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Photo#298469
Laybug  - Brachiacantha

Laybug - Brachiacantha
Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota, USA
July 2, 2009
This image and the added image to it, are 2 more views of the Ladybug - Brachiantha albirons, alive, and wandering around a possible host plant - Common Milkweed - Asclepias speciosa. The're have been a lot of them crawling around our Milkweeds this past week. I thought I'd add these two images to the site.

Moved

new range info
B. decempustulata also occurs in Minnesota, so my previous range-based ID is not valid. The very pale color of the spots suggests B. decempustulata, but I think the edges are a bit too orange to rule out B. ursina. (I realize color is variable, but I've never seen photos or specimens of live B. decempustulata with any orange areas; I can't rule it in or out here.)

Moving back to unidentified ursina group.

Moved

B. ursina by range
See comments on this image:

Moved
Moved from Brachiacantha.

Moved

Brachiacantha albifrons -- oh the blue eyes!.....
*

 
??s
unless I'm missing something these are two different individuals. This one being a female, and other appears to be a male with the apical pronotal margin pale with a moderate emargination medially in the black, and the head completely yellow. If so, please separate iamges.

Also, I'm not sure how the female can be B. albifrons, as from what I've read even the females have the apical pronotal margin pale (with out emargination of the black area). Also, the head should be completely yellow (except clypeal apex brown) To me, this looks to be more likely a member of the ursina group.

Maybe I just have something against albifrons, but we still don't have one that comes close to the elytral patterns shown in Gordon. Perhaps Dr. N. V. can verify some of these?

 
oops -- this sure goes straight to Dr. N. V.
my bad -- now i realize i looked at the other picture (the presumed male, #298472), then just put the comment on this one without paying much attention... inexcusable!!!
i'll unlink the pix

 
thanks v,
sorry, I was a bit gruff there...inexcusable! Better, I might have celibrated the diversity of tiny life these images show for Minn. :)

 
i disagree, Tim:
you were extremely -- indeed, excessively -- polite, by my standards. I must be dealt with ruthlessly, that's the language i understand best :-]
use deadly force next time

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