PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Lindsay Havens AU - Matthew MacManes TI - Characterizing the Adult and Larval Transcriptome of the Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle, <em>Harmonia axyridis</em> AID - 10.1101/034462 DP - 2015 Jan 01 TA - bioRxiv PG - 034462 4099 - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2015/12/15/034462.short 4100 - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2015/12/15/034462.full AB - The reasons for the evolution and maintenance of striking visual phenotypes are as widespread as the species that display these phenotypes. While study systems such as Heliconius and Dendrobatidae have been well characterized and provide critical information about the evolution of these traits, a breadth of new study systems, in which the phenotype of interest can be easily manipulated and quantified, are essential for gaining a more general understanding of these specific evolutionary processes. One such model is the multicolored Asian lady beetle, Harmonia axyridis, which displays significant elytral spot and color polymorphism. Using transcriptome data from two life stages, adult and larva, we characterize the transcriptome, thereby laying a foundation for further analysis and identification of the genes responsible for the continual maintenance of spot variation in H. axyridis.