Similarity is most apparent with the seaside lady beetle, but that species is limited to coastal habitats and features much larger black markings.

In that species the apical pair of spots on the wing covers as well as the pronotum markings are merged, unlike Coleomegilla maculata.

[2] A female beetle may lay between 200 and 1,000 eggs in groups of 8-15 in protected sites on stems and leaves over a three-month period.

They overwinter in large aggregations in leaf litter, under stones and in other protected sites at the edge of fields and hedgerows.

They emerge in spring and look for suitable prey and egg laying sites in nearby crops, often dispersing by walking along the ground.

[5] The spotted lady beetle commonly oviposits on the native weed, Acalypha ostryifolia, when it grows near sweet corn crops in Kentucky.

[6] Research showed that spotted lady beetle larvae were an important cause of natural mortality for Helicoverpa zea eggs on sweet corn.