Propylea quatuordecimpunctata

Taxobox
name = "Propylea quatuordecimpunctata"


image_width = 250px
image_caption = "Propylea quatuordecimpunctata"
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Arthropoda
classis = Insecta
ordo = Coleoptera
familia = Coccinellidae
genus = "Propylea"
species = "P. quatuordecimpunctata"
binomial = "Propylea quatuordecimpunctata"
binomial_authority = (Linnaeus, 1758)

"Propylea quatuordecimpunctata" (or "P. 14-punctata") is a small lady beetle, native and widespread in the Old World, and invasive in North America. It is sometimes referred to by the common name 14-spotted ladybird beetle, or simply P-14. The background color ranges from cream through yellow to light orange, but not red. Only rarely are 14 separate spots present on the elytra; most commonly, several of the spots fuse into larger markings, particularly along the midline, where they often create a shape resembling an anchor, sometimes fusing to such an extent as to render the body almost entirely black except for 12 pale spots.