THE CULTIVATOR 
The Spotted Squash Bug—( OoccmeUa oorealis.) 
order of 
There is a large family of insects of the 
Beetles, ( Coleoptera ,) called Coccinellidce, 
which has a very wide geographical range, 
being familiar to the farmer as well as to the 
entomologist, in this country and in Europe. 
Their common names are Lady-bug, Lady- 
cow, Lady-bird. There are many different 
species in this family, varying in their size 
and color. Some are of a dark or black color, 
with yellow or red spots; others have a yel¬ 
low or red ground with black spots. Some 
have only two spots while others have twenty 
or more. This family with few exceptions is 
insectivorous, that is, feeds upon insects ; in¬ 
deed until recently, entomologists have given 
the entire family of Coccinellidce the credit 
of being our friends and aids in diminish¬ 
ing the number of destructive insects, such 
as Aphids, or Plant-lice. The cultivator 
may therefore be perplexed, by finding that 
Harris and other writers, urge us to spare 
the Lady-birds, while the evidences of the 
injury produced by a disreputable member 
of this worthy family are unmistakeable. 
The accompanying cuts, Figs. 1 and 2, give a verti¬ 
cal and side view of the Coccinella borealis , which to 
some of our readers will be entirely familiar, while 
others may never have seen it. In some localities in 
New-Jersey, New-York and Connecticut, it has been a 
gives a greatly magnified view of the head and the 
thorax, the latter covering the former like a hood, a 
is the thorax, on which are several spots; b b are the 
Fig 
Fig. 1. Fig. 2. Fig. 3. 
Figs. 1 and 2—The Coccinella borealis , or Lady-bird 
3 —The same insect in the larva or worm state, 
very troublesome vistor, entirely destroying the foliage 
of the squash vfhe even after the plant has reached a 
large size, and is in full bearing. 
In no work have I been able to find any mention of 
this insect, except in Dr. Emerson’s excellent “ Ameri¬ 
can Farmer’s Encyclopedia,” and even there in the de¬ 
scription accompanying the figure, it is said to be in¬ 
sectivorous, but under the head of “Squash-bug” the 
true habit of the insect is given, with the name of 
“ Coccinella borealis .” 
As in several respects its habits are interesting and 
peculiar, I will give the results of a few observations 
made during the summer of 1856. 
The form of the perfect insect is nearly that of a 
hemisphere. Like all beetles, it possesses horny wing 
cases, which when closed, cover a pair of folded mem¬ 
branous wings. Its legs are yellow, quite short, being 
scarcely seen when looking at it from above. The head 
is very small, as compared to the body, and is so cov- 
Fig. 4—A magnified view of the head of the Coccinella. 
vered by the thorax as to be almost invisible. Fig. 4 
Fig. 5 —a a The larva feeding within the circle, b An insect which 
preys upon the larva, c Size of the Iaiva when first hatched. 
eyes, which are compound or formed of a number of 
smaller eyes arranged in rows ; c c are the antennae ; 
d the mandibles or forceps with which it cuts its food; 
e e are moveable jointed organs of the mouth, which 
serve as fingers or feelers, and are called Palpi. 
The color is a dull yellow of uniform shade, but hav¬ 
ing on the thorax and wing cases nineteen black spots, 
(counting as two each those which are divided by the 
suture of the wing) It is first seen early in June as 
a perfect insect, feeding in the day time upon the 
upper surface of the leaf. It has a singular habit 
which I have noticed in no other insect. In feeding 
its first act is to mark out with its forceps a circle 
or semi-circle, sometimes of great regularity, enclosing 
the portion of the leaf upon which it is about to feed. 
The leaf is then eaten within this mark, and no where 
else. The larva or worm observes the same habit of 
marking out its pasture ground, as seen in Fig. 5, a, 
The insect is not quick in its movements, and does not 
readily take wing, but when disturbed, draws its legs 
and antennae under its body and falls to the ground. 
Shortly after its first appearance it is found in pairs, 
and soon after commences to deposit its eggs. These 
eggs are placed in irregular groups on the under side 
of the leaf. When first hatched, the young larva, Fig. 
5, c, is very small, of a chrome yellow, and armed even at 
this early period, with thornlike spines. One of these 
spines magnified in Fig. 6, shows the formidable charac¬ 
ter of this natural defence. These larvae eat voraciously 
and grow rapidly, casting their skins several times. A 
magnified view of the larva is given in Fig. 7. They 
have six true legs, and use the tail or 
posterior extremity in walking, as a 
seventh leg. After attaining the size 
represented in Fig. 3, they crawl to 
some sheltered spot on the under side 
of the leaf, or upon the stem, and fas¬ 
ten themselves securely for the 
change to a pupa or chrysalis, the 
pupa case being the thorny skin of 
the larva. Remaining in this dor¬ 
mant state something over a week, K 
lt then emerges as a perfect insect, ed v f ew of n Spine 
and if not too late in the season, re- of the young larva. 
