''Anatis mali'', (also known as the eye-spotted lady beetle), is a species of lady

beetle Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 40 ...

in the family

Coccinellidae Coccinellidae () is a widespread family (biology), family of small beetles. They are commonly known as ladybugs in North America and ladybirds in the United Kingdom; "lady" refers to Mary, mother of Jesus, mother Mary. Entomologists use the ...

. It is found in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. ''Anatis mali'' is a crucial specialized

aphid Aphids are small sap-sucking insects in the Taxonomic rank, family Aphididae. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in color. The group includes the fluffy white Eriosomatinae, woolly ...

predator in the balsam tree plantation system. A rotation lasting about ten years for balsam trees to grow as

Christmas tree A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen pinophyta, conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, associated with the celebration of Christmas. It may also consist of an artificial tree of similar appearance. The custom was deve ...

s under local temperature conditions, there is significant potential for using ''Anatis mali'' in biological management on pre-harvest

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

s where visual damage maintenance is not essential. On average, 296 aphids are consumed to complete larval development and pupate of the A.mali. (Berthiaume et al., 2000).

References

Berthiaume, R., Hébert, C., & Cloutier, C. (2000). Predation on Mindarus abietinus infestingbalsam fir grown as Christmas trees: the impact ofcoccinellid larval predation with emphasis on Anatis mali. ''BioControl'', ''45''(4), 425-438.

References

Further reading