Fungus-eating Ladybird
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Coleoptera
Family:
Coccinellidae
Subfamily:
Coccinellinae
Tribe:
Coccinellini
Genus:
Illeis
Species:
I. galbula
Binomial name
Illeis galbula
(Mulsant, 1850)
Synonyms

Description

The Fungus-eating Ladybird (Illeis galbula) is a species of beetle in the family Coccinellidae. Adults are 4-5mm in size, while the larvae are between 8 and 10mm.[2] Adults are black with bright yellow markings.[3] Larvae are grey with black tubercles covered with short spines.[3] The pupa is pale yellow with black tubercles and lateral spurs.[3]

Behaviour

During the day it is fast moving and readily flies or drops when disturbed.[2] The pupa are active and often stand on end.[2] Adult and larval fungus-eating ladybirds are often found in gardens where they eat powdery mildew on cucurbit crops like pumpkin and zucchini.[4] In Australia, overwintering adults feed on pollen of wattles and privet species during spring.[3]

Distribution

This species is native to Eastern Australia.[3] Fungus-eating ladybirds are a non-native species in the North Island of New Zealand, first introduced to Auckland in 1985.[3] They are also found in New Guinea.[3]

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Illeis galbula.
Wikispecies has information related to Illeis galbula.
  1. ↑ "Illeis galbula". Retrieved 2008-12-21.
  2. 1 2 3 "Fungus-eating Ladybird - Illeis galbula". Retrieved 2008-12-21.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 N A Martin (2017). "Fungus-eating ladybird - Illeis (Leptothea) galbula". Landcare Research. Retrieved 2021-02-18..
  4. ↑ Crowe, A. (2002). Which New Zealand Insect?. Auckland, N.Z.: Penguin. p. 47. ISBN 0-14-100636-6.
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