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

from making a meal of them. This phenomenon, called
aposematism, works because predators learn by experience to
associate certain prey phenotypes with a bad taste. A further
defence, known as "reflex bleeding", exists in which an alkaloid
toxin is exuded through the joints of the exoskeleton, triggered by
mechanical stimulation (such as by predator attack) in both larval
and adult beetles, deterring feeding (Wikipedia).
Heather Ladybird Beetle (Chilocorus bipustulatus) from Palestine. Photo
by Oz Rittner. http://www.nature-of-oz.com/coccinellidae.htm
Coccinellids in temperate regions enter diapause during the
winter, so they often are among the first insects to appear in the
spring. Some species (e.g., Hippodamia convergens) gather into
groups and move to higher elevations, such as a mountain, to
enter diapause. Most coccinellids overwinter as adults,
aggregating on the south sides of large objects such as trees or
houses during the winter months, dispersing in response to
increasing day length in the spring (Wikipedia).
Predatory coccinellids are usually found on plants which harbour
their prey. They lay their eggs near their prey, to increase the
likelihood the larvae will find the prey easily. In Harmonia
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