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Mealybug ladybird on milkweed plant
Photograph copyright: ozwildlife - all rights reserved. Used with permission.
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Mealybug ladybird on milkweed plant
Photograph copyright: ozwildlife - all rights reserved. Used with permission.
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MEALYBUG LADYBIRD FACTS |
Identification
The adults are greenish black with reddish brown head and thorax, and the rear end of the abdomen is also reddish brown. The body is covered in short fine hairs. The larvae are white and resemble the white mealy bugs they feed on. The eggs are yellow.
Other Names
Mealybug Destroyer
Size
adult 4mm; larva 5mm
Habitat
shrubs and trees
Food
the larvae feed on mealybugs and other soft bugs. These ladybirds were exported from Australia to the United States in 1891 to control citrus mealybug in California.
Breeding
Mealybug Ladybirds lay yellow eggs on food plants. The eggs hatch into carnivorous larvae, then pupate before hatching out as adults.
Classification
| Class: | Insecta | | Order: | Coleoptera | | Family: | Coccinellidae | | Genus: | Cryptolaemus | | Species: | montrouzieri | | Common Name: | Mealybug Ladybird |
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