Olla v-nigrum
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Olla v-nigrum is a species in the family Coccinellidae ("lady beetles"), in the suborder Polyphaga. The species is known generally as the ashy gray lady beetle. The distribution range of Olla v-nigrum includes Central America, North America, and Oceania. It is usually gray or pale tan with small black spots on its elytra and thorax. However, a variation can resemble Chilocorus orbus, another species of lady beetle. This form is black with two red spots on the wing covers and has white on the edge of the prothorax.
The V in its name (v-nigrum) comes from the fact that Mulsant originally described the "prothorax" (pronotum) as "adorned with a V and four black dots". Olla v-nigrum has two color variants: gray with black spots or black with red spots. They are usually anywhere between 3.7 to 6.1 mm (0.15 to 0.24 in) in length. Olla v-nigrum is often confused with Chilocorus sp. which usually have more flared elytra and a distinct shape. They do not have white marking on their heads like Olla v-nigrum. Olla v-nigrum spots tend to be triangular and slope away from where the wings meet.
Olla v-nigrum lack an infundibulum in female genitalia. Olla v... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Cumbres de Monterrey National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 3 | Tijuca National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mendoza | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 2 | Monterrey | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 3 | Mesa | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Buenos Aires | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 6 | Montevideo | 🇺🇾 Uruguay | |
| 7 | São Paulo | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 8 | San Antonio | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Belo Horizonte | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 10 | Rio de Janeiro | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Ashy Gray Lady Beetle sighting in Austin on a given day, based on 395 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 74th most-seen of the 1624 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March and September–October
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report an Ashy Gray Lady Beetle in Austin on a given day, against about 10% in April–August and November–February, the lowest months.
Between 9 pm and midnight
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Ashy Gray Lady Beetle sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
4th of 33
Of the 33 cities where we can rate Ashy Gray Lady Beetle sightings, Austin ranks 4th at about 10%. The best odds are in Mendoza (Argentina, about 20%), Monterrey (México, about 10%) and Mesa (United States, about 10%).
Same family: Coccinellidae
The closest relatives of the Ashy Gray Lady Beetle that you can see in Austin (family Coccinellidae, Lady Beetles) are Asian Lady Beetle (about 30%), Seven-Spotted Lady Beetle (about 20%) and Spotless Lady Beetle (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Ashy Gray Lady Beetle is recorded against all the insects logged in Austin (395 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
