Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada

Genus Scymnus

Coccinellidae, head - Scymnus Coccinellidae, ventral - Scymnus Lady beetle - Scymnus Beetle - Scymnus - female Apicanus Lady Beetle - Scymnus apicanus - male Lady beetle - Scymnus Scymnus iowensis Scymnus
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Coleoptera (Beetles)
Suborder Polyphaga
No Taxon (Series Cucujiformia)
Superfamily Coccinelloidea
No Taxon (Coccinellid group)
Family Coccinellidae (Lady Beetles)
Subfamily Scymninae
Tribe Scymnini (Dusky Lady Beetles)
Genus Scymnus
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Scymnus Kugelann 1794
Explanation of Names
Scymnus - Greek for 'cub' or 'whelp' (1)
Numbers
93 spp. in two subgenera (Scymnus and Pullus) in our area(2), >200 total
Identification
Larva is covered with waxy outgrowths, similar to Cryptolaemus. Adults can be difficult to identify to species without genitalia dissection and ventral imaging.
Range
throughout N. Amer. and worldwide(2)
Remarks
The organization used to separate some of the species in the guide, based on color patterns, does not reflect taxonomic groups (i.e. a given coloration/pattern will include species from both subgenera).
Works Cited
1.Ladybugs of Alberta
John Acorn. 2007. University of Alberta Press, 169 pages.
2.American Beetles, Volume II: Polyphaga: Scarabaeoidea through Curculionoidea
Arnett, R.H., Jr., M. C. Thomas, P. E. Skelley and J. H. Frank. (eds.). 2002. CRC Press LLC, Boca Raton, FL.