''Illeis cincta'' is a species of

lady beetle 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 ...

native to India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

Description

Eggs are creamy white in color and round in shape. Female lays eggs in a group of 10 to 15 which are glued on lower surface of leaves. Before hatching, eggs become grayish black. The incubation period is about three days. Eggs are followed by four stages of instar larvae. Larvae pale yellow in color. Larva has three pairs of legs and four rows of minute dots. Body completely covered with minute hairs. There are three pairs of spots prominent on thoracic segments. These spots are larger and brighter than the other body spots. Pupa pale yellow in color with black spots. After one of week pupation, adult beetle emerges. Adult is about 4 to 6 mm in length. Elytra yellowish. Body elongate oval and convex. Head is fairly visible. A pair of black spot can be found on pronotum. Eyes are prominent. Antenna are long, with a loosely jointed three segmented club. Female is comparatively larger than male. Life cycle completes within four weeks.

Biology

It is a mycophagous coccinellid associated with powdery mildew in various crops such as '' Dalbergia sissoo'' and '' Xanthium strumarium''. It is also known to feed on the fungus, ''

Phyllactinia corylea ''Phyllactinia guttata'' is a species of fungus in the family Erysiphaceae; the anamorph of this species is ''Ovulariopsis moricola''. A plant pathogen distributed in temperate regions, ''P. guttata'' causes a powdery mildew on leaves and stems ...

'' that causes powdery mildew of mulberry and '' Erysiphe cichoracearum'' causing powdery mildew on sunflower. Adult is a voracious predator on ''

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'' and '' Amrasca devastans''. The species of spider mite, '' Tetranychus neocaledonicus'' is a known predator that attack both adults and nymphs.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2285459 Coccinellidae Insects of Sri Lanka Beetles described in 1798