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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) » Ten-spotted Spurleg Lady Beetle (Brachiacantha decempustulata)

Species Brachiacantha decempustulata - Ten-spotted Spurleg Lady Beetle

Classification · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Season · Remarks · See Also · Print References · Works Cited

Brachiacantha decempustulata (Melsheimer) - Brachiacantha decempustulata

lady beetle - Brachiacantha decempustulata - female

lady beetle - Brachiacantha decempustulata - male

Small Mating Beetles - Brachiacantha decempustulata - male - female

Coccinellidae, dorsal - Brachiacantha decempustulata

Lady Beetle - Brachiacantha decempustulata

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)

Species decempustulata (Ten-spotted Spurleg Lady Beetle)

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Brachiacantha decempustulata (Melsheimer)

Orig. Comb: Hyperaspis 10-pustulata Melsheimer 1847

Explanation of Names

decempustulata (L). "ten" + "blister, bubble" (1)

Numbers

25 spp. n. of Mex. (2)

Size

Length 2.0 to 2.5 mm (3)

Identification

Gordon's figures - Description as for felina except form oval; spots on elytron smaller.

this species also has sparse elytral punctures that are usually separated by more than the diameter of a puncture, whereas in B. felina and B. rotunda they are usually separated by a diameter or less. (3)

Range

e. NA (TX-FL-NB-ND) - Map (3),(BG data),(4),(Stehr 1930),(Fauske et al. 2003) - Great Plains records mostly unk. to Gordon (1985)

Although not shown in the map linked above as occurring in Minnesota, this appears to have been an oversight. According to a comment by entomologist and BugGuide contributor W. Steffens, "It's rarely seen apparently but does occur fairly widely in Minnesota, and was reported by W.M. Stehr in 1930's The Coccinellidae of Minnesota. This was also somehow overlooked by Fauske et al., who published it again as a "new" state record 73 years late."

Season

May-Aug (BG data)

Remarks

Melsheimer (1847) had a single type specimen of B. decempustulata

Type locality: Pennsylvania

See Also

B. decempustulata - e. NA (TX-FL-NB-ND) - 2.0-2.5 mm, small elytral spots

B. felina - e US (except coastal se US) - 2.2-3.0 mm (+ syn: B. rotunda - 3.1-4.0 mm)

B. ursina - ne NA (SK-SC-NB) - 3-4 mm; most common e. sp. (3)

B. testudo - c. to s. TX

B. uteella - w. NA

Print References

Fauske, G.M., P.P. Tinerella, and D.A. Rider. 2003. A list of the lady beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) of North Dakota with new records from North Dakota and Minnesota. Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 76: 38-46.

Melsheimer, F.E. 1847. Descriptions of new species of Coleoptera of the United States. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 3: 158-181. [p.179]

Stehr, W.C. 1930. The Coccinellidae (ladybird beetles) of Minnesota. University of Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station, Technical Bulletin 75. 54 pp.

Works Cited

1.	Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms Donald J. Borror. 1960. Mayfield Publishing Company.

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.	List of Coleoptera Collected in Latimer County, Oklahoma by Karl Stephan (2002)

Contributed by tom murray on 3 June, 2009 - 6:21pm
Additional contributions by Chuck Entz, Mike Quinn, James Bailey, Abigail Parker, PaleoJon
Last updated 26 April, 2022 - 9:06am

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