Thursday, December 31, 2009

Bug Of The Month Blue Ladybugs



Yes these are real. You get 2 different species today. Enjoy

Metallic Blue Ladybug - Curinus coeruleus

Identification:

Blue with two orange markings on the pronotum (hard shell between wings and head).

Range:

Native to the Caribbean but widely introduced for biological control. Apparently imported to Florida from Mexico in the 1950s.

Food:

Normally scale insects (order Homoptera, suborder Coccoidea), but also will feed on aphids and the Asian Citrus Psyllid (Diaphorina citri)

Remarks:

One of only two blue lady beetles in the U.S

Thalasa montezumae


Not much on this one. They feed on scale insects. I'll definitely keep looking. Thalassa montezumae is the one on the top.

Aren't they pretty? Info and photos from Bugguide. Copyright infringement not intended.


10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I couldn't believe my eyes. When I went to Mexico about two years ago we stoped in a small town on our way to Mexico city by car. The place was called Jalapa. It's small but it is very green, so green that at a certain time of day it looks foggy. I was at a coffe shop staring at the trees when i saw this on the edge of the balcony. I knew it looked like a ladybug but I had never seen one before so I thought it would be some other kind of beetle. Im so happy to have pics of this beautiful creature though :D

Brittanie said...

That is awesome!

I'm glad I was able to help you put a name to your mystery bug.

I myself hope to see one someday.

Birdy Official said...

Really amazing ladybug! Never observed this species in our area so far.

Brittanie said...

Hopefully you'll get lucky soon. Love ladybugs.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for this post. I live in Hawaii, and when I was growing up we had the tiny tiny red-and-black ladybugs, but now I only see these blue/black ones. In fact, we went camping this past weekend, and they were all nestled in the loose parts of the tree bark. It looked like someone had jammed dozens of pushpins into the tree. I wasn't sure if they were actually ladybugs. They bite/pinch.

Brittanie said...

@Anonymous1 You're very welcome! Must've been a sight to see. =) Glad to be able to help.

@Anonymous2 They bite? I've never heard of such a thing on my research. I have to look into this further. Harmonia axyridis can give you a little nip once in a blue moon but I've never heard of blue lady bugs doing so. I wish you guys wouldn't go by "Anonymous" because I can't properly thank you.

But thank you nonetheless. This has prompted me to do research on these again to see what else I can find. =)

Mbraun said...

Found one of these in a park in southwest Florida, Estero to be exact. Got a photo but not sure how to post on here.

Unknown said...

I seen a blue lady bug today here and Florida that was my first time seeing when here i seen it outside my door

Anonymous said...

I just found one. It was one the back of my neck and i swatted it, sorry. I had to look it up since i had never seen one before in my life 50+. Not 100% positive on the id but thought i'd leave a comment. Im near toronto ontario.

Anonymous said...

I noticed the original post was 2009. The comment i made above about the sighting is for 2017!