Zigzag Ladybird

Cheilomenes sexmaculata

The Zigzag Ladybird (Cheilomenes sexmaculata - previously Menochilus sexmaculatus), is a Ladybird (Coccinellidae) in the sub family Coccinellinae. It is an important predator of many insects such as aphids, thrips, whitefly, coccicids and psyllids with a worldwide distribution and common aphid feeding species being found in Pakistan, India, Borneo, Jawa Indonesia, U.K. Philippines, Islands of Bali, France, Sumatra and South Africa.
Six Spotted Zigzag Ladybird Beetles (Cheilomenes sexmaculata) A pair of Six Spotted Zigzag Ladybird Beetles on the leaf of a hibiscus tree. This photo was taken on yet another 33 degree tropical day here in the Caribbean island of Trinidad. Additionally, I've just finished my final exams for this semester, which means more frequent posts:) Animalia,Animals,Beetles,Caribbean,Cheilomenes sexmaculata,Insecta,Insects,Six Spotted Zigzag Ladybird Beetle,Trinidad and Tobago,Zigzag Ladybird

Appearance

The adult beetles are about 2 mm in size and bright yellow in color with black vertical zigzag lines on the dorsal side of both the elytra. There may be polymorph of various coloration within the species.
Cheilomenes sexmaculata Various viewing angles on some specimen of Cheilomenes sexmaculata from different parts of Java, Indonesia Cheilomenes,Cheilomenes sexmaculata,Coccinellidae,Coccinellinae,Menochilus sexmaculatus,Zigzag Ladybird

Naming

Synonyms
Coccinella sexmaculata Fabricius, 1781: 96.
Coccinella quadriplagiata Schönherr, 1808: 195.
Orcus mollipes Oliff, 1895: 30.
Cheliomenes 6-maculata var. australisWeise, 1908:12.
Lady Beetle Pair Cheilomenes,Cheilomenes sexmaculata,Coccinellidae,Fall,Geotagged,Menochilus sexmaculatus,Trinidad and Tobago,Zigzag ladybird beetle,black,red,white

Food

Menochilus sexmaculatus is a generalist entomophagous coccinellid that feeds upon soft bodied insects including aphids.

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.

http://www.entomoljournal.com/vol2Issue3/pdf/11.1.pdf
http://www.ento.csiro.au/biology/ladybirds/lucid/key/lucidKey/Media/Html/menocSexmaculatus1.htm
Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionArthropoda
ClassInsecta
OrderColeoptera
FamilyCoccinellidae
GenusCheilomenes
SpeciesCheilomenes sexmaculata
Photographed in
Australia
Indonesia
Malaysia
Trinidad and Tobago