Numbers
Two subspecies in North America.
Neoharmonia venusta (Melsheimer, 1847)
Range
N. v. venusta: Southeastern Canada and eastern U.S.
N. v. ampla: Southwestern U.S.
Food
Psyllids, scales, insect eggs and larvae.
(1)
N. v. venusta are "major predators of larvae and pupae of the willow leaf beetle Plagiodera versicolora (Laicharteg) in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States." (See Print References, below)
Remarks
Species can be separated by range in most areas, but overlap in eastern Texas.
Print References
Gordon, 1985, especially pp. 834-839, figures 673, 667-668.
(1)
D. R. Whitehead and R. M. Duffield. "An Unusual Specialized Predator Prey Association (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae, Chrysomelidae): Failure of a Chemical Defense and Possible Practical Application." The Coleopterists Bulletin, Vol. 36, No. 1 (Mar., 1982), pp. 96-97
Internet References
Invasive.org - photos of of
N. v. venusta feeding on pine needle scale and leaf beetle eggs.
