Ladybugs of a different spot

Most of the ladybugs I've found in the garden recently have had seven spots.  However, ladybugs can vary widely in their number of spots -- from none at all to more than twenty.  Many species are named after their characteristic number of spots, such as the two-spotted ladybug (Adalia bipunctata) pictured below.

A two-spotted ladybug (Adalia bipunctata) on a hollyhock leaf.

Other ladybug species have variable numbers of spots, such as these convergent ladybugs (Hippodamia convergens), which may have thirteen or fewer spots.

Two convergent ladybugs (Hippodamia convergens) on unopened flowers.

Instead of being named after their number of spots, they are named for the white lines that always converge along the edge of the pronotum (the plate immediately behind the head).

A convergent ladybug (Hippodamia convergens) on a hollyhock leaf.

The name 'convergent' is also appropriate given these beetles' tendency to converge into groups of hundreds or thousands to hibernate through the winter.