Length: 3 - 4mm.  Background colour: black.  Pattern colour: red spots.  Number of spots: 2-6 (6). Spot fusions: sometimes.  Melanic (black) forms: not applicable.  Pronotum: black.  Leg colour: black.  Other features: distinct rim around the edge of the elytra.

Fourth-instar larva: black, with tubercles bearing long black spines giving rise to hairs with extensive side-branching; with a diagnostic pale first abdominal segment.  Pupa: larval skin encloses the lower part of the pupa.

Length: 2.5 - 3mm. Basic colour: brownish-red.  Pattern: ill-defined dark elytral marking either side of the scutellum. Number of spots: 0.  Pronotum: brownish-red.  Head colour: brownish-red.  Leg colour:  brownish-red.  Other features: hairy; elongate (oblong with parallel sides) and dorsoventrally flattened; long antennae.

Length: 1.2-1.5mm.  Basic colour: dark brown to black.  Pattern: pale yellow/cream horseshoe-shaped mark in the centre of the elytra.  Number of spots: 0. Pronotum: dark brown but cream at sides, or sometimes mostly cream.  Head colour: dark brown to black.  Leg colour: cream.  Other features: hairy

Length: 3.5 - 4.5mm. Background colour: (1) ‘typical’ form (decempunctata): yellow, orange or red; (2) ‘chequered’ form (decempustulatus): buff, beige, light brown; (3) ‘melanic’ form (bimaculata): purple, dark brown or black. Pattern colour: (1) with 0-15 maroon, dark brown or black spots; (2) with grid-like markings giving a chess-board pattern; (3) with two yellow, orange or red shoulder flashes.  Number of spots: 0-15 (10).  Spot fusions: common.  Melanic (black) forms: various and common.  Pronotum: white with 5 dark spots, which may be fused, or dark trapezium mark.  Leg colour: brown (a good feature for distinguishing from 2-spot ladybird, which has black legs).  Other features: extremely variable in colour and pattern.

Fourth-instar larva: closely resembles larva of 2-spot ladybird; 10-spot larva is pale grey (2-spot larva is dark grey), with a triangle of yellow spots across the first and fourth abdominal segments; outer tubercles on abdominal segments five to eight are pale (dark in 2-spot); fine hairs projecting from tubercles.  Pupa: closely resembles pupa of 2-spot ladybird; 10-spot pupa has a black front section but otherwise cream with six rows of dark spots running longitudinally; two orange spots on edges of first abdominal segment and an orange patch in the middle of abdominal segments four to six (2-spot pupa similar but with a darker overall appearance and lacking the orange markings).

Length: 4mm.  Background colour: July-April, buff/beige; April-June, reddish.  Pattern colour: black spots.  Number of spots: 15-21 (19).  Spot fusions: sometimes.  Melanic (black) forms: no.  Pronotum: buff/beige or red with 6 black spots; rounded at the sides with greatest width in the middle.  Leg colour: pale brown.  Other features: distinctly elongate and flattened in shape.

Fourth-instar larva: thoracic region cream/white with dark patches; abdomen pale grey with alternating rows of black and white tubercles running longitudinally; fine hairs projecting from tubercles.  Pupa: unknown.

Adult: Body length 4 - 5mm.  Pronotum is white with black spots, a black M-mark or mainly black.  Very variable in colour pattern (background colour and spot number).  'Typical’ form (typica) is red with two black spots;  ‘four-spot melanic’ (quadripustulata) is black with four red spots ‘six-spot melanic’ (sexpustulata) is black. with six red spots. Leg colour is black (a good feature for distinguishing from 10-spot ladybird, which has brown legs). 

Fourth-instar larva:  closely resembles larva of 10-spot ladybird; 2-spot larva is dark grey (10-spot larva is pale grey) with a triangle of orange spots across the first and fourth abdominal segments; outer tubercles on abdominal segments five to eight are dark (pale in 10-spot); fine hairs projecting from tubercles.

Pupa: closely resembles pupa of 10-spot ladybird; 2-spot pupa has a black front section but otherwise cream with six rows of dark spots running longitudinally (10-spot pupa similar but with a paler overall appearance, two orange spots on edges of first abdominal segment and an orange patch in the middle of segments four to six).