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

Register · Log In
HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
Upcoming Events

Discussion, insects and people from the 2018 BugGuide Gathering in Virginia, July 27-29

Photos of insects and people from the 2015 gathering in Wisconsin, July 10-12

Photos of insects and people from the 2014 gathering in Virginia, June 4-7.

Photos of insects and people from the 2013 gathering in Arizona, July 25-28

Photos of insects and people from the 2012 gathering in Alabama

Photos of insects and people from the 2011 gathering in Iowa

Photos from the 2010 Workshop in Grinnell, Iowa

Photos from the 2009 gathering in Washington
TaxonomyBrowse
Info
ImagesLinksBooksData
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Water, Rove, Scarab, Long-horned, Leaf and Snout Beetles (Polyphaga) » Series Cucujiformia » Coccinelloidea » Coccinellid group » Lady Beetles (Coccinellidae) » Coccinellinae » Fungus-eating Lady Beetles (Psyllobora)

Genus Psyllobora - Fungus-eating Lady Beetles

Classification · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Food · Works Cited
Ladybird Beetle - Psyllobora borealis Twenty-spotted ladybird - Psyllobora vigintimaculata Postpupal stage - Psyllobora vigintimaculata unidentified Coccinellidae - Psyllobora parvinotata 3mm long beetle - Psyllobora renifer Psyllobora vigintimaculata Tiny Larva - Psyllobora vigintimaculata Psyllobora borealis? - Psyllobora
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Coleoptera (Beetles)
Suborder Polyphaga (Water, Rove, Scarab, Long-horned, Leaf and Snout Beetles)
No Taxon (Series Cucujiformia)
Superfamily Coccinelloidea
No Taxon (Coccinellid group)
Family Coccinellidae (Lady Beetles)
Subfamily Coccinellinae
Genus Psyllobora (Fungus-eating Lady Beetles)
Explanation of Names
psyllo is Greek for a flea, probably referring to the small size; boreal is Greek for northern. (1)
Numbers
in our area:
P. vigintimaculata (Say 1824) - widely dist.
P. borealis Casey 1899 - west of the Rockies

P. plagiata Schaeffer 1908 - se AZ, w. TX
P. renifer Casey 1899 - mostly along Mexican border

P. parvinotata Casey 1899 - coastal se US
P. schwarzi Chapin 1957 - so. FL
P. nana Mulsant 1850 - s. FL
Size
Adults 1.5-3.5 mm; larvae up to twice as long
Identification
Key to species [adapted from(2)]:

P. vigintimaculata, Twenty-spotted Lady Beetle - most of North America except coastal Southeast and Florida. Pronotum always has spots (may be light brown/yellow), elytra markings with various levels of coalescence, can include yellow and orange markings.

P. borealis - northern New Mexico west to Pacific, up to British Columbia and Alberta. Apical spot well separated from lateral spot behind middle; may also have lateral spot narrowly connected to discal spot.

P. nana - Florida. Common sutural spot on elytra apical third (completely joined at middle of back)
P. parvinotata - Florida and Gulf Coast states. Small elytral maculae, usually not confluent; sometimes with immaculate pronotum. (Name means "poorly marked.")

P. plagiata - southern Arizona. Elytral maculae reduced, with only subapical spot large; form broadly oval.

P. renifer - Louisiana, Southwest from TX to California, and up the CA Sierra to Tahoe; elytra markings always coalescent.


Larvae: Gray with black and sometimes orange markings, tubercles bearing many fine pale hairs (setae).
Range
Canada to Central America
Food
Plant mold, especially powdery mildew (uniquely in the family)
Works Cited
1.Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms
Donald J. Borror. 1960. Mayfield Publishing Company.
2.The Coccinellidae (Coleoptera) of America North of Mexico
Robert D. Gordon. 1985. Journal of the New York Entomological Society, Vol. 93, No. 1.
Contributed by Joel Kits on 3 April, 2005 - 1:17pm
Additional contributions by Mike Quinn, Tim Moyer, v belov, Abigail Parker
Last updated 26 September, 2013 - 2:14pm

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2018 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Statement
Site Map
Contact