Bug FAQTwenty-spotted Lady Beetle
Psyllobora vigintimaculata · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Coccinellidae
Also called: 20-spotted Lady Beetle, 20-spotted Ladybird Beetle, Ladybird beetle
The twenty-spotted lady beetle is a tiny beetle, about 2 mm long, found across much of North America. It seeks out plants with powdery mildew and feeds on the fungus, and has been studied for helping control pests on Jatropha crops in Brazil. In the lab it goes through four larval stages before pupating, and the timing changes with rearing conditions.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Its pattern of twenty spots makes it easy to tell apart from similar lady beetles in North America.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults measure roughly 1.8 to 3.0 mm in length.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It lives throughout North America, from Newfoundland and Alaska down to Virginia, Tennessee, Louisiana, and out to southern California.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
It uses smell to locate powdery-mildew-infected plants and feeds on the fungus. Researchers have also examined it as a possible helper against pests that damage Jatropha crops in Brazil.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
In laboratory studies the beetle passes through four larval instars before pupating. How long each stage lasts depends on the rearing conditions.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its native range covers the same broad area of North America.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
It can be mistaken for the fourteen-spotted lady beetle or the Asian lady beetle, but its unique spot pattern sets it apart.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 50 of 51 states and DC. Most records: California, Washington, Oregon, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What does the twenty-spotted lady beetle eat?
It feeds on powdery mildew fungus on plants and has been studied for its role in controlling pest insects on Jatropha crops.
Source: Wikipedia
Where can I find this beetle?
It occurs across much of North America, from the far north in Newfoundland and Alaska down to the southern states and west to southern California.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Coccinellidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psyllobora_vigintimaculata
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.