Coccinellidae of deadly crimes. Ladybirds have served as the US state insects of Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, and Tennessee, though only New York has selected a species native to the United States ("Coccinella novemnotata"); the other states have all adopted an invasive European species ("Coccinella septempunctata"). They have also been adopted as the mascot of Candanchú, a ski resort near Canfranc in the Spanish Pyrenees. Coccinellidae Coccinellidae () is a widespread family of small beetles ranging in size from 0.8 to 18 mm (0.03 to 0.71 inches). The family is commonly known as ladybugs in North America, and
Coccinellidae 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. 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 of them particularly valuable as agents in biological control programmes. Determination of specialisation need not be a trivial matter, though; for example the larva of the Vedalia ladybird "Rodolia cardinalis" is a specialist predator on a few species