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Psyllobora viginimaculata
Additional images:
ventral view:
(small file, large file),
tarsus:
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Identification:
1.7 - 3.0 mm long, 1.4 - 2.4 mm wide. Form slightly elongate, oval. Elytra highly maculate, bearing 9 convergent spots, the pattern formed variable. Elytra pale yellow with brown maculation. This high maculation and elytral coloration distinct P. vingintimaculata from others in the genus. Pronotum has 4 distinct spots that can be convergent, sometimes with a 5th spot forming an "M" shape. Pronotum is narrowly explanate and transparent. Head pubescent. Basal segment of antennae enlarged, slightly flattened. Middle and hind tibiae each without tibial spurs. Tarsal claws with basal tooth. Postcoxal line incomplete.
Range:
Northern range limit: NewFoundland to Alaska; Southern range limit: Virginia to Tennessee and Louisiana to Southern California (Gordon 1985).
Natural History:
This species is known to feed on fungus, especially mildew. There are scattered literature reports of feeding on aphids, mites, and scale insects, but Gordon (1985) suspected that these reports were assumptions based on common properties of coccinellids and not from direct observations.
References:
Gordon, R. D. 1985. The Coccinellidae (Coleoptera) of America north of Mexico. Journal of the New York Entomological Society 93:1-912.
Last updated Friday, July 21, 2006, by Lisa Ferrier
