''Chilocorus orbus'' is a species of
lady beetle
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 ...
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 native to North America.][ It is a black, domed beetle with two large red spots and is commonly called the twice-stabbed lady beetle]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.
Description
The adult ''Chilocorus orbus'' is a dome-shaped beetle some long with club-shaped antennae. The shiny black elytra
An elytron (; ; : elytra, ) is a modified, hardened forewing of beetles (Coleoptera), though a few of the true bugs (Hemiptera) such as the family Schizopteridae are extremely similar; in true bugs, the forewings are called hemelytra (sometime ...
bear two oval red patches and the ventral surface of the beetle is reddish. There are other species of black-with-red-spots lady beetle with which this insect might be confused, these being '' Axion plagiatum'', ''Chilocorus kuwanae
''Chilocorus kuwanae'', or Kuwana's lady beetle, is a species of lady beetle in the family Coccinellidae. It is native to Europe, Northern Asia (excluding China), and Southern Asia, and has been introduced to North America for biological pest con ...
'', and ''Olla v-nigrum
''Olla v-nigrum'' is a species in the family Coccinellidae ("lady beetles"), in the suborder Polyphaga. The species is known generally as the ashy gray lady beetle. The distribution range of ''Olla v-nigrum'' includes Central America, North Ameri ...
'', however in ''Chilocorus orbus'', the red patches are nearer the head than they are in the other species. The larvae resemble miniature alligators, have long legs and are grey or blackish; they have elongated bodies covered with branching spines.[ The pupae are also blackish and spiny, but are broader and shorter than the larvae.]
Distribution and habitat
''Chilocorus orbus'' is one of about a dozen species of '' Chilocorus'' that occur in North America. It is predominantly found in the western states of Washington, Oregon and California, being replaced in other areas of the United States by other, closely related species. It is a mostly arboreal insect, found in forests, plantations, orchards and gardens, wherever there are scale insects on which to feed.[
]
Ecology
Both adults and larvae feed voraciously on scale insects on fruit trees, as well as on nut trees and ornamentals. The scales attacked include brown soft scale (''Coccus hesperidum'') on citrus, walnut scale (''Quadraspidiotus juglansregiae''), sycamore scale (''Stomacoccus platani''), California red scale (''Aonidiella aurantii''), San Jose scale (''Quadraspidiotus perniciosus'') and European fruit lecanium (''Parthenolecanium corni'').[ The young larvae puncture the scale insects and suck out their juices, venturing under the horny part of the scale to do so, while older larvae and adults chew the scales up and completely consume them.][
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References
Further reading
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{{Taxonbar, from=Q14930896
Coccinellidae
Articles created by Qbugbot
Beetles described in 1899