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''Cheilomenes sexmaculata'' is a species of
{{Taxonbar, from=Q14930830 Beetles described in 1781 Coccinellidae
ladybird
Coccinellidae () is a widespread family of small beetles ranging in size from . They are commonly known as ladybugs in North America and ladybirds in Great Britain. Some entomologists prefer the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles as they ...
. Although sometimes known by the common name of six-spotted zigzag ladybird, this is misleading as there are several colour morphs and some colour morphs of the species can be confused with ''Micraspis discolor'' and ''Chilocorus nigrita''. The species has a wide distribution range within the Asian tropics and subtropical zones from India to Japan and parts of the Australian region. They have been introduced into the Caribbean islands as a biocontrol agent and their spread to South America was noted in 2019. It is well known as a predator of aphids and other small insects.
Description
This small beetle is about 3 to 4 mm in body length. Body color varies from yellow to canary yellow. Elytra black.Biology
It is a voracious predator on several whiteflies and aphids such as ''Aphis gossypii
''Aphis gossypii'' is a tiny insect, an aphid ("greenfly") in the superfamily Aphidoidea in the order Hemiptera. It is a true bug and sucks sap from plants. It is a widely distributed pest of a variety of agricultural crops in the families Cucu ...
'', '' Myzus persicae'', ''Aphis craccivora
''Aphis craccivora'', variously known as the cowpea aphid, groundnut aphid or black legume aphid, is a true bug in the family ''Aphididae''. Originally of probable Palearctic origin, it is now an invasive species of cosmopolitan distribution. ...
'', ''Amrasca
''Amrasca'' is a genus of true bugs
Hemiptera (; ) is an order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising over 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, assassin bugs, bed bugs, and shield ...
'', ''Empoasca
''Empoasca'' is a genus of leafhoppers belonging to the family Cicadellidae subfamily Typhlocybinae.
Species
* '' Empoasca abrupta'' DeLong, 1931
* '' Empoasca affinis'' Nast, 1937
* '' Empoasca alsiosa'' Ribaut, 1933
* '' Empoasca apicalis'' ( ...
'' and '' Leptocentrus''. In addition to them, it feeds on a wide prey range including, scale insect
Scale insects are small insects of the order Hemiptera, suborder Sternorrhyncha. Of dramatically variable appearance and extreme sexual dimorphism, they comprise the infraorder Coccomorpha which is considered a more convenient grouping than the ...
s, and diaspids.
Genetics
The elytral colour has been identified as being controlled by two genes with two alleles each U-u and D-d and the phenotypes have been grouped into varieties ''quadriplagiata'' (“Q”) UDD,UUDd,UuDD,UuDd ''unifasciata'' (“U”) udd,UUdd ''diversijunata'' (“D”) uDD,uuDdand ''sexmaculata'' (“S”)udd UDD may refer to:
Science and technology
* Ultra-dense deuterium
*Neutrons, which have quark configurations of udd, or up- down-down
*Ultradisperse diamond, another name for Detonation nanodiamond
*Urine-diversion dehydration toilet
* User driven ...
The darker forms predominate in higher latitudes where absorption of heat may aid their survival.
References
External links
{{Taxonbar, from=Q14930830 Beetles described in 1781 Coccinellidae