreted by cochineal scales to hide them from parasites, and the newly hatched larvae stay protected in that wax. Larval and pupal stages can be parasitized by the encyrtid wasp Homalotylus cockerelli.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
The species is native to North America, specifically Mexico (Durango), Arizona and Texas.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 5 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, Arizona, California, New Mexico, Florida.
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 does the trident lady beetle look like?
It has a black pronotum with a reddish-yellow edge and black wing covers marked with red or yellow patterns.
Source: Wikipedia
Where can I find this beetle?
It is found in North America, Durango (Mexico), Arizona and Texas, and has been introduced to Israel and Jordan.
Source: Wikipedia
What does the trident lady beetle eat?
Both larvae and adults feed on cochineal scale insects that live on prickly-pear cacti.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Coccinellidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperaspis_trifurcata
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-26 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-26.