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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Series Cucujiformia » Coccinelloidea » Coccinellid group » Lady Beetles (Coccinellidae) » Scymninae » Spurleg Lady Beetles (Brachiacantha)

Genus Brachiacantha - Spurleg Lady Beetles

Brachiacantha quadrillum LeConte - Brachiacantha quadrillum

Orange-spotted Lady Beetle - Brachiacantha ursina - female

Orange-spotted black ladybug - Brachiacantha ursina

Brachiacantha felina - Brachiacantha felina - male

lady beetle - Brachiacantha decempustulata - female

A few more from the one single oak on Oracle ridge trail - Brachiacantha arizonica - male - female

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

Genus Brachiacantha (Spurleg Lady Beetles)

Other Common Names

Anthill Ladybugs(1)

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Brachyacantha

Explanation of Names

Brachiacantha Chevrolat in d'Orbigny 1842

Greek 'short thorn' (refers to protibial spur)

Numbers

25 spp. in our area(2)(3), ~80 total(4)

Size

2‒6 mm

Identification

Elytral pattern intraspecifically variable(5)

e.g.

protibia with short spur

body ovate, strongly convex; eyes blue, anteriorly emarginate

Season

Apr‒Oct in IL(6)

Life Cycle

At least 2 spp. are myrmecophilous as larvae, associated with Lasius spp.(6) Larvae prey on scale insects resident in the ant colonies(7)

Print References

(8)(6)

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.

3.	The Coccinellidae (Coleoptera) of America North of Mexico Robert D. Gordon. 1985. Journal of the New York Entomological Society, Vol. 93, No. 1.

4.	BioLib.cz

5.	The Coccinellidae of Louisiana (Insecta: Coleoptera). Chapin, J.B. 1974. Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin 682: 2-87.

6.	The Brachiacantha (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) of Illinois H.W. Montgomery, Jr. and M.A. Goodrich. 2002. Transactions of the Illinois State Academy of Science 95(2): 111-130.

7.	Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America Eric Eaton, Kenn Kaufman. 2006. Houghton Mifflin.

8.	Hyperaspis and Brachiacantha (Coleoptera:Coccinellidae):two poorly known genera of native lady beetles in the Maritime Provinces Majka C.G., Robinson S. 2009. J. Acad. Entomol. Soc. 5: 3‒11.

Contributed by Joel Kits on 3 April, 2005 - 6:55pm
Additional contributions by cotinis, Mike Quinn, Tim Moyer, v belov, James Bailey, Abigail Parker
Last updated 3 June, 2025 - 5:05pm

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