Four-spotted nephus
The four-spotted nephus is a tiny black ladybird. It is only about 2 millimetres long, smaller than a grain of rice. Each of its wing covers has two red-yellow spots shaped like little beans.
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Fun facts
Two spots on each wing cover make four spots in all, which gives it its name.
Gardeners are happy to see it, because it eats bugs that harm plants.
It lives on trees that lose their leaves in autumn, and on ivy.
It likes warm places, so you find it in lowlands and on the lower parts of mountains.
Most asked questions about Four-spotted nephus
?How big is the four-spotted nephus?
Only 1.5 to 2 millimetres long, so you need sharp eyes to spot it.
?What does the four-spotted nephus eat?
Aphids and mealybugs, small bugs that suck juice from plants.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Nephus quadrimaculatus
- Named by
- Herbst, 1783
- Group
- Ladybirds
- Family
- Coccinellidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Coleoptera > Coccinellidae
- Lives on
- Europe
Where the facts come from
- Nephus quadrimaculatus (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Hectonichus. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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