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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

Classification · Other Common Names · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Identification · Habitat · Season · Life Cycle · Print References · Works Cited
lady beetle Brachiacantha quadrillum LeConte - Brachiacantha quadrillum Brachiacantha ursina Orange-spotted Lady Beetle - Brachiacantha felina Brachiacantha uteella Casey - Brachiacantha uteella Brachiacantha bollii Crotch - Brachiacantha bollii Coccinellidae - Brachiacantha ursina? - Spurleg lady beetle - Brachiacantha Stephan's Lady Beetle? - Brachiacantha
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 (spelling)
Explanation of Names
Brachiacantha Dejean 1837
Greek brachys 'short' + akantha 'thorn' (likely refers to spur on front tibia)
Numbers
25 spp. north of Mexico(2)(3); 6 spp. in NC(4), 6 spp. in IL(5)
Size
2-6 mm
Identification
Elytral pattern is intraspecifically variable(6)
e.g.
Front leg with short tibial spur

Oval, strongly convex (dome-shaped)
Eyes blue, notched on anterior margin (emarginate)
Habitat
On vegetation, deciduous forests
Season
Apr-Oct (several species in IL)(5)
Life Cycle
At least 2 spp. are myrmecophilous as larvae, associated with Lasius spp.(5) Larvae prey on scale insects resident in the ant colonies(7)
Print References
(8)
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.Insects of North Carolina
C.S. Brimley. 1938. North Carolina Department of Agriculture.
5.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.
6.The Coccinellidae of Louisiana (Insecta: Coleoptera).
Chapin, J.B. 1974. Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin 682: 2-87.
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
C.G. Majka & S. Robinson. 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 28 August, 2018 - 11:00am

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