UTTAR PRADESH JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY

Coccinella septempunctata, commonly known as the 7-spot ladybird beetle, belongs to the Order Coleoptera and Family Coccinellidae. It is widely distributed and known for its predatory behaviour against agricultural pests such as aphids. Coccinella septempunctata is a highly beneficial biological control agent essential for sustainable agriculture and ecosystem balance. The present study provides morphological and molecular confirmation of C. septempunctata collected from the flowers of Berberis lycium, an important medicinal plant, in Himachal Pradesh, Northwestern Himalaya. Active pollen-feeding behaviour of C. septempunctata was observed on B. lycium flowers, indicating that the plant serves as a seasonal nutritional resource for the species. During the study, three polymorphic forms were collected, differing in elytral spot pattern. Specimens were identified based on morphology and detailed examination of the genitalia. A 638 bp fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (mtCOI) gene was successfully amplified and sequenced from a representative morph and submitted to GenBank under accession number PQ289165. BLAST analysis revealed 99.22% sequence similarity with conspecific sequences available in GenBank, confirming its species identity. This integration of morphological, molecular and ecological studies provides baseline data on polymorphism and floral association of C. septempunctata in the Northwestern Himalayan Region and contributes to the regional DNA barcode database for ladybird beetles.