Eleven-spotted Ladybird Beetle

C. undecimpunctata is a lady beetle with eleven black spots found on its red/orange elytra. Its size can range from around 4.0 to 5.0mm. It may look as if this beetle has six spots on each elytron, but the black spot in the center of the elytra, just behind the pronotum, counts as just one.

Endemic to the Palearctic - Europe, North Africa, European Russia, the Caucasus, Siberia, the Russian Far East, Ukraine, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Middle Asia, Western Asia, Afghanistan, Mongolia, China, Pakistan, and North India. C. undecimpunctata has been introduced to Australia as a biological control agent. It has been said that C. undecimpunctata was introduced to New Zealand as a form of pest control as well, but this has proven to be false.

C. undecimpunctata feeds on aphids associated with grasses - in fields, in ruderal biotopes, on steppe (including Pannonian steppe), stone quarries, wastelands, dry forest edges in meadows and coastal meadow, in open habitats with grasses, and near rivers. Frequently in biotopes with Ammophila arenaria it also occurs on alluvial soils, detritus, on dead grass and in biotopes with Salix purpurea. It is salt-resistant and can feed on aphids inhabiting Atriplex tatarica and other grasses associated with saline areas.