Steel Blue Ladybird

- No description given -

comments (5)

Pudding4brains

Lion

Hi Niel, yes that´s the pupa of an Epilachninae for sure (Edit: that was an oops: Chilocorinae of course). Best way to tell which species is to take it home in a container (with some air holes en maybe a damp tissue) and wait a few days ... Posted 8 days ago, modified 5 days ago
1. Calbost Niel
  
  Lion
  
  Thanks Arp ... will do Posted 8 days ago
2. Calbost Niel
  
  Lion
  
  The ladybird turned out to be Halmus chalybeus - Steel blue ladybird Posted 6 days ago
3. 1. Pudding4brains
    
    Lion
    
    Oh dear ... must have had a brain malfunction of sorts last week *rolleyes*
    Yes, obviously the pupa is of a Chilocorinae , NOT Epilachninae. Your suggestion of 28-spot must have done strange things to my head ;o)
    
    Excellent undertaking to bring it in for eclosure and see what gives - thanks for doing that Niel!
    Did you get images of the adult beetle? There is about a handful of these small blue jobs in Aussieland and they're crazy hard to tell apart ... :-? Posted 5 days ago, modified 5 days ago
  2. 1. Calbost Niel
      
      Lion
      
      I must admit I set it free. I'm a bit of a softy that way. Posted 5 days ago

The Halmus chalybeu

''Halmus chalybeus'', commonly known as the steelblue ladybird, is a species of ladybird native to Australia. It has a rounded appearance with an iridescent blue/green colouration and is a predator of other insects. It was introduced to New Zealand from Australia in 1899 and 1905 to control black scale and blue gum scale on citrus trees, where it is now common in northern regions. It has also been recorded eating San Jose scale. They are about 3–4 mm long.

Info 3 0

Similar species: Beetles

Species identified by Calbost Niel