Mulsantina picta

Mulsantina picta (the painted lady beetle or pine lady beetle) is a species of ladybug belonging to the subfamily Coccinellinae.

Mulsantina picta
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Coccinellidae
Genus: Mulsantina
Species:
M. picta
Binomial name
Mulsantina picta
(Randall, 1838)
Synonyms

Description

Mulsantina picta is a small ladybug, typically 3.3–5.3 millimetres (0.13–0.21 in) long, and 2.2–4.0 millimetres (0.087–0.157 in) wide. The elytral markings are quite variable, and sometimes absent. The pronotal markings are more constant and recognizable.

Distribution and habitat

Mulsantina picta is widespread across the United States and southern Canada. It is especially associated with pine forests [1] and is an aphid and adelgid predator.[2] Thus making M. picta a rather dominant species in older pine trees habitats (since they are conifer specialist), which are known to have low aphid densities.[3]

gollark: The bee eugenics program or lightning strike prevention?
gollark: They're interfaced to some computers and analyzers; we plan to make an automated bee eugenics program.
gollark: And yes, forestry apiaries.
gollark: This is 1.12.2, so they don't exist.
gollark: Observe, industrial-scale bee systems.

References
  1. Ecology and Behaviour of the Ladybird Beetles
  2. Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America
  3. Sloggett, John J.; Zeilstra, Ilja; Obrycki, John J. (2008). "Patch residence by aphidophagous ladybird beetles: Do specialists stay longer?". Biological Control. 47 (2): 199–206. doi:10.1016/j.biocontrol.2008.08.003.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.