Psyllobora vigintiduopunctata

{{Short description|Species of beetle}}

{{Speciesbox

| image = Thea.vigintiduopunctata.7232.jpg

| image_upright = 1.1

| genus = Psyllobora

| species = vigintiduopunctata

| authority = (Linnaeus, 1758) Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema Naturae per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis, Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. Holmiæ: impensis direct. Laurentii Salvii. i–ii, 1–824 pp

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File:Psyllobora vigintiduopunctata - 2012-05-01.webm

Image:Psyllobora.vigintiduopunctata.6921.larva.jpg

Psyllobora vigintiduopunctata (often abbreviated to Psyllobora 22-punctata), the 22-spot ladybird, (earlier known as Thea vigintiduopunctata) is a common, 3–5 mm long ladybird native to Europe.{{cite web |url=http://www.uksafari.com/ladybird22s.htm |title=22-spot ladybird |publisher=UK Safari |year=2006 |author=G. Bradley}} This species was originally discovered in Germany in 1874 on the leaves of Astragalus, consuming the hyphae of Erysiphe holosericea.{{Cite journal |last=Karataraki |first=K. |last2=Goumenaki |first2=E. |last3=Raftakis |first3=E. |last4=Goutos |first4=D. |last5=Kapetanakis |first5=E. |date=2015-11-08 |title=First record of the mycophagous ladybird Psyllobora vigintiduopunctata on greenhouse cucumber plants in Crete (Greece) |url=https://ejournals.epublishing.ekt.gr/index.php/entsoc/article/view/11544 |journal=Entomologia Hellenica |language=en |volume=24 |issue=2 |pages=37–41 |doi=10.12681/eh.11544 |issn=2459-3885|doi-access=free }} The elytra are yellow in colour with 22 black spots. The pronotum is yellow or white with 5 black spots.Ansari Pour A, Shakarami J. Recognition of ladybird fauna (Col.: Coccinellidae) in the alfalfa fields of Khorramabad. The Journal of Animal & Plant Sciences. 2012; 22(4):939-943.

This is the only ladybird species in Britain and Ireland where the three life stages have very similar coloring and pattern; the pupa and larva look similar to the adult form, making them conspicuous and easier to identify.{{cite book |last1=Roy |first1=Helen |last2=Brown |first2=Peter |date=2018 |title=Field Guide to the Ladybirds of Great Britain and Ireland |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |page=78-79 |isbn=9781472935694}} Unlike most other ladybirds which feed on aphids, P. 22-punctata eats mildew — especially from umbellifers and low-growing shrubs .{{cite book |title=Collins Field Guide: Insects of Britain and Northern Europe. 3rd edition |author=Michael Chinery |author-link=Michael Chinery |isbn=0-00-219918-1 |year=1993 |publisher=HarperCollins}}

The 22-spot ladybird is best looked for amongst low vegetation.{{Cite journal|title=Stronger diversity effects with increased environmental stress: A study of multitrophic interactions between oak, powdery mildew and ladybirds|last=Mathias|first=Dilllen|journal=PLOS ONE|date=April 18, 2017|volume=12|issue=4|pages=e0176104|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0176104|pmid=28419174|pmc=5395233|doi-access=free}} It has occasionally been found in woodlands, on lower branches of young trees and in some coastal areas. In a survey conducted between 1960 and 1965 by G.I. Savoiskaya in South-Eastern Kazakhstan, up to 500 individuals were found over-wintering together in the leaf litter at the bases of birches, hawthorns and wild apple trees. These instances were noted as being found between 1000 meters and 2000 meters above sea level. {{cite conference |last=Savoiskaya |first=G.I. |date=1966 |title=Hibernation and migration of Coccinellids in South-Eastern Kazakhstan |book-title=Ecology of Aphidophagus Insects |conference=Symposium on the Ecology of Aphidophagus Insects |location=Liblice, Czech Republic |publisher=ACADEMIA, publishing house of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, Prague }}

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew officially recorded their first 22-spot lady bird in 1969, publishing this finding along with many other additions to their wild flora and fauna records. {{cite journal |last1=Shaw |first1=H. K. Airy |date=1973 |title=Additions to the Wild Fauna and Flora of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4108882 |journal=Kew Bulletin |volume=28 |issue=3 |pages=401 |doi=10.2307/4108882 |access-date=3 April 2025}}

The hemolymph of the 22-spot ladybird beetle contains a new dimeric alkaloid, psylloborine A, which has unique structural features, highlighting the species' complex chemical defenses and evolutionary adaptations. {{Cite journal |last=Schröder |first=Frank C. |last2=Tolasch |first2=Till |date=October 1998 |title=Psylloborine A, a new dimeric alkaloid from a ladybird beetle |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0040402098007534 |journal=Tetrahedron |language=en |volume=54 |issue=40 |pages=12243–12248 |doi=10.1016/S0040-4020(98)00753-4}}