In the Netherlands there are sixty species. They are different in colour, size and spot. Worldwide 5000 species. The Seven-spot ladybird is very common and therefore the best known. From the joints of their legs, they release an orange-yellow liquid as a defense with a strong repellent smell (hemolymph or insect bleed). It is a little predator. Both the larva and the ladybird itself feed on aphids and insects larvae. There are also species, which feed on mildew and even scale insects. In wintertime ladybirds hibernate, often in large groups in sheltered places.
The eggs are laid on or under the leaves. The larval period lasts about three weeks.
You the ladybirds from many other beetles, because they have the form of half ball. But there are also similar beetle species. 
German: Marienkäfer   French: Coccinellidés, coccinelles, bêtes à bon Dieu

   Ladybird eggs

Ladybird eggs are stuck in clusters under leaves. 
On this photo it is a bamboo leaf. I'm not sure what kind of ladybird has layed this eggs. There were many Asian ladybirds. But a Seven-spot ladybird is also possible. 

     It was a good spot, for there were many aphids on the bamboo leaves.

Pine ladybird (Exochomus quadripustulatus - Brumus quadripustulatus). Genus Exochomus - Brumus. Subfamily Chilocorinae. Family Ladybirds, ladybugs (Coccinellidae). 

Almost entirely black. Only on each black elytron are two red spots. The front spot looks like a comma. It is a small,  round ladybird with a pronounced rim around the edge of the wing cases. This ladybird is common, when pines are around. I find it often on the spindles.  
In 2011 I saw a lava (almost pupa) and a pupa of a pine ladybird..
They feed on scale insects and aphids.
Length 3 - 5 mm. Europe, Asia. Photos 10-7-2011, 2-4-2011, 3-7-2011, 19-7-2011, 7-5-2024.   German: Strichfleckiger Schildlaus-Marienkäfer.   French: Coccinelle à virgules     

A very common, easily recognizable ladybug. Only the dots are sometimes so big, that the beetle is black with red spots. Then it is more difficult to recognize it. The legs are black
Length: 3,5-5,5 mm. Adult and larva feed on aphids. Europe, Asia, North America. German: Zweipunkt Fichten-Marienkäfer  French: Coccinelle à 2 point.  

Photos 28-9-2008.  
  

Photos 21-9-2013, 12-4-2014. An other pattern. Photos 15-8-2013, 13-4-2016, 7-5-2017, 16-6-2017.
 

A large ladybird. Black dots with a yellow border. Sometimes yellow spots without black. Like the ladybird in the photo, which only has a black spot on the shoulders. Often near conifers.
Length: 6-9.5 mm. It feeds on aphids. Europe, Asia. Photos 24-6-2019. German: Augenmarienkäfer, Augenfleck-Marienkäfer. French: Coccinelle à ocelles, anatis ocellé. 
   

Until now I had them, like on the bottom photos, found only in the dunes, but this ladybug was our the garden!
A pale brown ladybird without spots and an M-shaped pattern on the pronotum. The shape is slightly elongated. However, there is a different colour variation with an almost black pronotum and with a for a large part dark brown elytra. 
It is found in coniferous forests and is found mainly on spruce trees. Length: 3.5 to 5 mm. The whole year.
It feeds on mealybugs, scale insects and aphids but also
Europe and Middle East. Introduced in North America.
 
Photos 21-4-2015.  Larva 1-5-2019.   German: Nadelbaum-Marienkäfer. French: Coccinelle Brune. 
  

Calvia decemguttata. Genus Calvia. Subfamily Coccinellinae. Family Ladybirds, ladybugs (Coccinellidae). 
 
It looks like the Cream-spot ladybird. Light brown red, orange. However, the dots are clearly larger. He has a total of 10 dots on the back shields. The pattern of the dots is always the same. There are three elongated spots on the pronotum.
This ladybird is found in various types of deciduous trees and conifers, but you can also see them on shrubs, such as here on a hydrangea.
It feeds on aphids but also psyllids.
Length 5-6.5 mm. Eropa Asia. Photos 20-4-2014. German: Licht-Marienkäfer. French: Coccinelle à 10 points blancs.  

Larva 11-8-2014.  
  

Larva 14-5-2011. 
  

In the Netherlands the most common ladybird. A red beetle, punctuated with three black spots on each elytron (is a modified, hardened forewing) , with one further spot being spread over the two elytra, making a total of seven spots. The pronotum is black with a white spot on the side.
Adult and larva feed on aphids. Length 6-8 mm . Europe, Asia, North-America. They are introduced to North America to reduce aphid numbers. Photos 3-7-2011, 4-8-2010. German: Siebenpunkt-Marienkäfer, Siebenpunkt.  French: Coccinelle à sept points.

larva,  pupa seven-spot ladybird. Photo 12-5-2007 and 14-5-2007. 
  

 

It looks like the Seven-spot ladybird. But it is much smaller and has 9 to 11 dots. The spots on the shoulders are sometimes absent or very small. Sometimes the spots (like in these photos) are surrounded by a narrow yellow ring. The underside is black. The pronotum is black with a white spot on the sides. 
Europe, Africa, Asia. They are also introduced in Australia and New Zealand.  Photos 25-3-2014. German: Elfpunkt-Marienkäfer.  French: Coccinelle à onze points. 
  

 

An orange ladybird with 16 creamy-white coloured spots (sometimes 14 spots). The head and legs are also orange. The eyes are black. Its elytra and pronotum (the hardened plate that protects its thorax and head) are almost transparent around the rim. Frequently found around maples and ashes  
Length: 6-9 mm. Adult and larva feed on mildew in stead of aphids.
April - October. Palearctic. Photos 21-4-2008, 2-6-2007, 7-7-2007. German: Sechzehnfleckiger Pilz-Marienkäfer. French: Grande Coccinelle orange.  
  

  

On 30 September 2007 I saw this larva on an Euphorbia triangularis. I did not expect a nymph of an orange ladybird on this time and on this plant. The photos of the pupa have been taken on 5 October. Two days before it was still a larva. Like the larvae of the 22 spot ladybird the larvae are yellow.  
  

A variable ladybird. Features: No spots or up to sixteen. The spots are always at the same place. 1 spot on the front side, 2 x 3 spots and again 1. This Cream-streaked ladybird has clearly visible spots. But the spots can be much smaller or light brown. The beetle can be both red and yellow. The red beetles usually have yellow stripes lengthwise. The pronotum has a striking black speckled pattern. 
The  ladybird in this picture is very recognizable. But such large dark spots and such an orange-yellow colour is not very common. 
This is the first Cream-streaked ladybird, I found in the garden. Photos 12-11-2011. German: Vierpunktuger Marienkäfer, French: Coccinelle arlequin.

Other colour:  .    6-10-2016, 8-6-2020.  
   

The border of the pronotum is white. At the spot in the middle of both elytra you usually see white as well. It is rather elongated. On the rear half elytra there are three large spots and on the front there usually are one to three small spots next to the center spot (the ladybug on the small pictures without spot). Length 3-6 mm. Native to the Palearctic region, it has also spread to many other areas like parts of North America, Asia, Africa, Australia. Photos 28-8-2017. German: Variable Flach-Marienkäfer.

 

This is a small variable yellow ladybird with an checkerboard pattern. The fourteen black squarish spots on the elytra can bee separate. But often  several of the spots are fused into larger markings.  
Adult and larva feed on aphids. Length about 4 mm. Europe, Asia, North America. German: Schachbrett-Marienkäfer.  French: Coccinelle à échiquier.  

  
Foto's 16-5-2010, 6-9-2012, 20-4-2014, 22-4-2014, 30-4-2014, 30-5-2014.
Larva fourteen-spot ladybird. Photo 13-5-2011.  
  

Yellow-beige. On the elytra eight black dots of which the three on the side can be connected to a wavy line. The female has a vertical black band between the eyes. Length 2.5-3 mm. All year round. Especially in the spring (April / May) and in the summer the summer (August). Food: Mildew, pollen, nectar.
Europe, North Africa, Asia. Photos 29-4-2019. German: Sechzehnpunkt-Marienkäfer.   
   

German: Asiatische Marienkäfer  French: Coccinelle asiatique multicolore 

On the forum "waarneming" this is the most used classification of the variations in colour: (Each name is linked to photos on "Waarneming") 

Harmonia axyridis f. equicolor   The front half orange (possibly with some black spots) and the rear half black. Rare! Not photographed.
Harmonia axyridis f. succinea orange/red with 0-19 black spots. The most of my "Asians" belong to this variation in colour.
Harmonia axyridis f. conspicua black with two spots. 
Harmonia axyridis f. axyridis black with 12 spots (2+1+2+1)  Rare!  
Harmonia axyridis f. spectabilis black with four spots.   
  

Variation in colour: Harmonia axyridis f. succinea orange/red with 0-19 black spots. The most of my "Asians" belong to this variation in colour. 
 

Variation in colour: Harmonia axyridis f. conspicua black with two spots.  Photo 20-05-2007, 4-7-2012, 7-7-2012.  
  

Variation in colour:  Harmonia axyridis f. axyridis black with twelve spots. Photos 30-6-2019. 9-5-2021: Now with red spots.

Variation in colour: Harmonia axyridis f. spectabilis  black with four spots.  Photo 20-05-2007, 4-7-2012, 7-7-2012.

These photos were taken in November 2007. Multicoloured Asian ladybirds lay eggs until late in the year. Later than the other species. The beetles, which pupate are darker then.
Probably because it takes longer to emerge. (Because it gets colder, darker, moister) The last beetle was deformed.

Hesperomyces virescens is only known from ladybirds. It was assumed that H. virescens is actually a complex of species that are difficult to identify. The Hesperomyces host Harmonia axyridis is now considered a separate species. Namely Hesperomyces harmoniae. They can be confused with yellow pollen. Hesperomyces virescens is one of the few types of Laboulbeniales, which pierce the host's chitin pantser. Photo: 13-6-2017.

An extensive research can be found on the website from Danny Haelewaters www.dannyhaelewaters.com/ .

5-spot ladybird (Coccinella quinquepunctata). Subfamilie typical ladybirds (Coccinellinae). Family ladybirds / ladybugs (Coccinellidae).

They feed on aphids and larvae of leaf beetles. This ladybird also lives in the Netherlands. But unfortunately not in our garden. The spots at the rear and of the elytra can be small. Then they are more difficult to recognize.
Length 3.5-5 mm.   

Is not common in the Netherlands, but it also occurs in the dunes with me. Unfortunately I haven't seen it here yet. It does not eat aphids, but grasses and herbs. The head is orange-red. The hairy elytra usually have a large number (24), sometimes partly fused black dots. Length 3-4 mm. Photo 13-9-2019.

Very similar to Scymnus ater en Scymnus nigrinus. Different from black Scymnus species due to their hair on the wing seam, which is directed towards the sides of the Scymnus species, but with Stethorus the hair is parallel to the seam.
various spider mites and small aphid species.
1,2-1,5 mm. Very small! Photos 3-10-2018.

 Detail of the hairs.

  Photos 30-6-2015.
    

  Photos 30-6-2015.
    

Photos 18-9-2015.
    

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