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''Cheilomenes sexmaculata'' is a species of
{{Taxonbar, from=Q14930830 Beetles described in 1781 Coccinellidae Taxa named by Johan Christian Fabricius
ladybird
Coccinellidae () is a widespread family of small beetles. They are commonly known as ladybugs in North America and ladybirds in the United Kingdom; "lady" refers to mother Mary. Entomologists use the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles ...
. Although sometimes known by the common name of six-spotted zigzag ladybird, this is misleading as there are several colour morphs and some colour morphs of the species can be confused with ''Micraspis discolor'' and ''Chilocorus nigrita''. The species has a wide distribution range within the Asian tropics and subtropical zones from India to Japan and parts of the Australian region. They have been introduced into the Caribbean islands as a biocontrol agent and their spread to South America was noted in 2019. It is well known as a predator of aphids and other small insects.
Description
This species is about 3 to 4 mm in body length.Biology
It is a voracious predator on several whiteflies and aphids such as ''Aphis gossypii
''Aphis gossypii'' is a tiny insect, an 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 grou ...
'', ''Myzus persicae
''Myzus persicae'', known as the green peach aphid, greenfly, or the peach-potato aphid, is a small green aphid belonging to the order Hemiptera. It is the most significant aphid pest of peach trees, causing decreased growth, shrivelling of the ...
'', ''Aphis craccivora
''Aphis craccivora'', variously known as the cowpea aphid, groundnut aphid or black legume aphid, is a true bug in the family ''Aphididae''. Originally of probable Palearctic origin, it is now an invasive species of cosmopolitan distribution.
...
'', '' Amrasca'', ''Empoasca
''Empoasca'' is a genus of leafhoppers belonging to the family Cicadellidae subfamily Typhlocybinae.
Species
* ''Empoasca abrupta'' DeLong, 1931
* ''Empoasca affinis'' Nast, 1937
* ''Empoasca alsiosa'' Ribaut, 1933
* ''Empoasca apicalis'' (Flor, ...
'' and '' Leptocentrus''. In addition to them, it feeds on a wide prey range including, scale insect
Scale insects are small insects of the Order (biology), order Hemiptera, suborder Sternorrhyncha. Of dramatically variable appearance and extreme sexual dimorphism, they comprise the infraorder Coccomorpha which is considered a more convenient g ...
s, and diaspids.
Genetics
The elytral colour has been identified as being controlled by two genes with two alleles each U-u and D-d and the phenotypes have been grouped into varieties ''quadriplagiata'' (“Q”) UDD,UUDd,UuDD,UuDd ''unifasciata'' (“U”) udd,UUdd ''diversijunata'' (“D”) uDD,uuDdand ''sexmaculata'' (“S”) udd The darker forms predominate in higher latitudes where absorption of heat may aid their survival.
References
External links
{{Taxonbar, from=Q14930830 Beetles described in 1781 Coccinellidae Taxa named by Johan Christian Fabricius