SIZE

Sizes are not given for most ladybirds. This is because there is considerable variation even amongst one species:

• Well fed larvae will produce imagines of a larger size than larvae which have had less food or food of the wrong sort.

• Males are usually smaller than females - this is not a diagnostic feature but in any group of ladybirds, the largest ones are likely to be females, the smallest ones male.

• There is genetic variation between individuals and populations (but it is not easy to separate this factor from the effects of local food availability).

Therefore ladybirds have been described here as:

• LARGE: 6-7mms - the Eyed ladybird is the largest species, commonly longer than 7mms, but the 7-spot usually falls within this range;

• MEDIUM: 5mms (+ or - 1mm!) such as the 2-spot;

• SMALL: 3.5mms (+ or - 1mm!) such as the 16-spot;

• VERY SMALL: less than 3mms as some of the atypical coccinellids.

NOTE: these descriptions do not apply to other families of beetles. Amongst the ground beetles, for instance, 'large' would apply to Carabus species (around 20mms), 'medium' to species such as Nebria brevicollis (around 10mms) and 'small' to some species of Bembidion (around 3mms). The comment on sex differences applies to most beetle families: males usually (but not always) have lengths about 10% less than females.

	For illustrative purposes this shows a Cream-streaked ladybird (recently emerged from its pupa) which is 'large' and an 18-spot ladybird which is 'medium'.
	As well as species and gender differences, nutrition can affect body size. In October 2005 many of the 'harlequin' ladybirds observed in London were very small - see left. Presumably, these caught insufficient or unsuitable food.

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MODIFIED 2/11/05