Book Fauna Palaestina 4 Year 2014 By Prof Dr Norman Ali Bassam Khalaf von Jaffa ISBN 978-9950-383-77-7

the beetle, and are fixed by the time it emerges from its pupa. The
same applies to the colour, except it may take some days for the
colour of the adult beetle to mature and stabilise. Generally, the
mature colour tends to be fuller and darker than the colour of
the callow (Wikipedia).
Biology
Coccinellids are best known as predators of Sternorrhyncha such
as aphids and scale insects, but the range of prey species that
various Coccinellidae may attack is much wider. A genus of small
black ladybirds, Stethorus, presents one example of predation on
non-Sternorrhyncha; they specialise in mites as prey, notably
Tetranychus spider mites. Stethorus species accordingly are
important in certain examples of biological control (Wikipedia).
Various larger species of Coccinellidae attack caterpillars and
other beetle larvae. Several genera feed on various insects or their
eggs; for example, Coleomegilla species are significant predators of
the eggs and larvae of moths such as species of Spodoptera and
the Plutellidae. Larvae and eggs of ladybirds, either their own or
of other species, can also be important food resources when
alternative prey are scarce. As a family, the Coccinellidae used to
be regarded as purely carnivorous, but they are now known to be
far more omnivorous than previously thought, both as a family
and in individual species; examination of gut contents of
apparently specialist predators commonly yield residues of pollen
and other plant materials. Besides the prey they favour, most
predatory coccinellids include other items in their diets, including
honeydew, pollen, plant sap, nectar, and various fungi. The
significance of such nonprey items in their diets is still under
investigation and discussion (Wikipedia).
Apart from the generalist aphid and scale predators and
incidental substances of botanical origin, many Coccinellidae do
favour or even specialise in certain prey types. This makes some
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