''Nephus quadrimaculatus'' is a species of

ladybird Coccinellidae () is a widespread family of small beetles. They are commonly known as ladybugs in North America and ladybirds in the United Kingdom; "lady" refers to mother Mary. Entomologists use the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles ...

belonging to the family

Coccinellidae Coccinellidae () is a widespread family (biology), family of small beetles. They are commonly known as ladybugs in North America and ladybirds in the United Kingdom; "lady" refers to Mary, mother of Jesus, mother Mary. Entomologists use the ...

. It was first described by

Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Herbst Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Herbst (1 November 1743 – 5 November 1807) was a German natural history, naturalist and entomologist from Petershagen, Minden-Ravensberg. He served as a chaplain in the Prussian army. His marriage in Berlin, 1770, with E ...

in 1783.

Description

''Nephus quadrimaculatus'' can reach a length of and feeds on aphids and mealybugs.

Elytra An elytron (; ; : elytra, ) is a modified, hardened forewing of beetles (Coleoptera), though a few of the true bugs (Hemiptera) such as the family Schizopteridae are extremely similar; in true bugs, the forewings are called hemelytra (sometime ...

are black, each with two red-yellow, kidney-shaped spots.

Distribution

This species is present in most of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, inhabiting warm areas in the lowlands and on the lower slopes of mountains. It occurs in forests and parks on a variety of deciduous trees and

ivy ''Hedera'', commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to Western Europe, Central Europe, Southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern ...

(''Hedera'' species).

References

External links

Biolib

GBIF

Coleoptera Poloniae
Coccinellidae Beetles described in 1783 Beetles of Europe Taxa named by Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Herbst {{Coccinellidae-stub