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Friday, June 12, 2009

Continue...

Okay, let's continue with other ladybirds.

Illeis bistigmosa (Fungus-eating ladybird)


Today, our next ladybird is the fungus-eating ladybird or fungivorous ladybird. This species can be found on leaves that have whitish powder sorta (fungus). Last time, I caught a large amount of this ladybird on cowpea plants in Jalan Kebun Mardi. It does not eat aphids like other entomophagous ladybirds but the adult and larva feed on fungi. However, I read an article that says the larva of such species does consume aphids when reared under lab condition. You can try your luck by finding this ladybird on dying leaves that have whitish fungi. I cannot tell you the exact plants since I am not sure the hosts. But from my field experience, I recommend you to look for them on dying cucumber and sunflower leaves. And of course the cowpea plants. The larvae have some sorta like black row of spots on the abdomen and yellowish white in color. The adult of course is bright yellow. Good luck finding!


Curinus coeruleus (Dark Metallic ladybird)

(a) (b)



This is another Malaysian ladybird that can be seen however, it is not as common as the zig-zag ladybird. The species I caught was on paddy with pysillids. A paper tells that this ladybird consumes pysillids. I do not know much about this species since it is hard to be found. The (a) form is the typical form but I came across this red color form (b) in the same site. Anyway, if you find this species, try to observe it carefully ok and dont get confused with another ladybird species, Chilocorus nigritus.
Coelophora bisellata (Bisellate ladybird)

Bisellate ladybird is one of the common ladybirds in Malaysia but it is hard to be found. From my field observation, the species often can be seen in vegetable garden and grassy areas, especially on goossegrass (E.indica) with ragi aphid, if you are lucky enough. The male and female form exhibit the same marking spots, therefore it is difficult to tell the sex. Do not confuse bisellate ladybird with the spotted female of Coelophora inaequalis (Variable ladybird). The tip is, compare the big spot on center of the wing of bisellate ladybird with that of the variable ladybird. Good luck!




Micraspis discolor

This ladybird is also a common species and can be generally found in large number in paddy field. As an addition, from my experience, it can also be found on chili plants with aphids. The ladybird is almost the same size of the zig-zag ladybird and the markings on the pronotum ('neck') are almost the same. However, if you observe carefully, this ladybird has two spots on its 'neck' and do not merge with the bottom crest-like spot like that of the zig-zag ladybird. Also, there are no spots on its wings.




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