LADYBIRD, LADYBIRD, FLY AWAY HOME....

Monday, October 3, 2011

Spider mites eating coccinellid

I finally ran into an article on spider mites eating coccinellid (subfamily: Scymninae; tribe: Stethorini) (Biddinger et al., 2009). In brief, the tribe of Stethorini Dobzhansky consists about 90 species recorded worldwide with only two  important genera, Stethorus Weis and Parastethorus Pang & Mao. Both of the adults and larvae of this coccinellid have evolved to specialize on spider mites (mainly Tetranychidae) and also the false spider mites (Tenuipalpididae). These spider mites are economically important agricultural pests. Geographically, Stethorini is cosmopolitan that exist around the world in many different climates ranging from tropical rainforests to temperate deciduous forests and plain to colder northern regions of Europe, Canada and Russia. They exhibit a wide range of habitats including many agricultural crops. However, none of the species has been ever recorded in Malaysia. Generally, the adults have dull body coloration with some hairs, pubescent, black with brown or yellow legs and antennae. They are all  small (1-1.5mm). Like many other coccinellid larvae, the larvae of this tribe undergo four stadia (stages) before emerging into adults. Here are some of the pictures of coccinellids yet I regarded as 'stethorini' from my collection. However it is not confirmed yet.







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Cheeky Ladybirds....