Observations of overwintering sites and movements of Coleomegilla maculata (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

Coleomegilla maculata is an important predator to many economic pests in agricultural crops. Unlike most lady beetles 50% of C.maculatas diet can be made up of pollen when prey is not abundant. C.maculata aggregate together under leaf litter at the bases of large isolated trees to overwinter as do many other ladybeetles. Aggregations of C. maculata were observed at overwintering sites from 2012 through early 2014, from their arrival in early October to their dispersal by mid April at the University of Kentucky Spindletop research farm. The behavior to begin the overwintering process seems to be governed by the photoperiod rather than temperature which fluctuated throughout the overwintering months. When temperatures increased C.maculata could be observed becoming more active, often moving away from the base of the tree into the cool season plants that surrounded it. Other studies have shown that aggregation sites are not necessarily associated with any plant species (Hagen).  We have observed larger aggregation numbers of C.maculata in association with sites where cool season flowering plants were present. We hypothesize the presence of these cool season flowering plants providing nectar may influence C.maculata site selection.