Propylea quatuordecimpunctata
Encyclopedia
The 14-spot Ladybird is a small lady beetle, native and widespread in the Old World
Old World
The Old World consists of those parts of the world known to classical antiquity and the European Middle Ages. It is used in the context of, and contrast with, the "New World" ....

, and invasive in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

. It is sometimes referred to by the common name
Common name
A common name of a taxon or organism is a name in general use within a community; it is often contrasted with the scientific name for the same organism...

 14-spotted ladybird beetle, or simply P-14. The background color ranges from cream through yellow to light orange, but not red. Only rarely are 14 separate spots present on the elytra; most commonly, several of the spots fuse into larger markings, particularly along the midline, where they often create a shape resembling an anchor
Anchor
An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, that is used to connect a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the vessel from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ancora, which itself comes from the Greek ἄγκυρα .Anchors can either be temporary or permanent...

, sometimes fusing to such an extent as to render the body almost entirely black except for 12 pale spots.

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