Morphs and forms
Adalia bipunctata is a polymorphic species with a Palearctic and Nearctic distribution. It occurs in many forms, ranging in colour from red to black. The most common melanistic forms are quadrimaculata and sexpustulata (black with four and six red spots respectively), whilst the non-melanistic forms are typica (red with two black spots) and annulata (red with two irregular black spots or with two large black spots, each of which has one or more small satellite spots). Other rare forms of the non-melanic species include interpunctata, unifasciata and haneli. There is also a wingless form, which is weaker and lacks all or part of the elytra and forewings. European and North Asian populations of A. bipunctata contain 5–10 per cent melanic forms (black-coloured individuals).
Commonly occurring colour morphs:
- non-melanic (light-coloured) morphs:
- form typica (obr. 1 - 10)
- form annulata (obr. 19 - 23)
- melanické (tmavé) morfy:
- form quadrimaculata (obr. 11 - 15)
- form sexpustulata (obr. 16 - 18)
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Sources
- Benisch, C. (2023): kerbtier.de – Beetle Fauna of Germany. – https://www.kerbtier.de/enindex.html (24.10.2026)
- Ivo Hodek, H. F. van Emden, Alois Honěk: Ecology and behaviour of the ladybird beetles (Coccinellidae), John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, 2012, ISBN: 978-1-4051-8422-9
- Alois Honěk, Zdeňka Martinková, Stano Pekár: Temporal stability of morph frequency in central European populations of Adalia bipunctata and A. decempunctata (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae); Eur. J. Entomol. 102 (3): 437-442, 2005; DOI: 10.14411/eje.2005.062
- Honěk A.: Colour polymorphism in Adalia bipunctata in Bohemia. Entomol. Germ., 1975, 1: 293–299
- David W. Langor, Shawn Abraham, Barry Hicks and H.E. James Hammond: Adalia decempunctata (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), a Palaearctic species now established in North America; The Canadian Entomologist (2023), 155, e35, 1–11; doi:10.4039/tce.2023.23
