The Weta 45:27-30 27

Diet of the steelblue ladybird ( chalybeus)(Coleoptera:)

Nicholas Martin* 15 Rutland Road, Mt. Wellington, Auckland 1051 Email:[email protected] *Research Associate, Landcare Research

Most people think that ladybirds feed on aphids and some species, such as the yellow shouldered ladybird, (Apolinus lividigaster (Mulsant, 1853)) do only eat aphids, but other species eat a variety of including whitefly, mealybugs, scale or spidermites (Tetranychidae). Published information and recent unpublished observations show that the steelblue ladybird ( (Boisduval, 1835) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) has a very varied diet (Table 1). It is the commonest species of ladybird in Auckland and is usually found on trees and shrubs.

Early records of prey collated by Valentine (1967) include Green planthopper, Pittosporum psyllid, and scale insects from three families: Golden scale (Asterolecaniidae), Black scale (Coccidae) and (). More recently Lo (2000) observed adults and larvae feeding on young Chinese wax scale and Soft wax scale (Coccidae). The ladybirds also eat Eriococcus spp. (Eriococcidae) (Alan Flynn pers. comm.). I have also found ladybird larvae feeding on Flax scale.

Peter Workman (pers. comm.) observed adults and larvae feeding on Tomato potato psyllid, while I have found larvae on an Acmena tree with numerous psyllids (Ctenarytaina sp.).

The ladybird has been found feeding on whitefly (Jamieson et al 2009), while I have found ladybird eggs laid near colonies of Pittosporum whitefly (Asterochiton pittospori Dumbleton, 1957) indicating a possible prey. I also observed a larva in a colony of whitefly (Trialeurodes sp.) on the tree fern, Dicksonia squarrosa, having difficulty walking because of the wax stuck on its feet.

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Scientific Name Common name Classification Reliability Biostatus Eriophyoid mites Acari: 5 unknown Prostigmata: Panonychus citri Citrus red mite Acari: 10 adventive (McGregor, 1916) Prostigmata: Tetranychidae Tydaeidae sp. Acari: 5 unknown Prostigmata: Tydaeidae Stal, Coleoptera: 6 adventive 1860 tortoise Chrysomelidae Asterochiton pittospori Pittosporum : 6 endemic Dumbleton, 1957 whitefly Aleyrodidae Orchamoplatus citri Australian Hemiptera: 10 adventive (Takahashi, 1940) citrus whitefly Aleyrodidae Trialeurodes sp. Hemiptera: 8 endemic 'squarrosa' of NA Aleyrodidae Martin 2010 Asterodiaspis variolosa Golden oak Hemiptera: 10 adventive (Ratzeburg, 1870) scale Asterolecaniidae Ceroplastes destructor Soft wax scale Hemiptera: 9 adventive Newstead, 1917 Coccidae Ceroplastes sinensis Del Chinese wax Hemiptera: 9 adventive Guercio, 1900 scale Coccidae Saissetia oleae (Olivier, Black scale Hemiptera: 10 adventive 1791) Coccidae Diaspidiotus San Jose scale Hemiptera: 10 adventive perniciosus (Comstock, Diaspididae 1881) Poliaspis floccosa Flax scale Hemiptera: 10 endemic Henderson, 2011 Diaspididae Eriococcus sp. felted scale Hemiptera: 6 unknown Eriococcidae Siphanta acuta (Walker, Green Hemiptera: 10 adventive 1851) planthopper Flatidae Ctenarytaina sp. Hemiptera: 9 adventive 'Acmena' of Dale 2011 Psyllidae Bactericera cockerelli Tomato/potato Hemiptera: 8 adventive (Sulc, 1909) psyllid Triozidae Trioza vitreoradiata Pittosporum Hemiptera: 10 endemic (Maskell, 1879) psyllid Triozidae Uresiphita polygonalis moth Lepidoptera: 5 endemic (Felder & Rogenhofer, Crambidae 1875) Thripidae sp. Thysanoptera: 5 unknown Thripidae

Table 1: Prey of Steelblue ladybird, Halmus chalybeus (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), from Plant-SyNZ database (27 June 2013), listed by order and family of prey. The reliability score shows the quality of evidence for the host association between two species (0-10, 10=high quality).

The Weta 45:27-30 29 In captivity adults and larvae fed on eggs of Paropsis charybdis Stal, 1860 (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) (Alma 1980). In Cornwall Park, Auckland I found a larva feeding on moth eggs.

Steelblue ladybirds also feed on mites. Alan Flynn (pers. comm.) found eriophyid mites in the gut of ladybirds. They have been observed feeding on citrus red mite (Jamieson et al 2005), while I saw a first instar larva feeding on a tydeid mite. It later chased and ate a thrips larva.

References Alma PJ. 1980. Observations on some coccinellids in New Zealand and their significance to the biological control of Paropsis charybdis (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). New Zealand Entomologist. 7 (2): 164-165.

Jamieson LE, Charles JG, Stevens PS, McKenna CE, Bawden R. 2005. Natural enemies of citrus red mite (Panonychus citri) in citrus orchards. New Zealand Plant Protection. 58: 299-305.

Jamieson LE, Chhagan A, Curtis C. 2009. Seasonal phenology of Australian citrus whitefly (Orchamoplatus citri) in New Zealand. New Zealand Plant Protection. 62: 69-75.

Lo PL. 2000. Species and abundance of ladybirds (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) on citrus orchards in Northland, New Zealand, and a comparison of visual and manual methods of assessments. New Zealand Entomologist. 23: 61-65.

Valentine EW. 1967. A list of the hosts of entomophagous insects of New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Science. 10 (4): 1100-1210.

30 Nicholas Martin

a b

a. Adult steelblue ladybird, Halmus chalybeus (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), about 4 mm long (photograph by Tim Holmes, copyright Plant & Food Research).

b. Larva of steelblue ladybird, Halmus chalybeus (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) (photograph by Tim Holmes, copyright Plant & Food Research).