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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Series Cucujiformia » Coccinelloidea » Coccinellid group » Lady Beetles (Coccinellidae) » Scymninae » Hyperaspidini » Thalassa » Montezuma Lady Beetle (Thalassa montezumae)

Species Thalassa montezumae - Montezuma Lady Beetle

Classification · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Remarks · See Also · Print References · Works Cited
Montezuma Lady Beetle - Thalassa montezumae - female Large Ladybird Beetle - Thalassa montezumae - male Montezuma lady beetle [changed from: Mealybug destroyer] - Thalassa montezumae Which Twice Stabbed? - Thalassa montezumae Thalassa montezumae Mulsant - Thalassa montezumae - female Thalassa montezumae Mulsant - Thalassa montezumae - female Mt Lemmon lady beetle - Thalassa montezumae Mt Lemmon lady beetle - Thalassa montezumae
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 Hyperaspidini
Genus Thalassa
Species montezumae (Montezuma Lady Beetle)
Explanation of Names
Thalassa montezumae Mulsant 1850
reference to Moctezuma, or to a place named after him. The genitive ("of") ending -ae is used for feminine nouns, which would make more sense if it referred to a place.
Numbers
1 sp. n. of Mex. (1)
Size
4.5 to 5.8 mm (2)
Identification
Gordon's figures - Elytron bluish black with reddish yellow spot in apical. Female pronotum entirely bluish black. (2)
Range
se AZ, e. to s. TX - Map / south to S. Amer. (3)(2) Introduced into FL. (BG data)
Remarks
Lectotype from Mexico
See Also
Curinus coeruleus - orange markings are on pronotum (hard shell between wings and head), not wing covers.
- Range: FL

Halmus chalybeus - no orange markings.
- Range: coastal so. Cal
Print References
Milléo, J., L.M. de Almeida & R.D. Gordon. 2004. South American Coccinellidae (Coleoptera). Part X: A systematic revision of Thalassa Mulsant (Hyperaspidinae). Revista Brasileira de Entomologia 48(3): 395-400. Full PDF
Mulsant, E. 1850. Species des coléoptères triméres sécuripalpes. Annales des Sciences Physiques et Naturelles de Lyon 2: 1-1104. (p.512)
Works Cited
1.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.
2.The Coccinellidae (Coleoptera) of America North of Mexico
Robert D. Gordon. 1985. Journal of the New York Entomological Society, Vol. 93, No. 1.
3.Illustrated Beetle (Coleoptera) Inventory of the Sabal Palm Sanctuary (Cameron County, Texas)
Edward G. Riley & Michael A. Quinn. 2011. Texas A&M University, Dept. Entomology, College Station.
Contributed by Boris Büche on 11 April, 2007 - 4:26am
Additional contributions by Lynette Elliott, Chuck Entz, Mike Quinn, Abigail Parker
Last updated 15 September, 2017 - 8:13am

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