''Chilocorus nigritus'' (formerly known as ''Chilocorus nigrita''), sometimes referred to as the Malaysian ladybird beetle, is a species of lady beetle in the family

Coccinellidae 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 ...

. It is native to SE Asia, but has been introduced for use in

biological pest control Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, such as insects, mites, weeds, and plant diseases, using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms, but typically also invo ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

and any parts of the world, including

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

.BPDB listing, UK
/ref>

Distribution

It is found in Agalega, American Samoa, Benin, Bermuda, Brazil, Eswatini, Ghana, Guam, Hawaii, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, New Caledonia, Oman, Pakistan, Reunion Island, Seychelles, Society Islands, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Togo, Turkey, Uganda, United States, Vanuatu and Zimbabwe.

Description

Very similar to ''

Chilocorus subindicus ''Chilocorus subindicus'', is a species of lady beetle found in India, Sri Lanka and Maldives. Description Very similar to '' Chilocorus nigritus'' in morphology. Body length is about 2.7 to 3.8 mm. Body outline is subcircular. Elytra pitchy to ...

'' in morphology. Body length is about 3.2 to 4.0 mm. Body sub circular. Elytra, pronotum and outer margins of elytral epipleura are very dark pitchy black in color. Head, lateral parts of pronotum, legs and vertrum yellowish brown. Lateral margins of elytra are much paler than disc. Vertex of head and lateral sides of pronotum are darker brown to black in many females. Head clothed with fine pubescence. Head variably punctured from fine to moderately coarse. Interstices ranges from flat to convex. Pronotum finely punctured with flat interstices which become shiny on disc. Elytra shiny, and without microsculpture. Elytra finely punctured, where the punctures are separated by 3 to 6 diameters on disc. In male genitalia, median lobe with broad basal half which is abruptly contracted at base and bulging sub-basally. Apex of median lobe turned ventrally in lateral sides. Parameres are blade-shaped and abruptly angled.

Biology

It is one of the major predators on diaspid scale insects such as ''

Aonidiella aurantii ''Aonidiella aurantii'' or red scale is an armored scale insect and a major pest of citrus. It is thought to be a native of South China but has been widely dispersed by the agency of man through the movement of infected plant material. In the ...

'', '' Abgrallaspis cyanophylli'', '' Aleurotrachelus atratus'', ''

Aonidiella citrina ''Aonidiella citrina'' or yellow scale is an armored scale insect from the family Diaspididae. It feeds by sucking sap from plants in a number of plant families, but is mostly known for being a pest of citrus. Description Armoured scales are ...

'', ''

Aspidiotus rigidus ''Aspidiotus'' is a genus of armoured scale insects. It includes several agricultural and horticultural pests. ''A. destructor'' was originally blamed for a massive die-off of coconut trees in the Philippines which began about 2009. It has bee ...

'', '' Chrysomphalus aonidum'', '' Lepidosaphes gloverii'', '' Parasaissetia nigra'', '' Parlatoria blanchardi'', '' Saccharicoccus sacchari'', ''

Aonidiella orientalis ''Aonidiella orientalis'' is a species of insect in the family Diaspididae, the armored scale insects. It is known commonly as the Oriental yellow scale.Aspidiotus destructor ''Aspidiotus destructor'', the coconut scale, is a species of armoured scale insect in the family Diaspididae, found in many tropical and subtropical parts of the world. It is a serious pest of coconut and banana, and attacks a range of other ...

'', '' Hemiberiesia latanias'', ''

Leucaspis coniferarum In Greek mythology, Leucaspis ( grc, Λεύκασπις) was a Sicani prince who entered into combat with Heracles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), ...

'', '' Pinnaspis strachani'', ''

Quadraspidiotus perniciosus The San Jose scale (''Quadraspidiotus perniciosus'') is a hemipterous insect in the family Diaspididae. It is an agricultural pest as it causes damage and crop losses to many fruit crops. In 1914, ''Q. perniciosus'' became the first documented ...

'', '' Tecaspis''.

References

Coccinellidae Beetles described in 1798 {{coccinellidae-stub