British Insects: the Families of Coleoptera
British Insects: the Families of Coleoptera |
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Including Epilachnidae.
Lady-birds, etc.
General appearance. 1.2–9 mm long. Body length/maximum body width 1–2.15. Elytral length/pronotal length 2.2–5.5. Base of prothorax not or scarcely narrower than the combined elytral bases, or distinctly narrower than the combined elytral bases. Greatest prothoracic width not narrower or only slightly narrower than the greatest elytral width, or distinctly narrower than greatest elytral width. Beetles broadly oval, or round, or elongate-oval; dorsally strongly convex; not necked; conspicuously waisted; yellow, red, orange, black, often bicoloured or spotted; exhibiting bright ‘warning colours’, or without ‘warning colouration’. Upper surfaces of body glabrous or subglabrous, or non-glabrous; exhibiting stiff, erect, dark bristles, or not bristly; with neither scales nor scale-like setae.
Detailed morphology. Beetles not prognathous. Inclination of the head slight. Eyes not strongly protuberant; bristly, or without bristles. Antennae very short to short; (7–)11 segmented. Antennal scape not swollen. Antennae clubbed. Antennal clubs 3 segmented. Antennal insertions visible from above, or hidden from above; not in fossae. Mandibular prosthecae well developed to absent.
Prothorax shorter than wide. Pronotal length/maximum pronotal width 0.3–0.85. Prothorax at its widest markedly narrower than the adjoining part of the abdomen, or not markedly narrower than the adjoining part of the abdomen. Prothorax without notopleural sutures. Metaventrite without a transverse groove. The tarsi exhibiting bilobed segments; with a tiny penultimate segment hidden by lobing of the one proximal to it, or without ‘hidden’ segments. Mid-leg tarsi 3-segmented, or 4-segmented; pseudotrimeous, or trimerous. Claws of the mid-leg tarsi not appendaged. Front tarsi with as many segments as the mid-tarsi; 3-segmented, or 4-segmented. Hind tarsi with as many segments as the mid-tarsi; 3-segmented, or 4-segmented. Tarsal claws simple, or one-toothed or bifid (toothed); without an associated empodium. Elytral length/maximum width across the elytra 0.85–1.5. Elytra covering most of the abdomen; exposing no more than part of the terminal tergite; glossy. Scutellary striole absent. Elytra glabrous (usually), or non-glabrous (rarely). Wings well developed, or absent or much reduced.
Visible abdominal sternites 5–6; immovably joined 0, or 2. Abdominal segment 8 apparently without functional spiracles.
Habitat, ecology. Predacious (mostly, feeding on aphids and other small invertebrates), or not predacious (the Epilachninae leaf-eating, and including some pests); in living vegetation.
Larvae. Larvae predacious, or not predacious; on living vegetation.
Classification. Suborder Polyphaga; Superfamily Cucujoidea.
British representation. Genera 27; 42 species. E.g., Coccidula scutellata; Anatis ocellata (Ocellated Lady-bird).
Illustrations. • Coccidula scutellata (Spotted Cacidula: B. Ent. 144). • Coccidula scutellata (B. Ent. 144, legend+text). • Coccidula scutellata (B. Ent. 144, text cont.). • Anatis ocellata (Ocellated Lady-bird: B. Ent. 208). • Anatis ocellata (details, B. Ent. 208). • Anatis ocellata: B. Ent. 208, legend+text.
To view the illustrations with detailed captions, go to the interactive key. This also offers full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting or lacking specified attributes, and distributions of character states within any set of taxa.
Cite this publication as: ‘Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 2003 onwards. British insects: the families of Coleoptera. Version: 9th June 2008. http://delta-intkey.com’.
