Bug FAQSmall Transverse Ladybird Beetle
Coccinella transversalis · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Coccinellidae
Also called: Transverse Ladybird Beetle, Transverse lady beetle
The small transverse ladybird is 3.8 to 6.7 mm long and 3.3 to 5.45 mm wide, with a black head, bright red or orange wing covers marked by a central black stripe and two three-lobed side spots.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
A black head tops bright red or orange wing covers that have a black line down the middle and two side markings each split into three lobes.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults measure about 3.8 to 6.7 mm in length and 3.3 to 5.45 mm in width.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It is found across India, southern and southeastern Asia, Malesia and Australia.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
It preys on many plant-eating insects, especially a wide variety of aphids, leafhoppers, scale insects, citrus psyllids, and some moth larvae.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
Do not mix it up with the European-North American species Coccinella transversoguttata, which shares a similar name.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 1 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Ohio.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What does the small transverse ladybird eat?
It hunts many aphid species, leafhoppers, scale insects, citrus psyllids, and some moth caterpillars that damage crops.
Source: Wikipedia
How can I tell it apart from similar ladybirds?
Look for a black head, bright red or orange wing covers with a central black stripe and two three-lobed side spots; it is not the same as Coccinella transversoguttata of Europe and North America.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Coccinellidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coccinella_transversalis
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.