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

See Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2023

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2018 gathering in Virginia, July 27-29

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


Previous events
TaxonomyBrowse
Info
ImagesLinksBooksData
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Series Cucujiformia » Coccinelloidea » Coccinellid group » Lady Beetles (Coccinellidae) » Scymninae » Zagloba and Zilus (Scymnillini) » Zilus

Genus Zilus

Classification · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Food · Print References · Works Cited
Smallest Ladybird - Zilus horni Smallest Ladybird - Zilus horni Zilus horni Zilus horni Zilus horni Zilus horni Zilus aterrimus (Horn) - Zilus aterrimus Zilus horni? Red Bank Battlefield Park, NJ - Zilus horni
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 Scymnillini (Zagloba and Zilus)
Genus Zilus
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
First described in 1850 by Étienne Mulsant as a subgenus of Scymnus
Numbers
4 species in North America (many more in the subtropics):
Zilus aterrimus
Zilus eleutherae
Zilus horni
Zilus subtropicus
Size
Length less than 2.0 mm(1)
Identification
Small, oval to oblong shape
Head partially concealed by pronotum
Head and pronotum pubescent (having short, fine hairs)
Elytra (wing covers) smooth, or with very few sparse hairs

"That combination of pubescent head+pronotum and glabrous elytra is characteristic of Zilus" - Natalia Vandenberg
Range
In the east, from Maryland and Wisconsin to Florida and Louisiana; in the west, from Idaho and Washington to California and Arizona.
Food
Scale insects, whiteflies
Print References
Gordon, 1985, especially pages 75-80, figures 36-41.(1)
Works Cited
1.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 v belov on 29 June, 2009 - 10:12am
Additional contributions by Chuck Entz, James Bailey, Abigail Parker, PaleoJon
Last updated 26 April, 2022 - 9:49am

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 © 2003-2023 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology at Iowa State University logo

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Statement
Site Map
Contact