Abstract
The lady beetle Coleomegilla maculata is a common New World insect that is naturally colored pink to red or orange with black spots on the forewings of the adult stage. Previous laboratory in-breeding resulted in selection for a strain lacking red pigment in the cuticle and eyes. An additional strain selected for a novel spotting pattern is described here. The inheritance of the new trait, “ten spotted” (10sp), was determined by classical crossing experiments. Inheritance of the trait was autosomal and exhibited incomplete dominance. Bionomic strain measurements were compared to the parental strains and were similar overall. Two expressed sequences from C. maculata that may be related to the new phenotype were compared to model insect genes encoding a melanin biosynthesis enzyme and a patterning transcription factor.
Highlights
Many beetles in the family Coccinellidae are identified by the number and pattern of spots appearing on the forewings, or elytra
Both the common and scientific names of many species describe the numbers of spots; for example, Adalia bipunctata (Linneaus) is commonly called the two-spotted lady beetle, Coccinella septempunctata Linnaeus is the seven-spotted lady beetle, and Coccinella novemnotata Herbst is the nine-spotted lady beetle
While numerous color and pattern variations in other species of coccinellids have been described, and the inheritance of those patterns have been analyzed [1], C. maculata is not a species that exhibits dramatic polymorphism in wild populations, and it has not been used as a model for phenotype inheritance
Summary
Many beetles in the family Coccinellidae are identified by the number and pattern of spots appearing on the forewings, or elytra. Both the common and scientific names of many species describe the numbers of spots; for example, Adalia bipunctata (Linneaus) is commonly called the two-spotted lady beetle, Coccinella septempunctata Linnaeus is the seven-spotted lady beetle, and Coccinella novemnotata Herbst is the nine-spotted lady beetle. The species Coleomegilla maculata (DeGeer) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) is commonly called the pink lady beetle or the twelve-spotted lady beetle. It is a beneficial omnivore found in US agroecosystems and occurs. While numerous color and pattern variations in other species of coccinellids have been described, and the inheritance of those patterns have been analyzed [1], C. maculata is not a species that exhibits dramatic polymorphism in wild populations, and it has not been used as a model for phenotype inheritance
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