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Beetles of Zihuatanejo

ORDER COLEOPTERA

Spotless Lady Beetle
Cycloneda sanguinea

-Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

-Hexapods (Subphylum Hexapoda)

-Insects (Class Insecta)

-Winged and Once-winged Insects (Subclass Pterygota)

-Beetles (Order Coleoptera​​)

-​Water, Rove, Scarab, Long-horned, Leaf, and Snout Beetles (Suborder Polyphaga)

-​Cucujiform Beetles (Infraorder Cucujiformia)

-Lady, Fungus, Scavenger, and Bark Beetles (Superfamily Coccinelloidea)

-Lady Beetles (Family Coccinellidae)

-Common Lady Beetles (Subfamily Coccinellinae)

-Plant-eating Lady Beetles (Tribe Epilachnini)

-Genus Epilachna

-Spotless Lady Beetle (Cycloneda sanguinea)


''Cycloneda sanguinea'' is a large ladybird beetle with red, unspotted elytra . The color ranges from orange to deep red. The white and black marks on the head and pronotum are very distinctive, and they are also gender-specific. The spotless lady beetle feeds mainly on aphids. It is a voracious aphid predator both as a larva and as an adult and females prefer to lay their eggs on plants that are infested by aphids to assure their offspring will have plenty of food.

Diet

  • Adults and larvae: Primarily predatory, feeding on aphids, particularly aphids found on herbaceous plants, shrubs, and crops.

  • They also consume scale insects, whiteflies, insect eggs, and other small soft-bodied arthropods.

  • Adults may supplement their diet with nectar, pollen, and honeydew, especially when prey is scarce.

Range

  • Widely distributed throughout the Americas, from the southern United States through Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and much of South America.

  • Common and widespread in Mexico, including the Pacific coast and Guerrero.

  • One of the most widely distributed lady beetles in the Neotropics.

Habitat

  • Found in tropical dry forests, tropical rainforests, woodland edges, grasslands, agricultural fields, orchards, gardens, parks, and urban vegetation.

  • Particularly common wherever aphid colonies occur on plants.

  • Adults and larvae are usually found directly on foliage.

Size

  • Adult length: approximately 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in).

  • Body rounded and strongly convex, typically red, orange-red, or pinkish, with a black head and variable dark markings.

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