Description:
<p>During 1986, the introduced Eurasian coccinellid, Coccinella septempunctata L. was recovered in 27 of 60 counties surveyed in Iowa and 33 of 48 counties in Missouri. No releases of C. septempunctata have been made in either state. The most likely sources of the C. septempunctata population in Iowa and Missouri seem to be either from releases made in central Illinois (1976-1978) and Wisconsin (1978) or part of a natural westward range expansion of C. septempunctata from established populations in the eastern United States. Results of these surveys indicate that this beneficial species is widely distributed in eastern Iowa and throughout Missouri, but at low densities. Approximately 70% of the collections of adult C. septempunctata were made in legumes (e.g., alfalfa, sweet clover, trefoil) in which Acyrthosiphon pisum (pea aphids) were present.</p>