Explanation of Names
Psyllobora vigintimaculata (Say 1824)
vigintimaculata '20-spotted'
Identification
Pronotum with 4 dark spots; elytron usually with 9 spots, spots partially confluent, pattern variable; the dorsal pattern will usually separate this species from other nearctic spp.
(1)
The base color is always pale (white to light tan); the color and extent of the markings is variable.
Black markings (default throughout range; widespread, except CA)
Bicolored markings (limited to CA, and the only form found throughout the state)
Orange underlay (only in the east)
Limited brown markings (arid SW)
Range
e. NA, west coast, plus scattered western records up to AK (AK-NF to CA-GA) -
Map (2)Habitat
In early spring, occurs in numbers about the base of skunk cabbage and on leaves of various shrubs
(3). In summer and fall, on any plant with powdery mildew, from ground-level to treetop.
Food
fungus (mostly mildew on leaf surfaces); powdery mildew
(4)Life Cycle
Eggs; newly hatched larvae; larva; larva; pupa; pupa; teneral adult; mating
Print References
Sutherland A.M., Parrella M.P. (2009) Biology and co-occurrence of
Psyllobora vigintimaculata taedata (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) and powdery mildews in an urban landscape of California. Ann. Ent. Soc. Am. 102: 484-491. (
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