''Novius iceryae'' is a species of

ladybird 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

Afrotropical realm The Afrotropical realm is one of Earth's eight biogeographic realms. It includes Africa south of the Sahara Desert, the majority of the Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, southern Iran and extreme southwestern Pakistan, and the island ...

, and was described from

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

.Hounkpati K, Forrester JA, McHugh JV. 2019. Neotype designation for ''Rodolia iceryae'' Janson in Ormerod, 1887 (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae). Zootaxa 4563 (2): 396‑400. DOI:10.11646/zootaxa.4563.2.12. It is also found in

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

. In 1880, ''Novius iceryae'' was used to successfully control cottony cushion scale, ''

Icerya purchasi ''Icerya purchasi'' ( common name: cottony cushion scale) is a scale insect that feeds on more than 80 families of woody plants, most notably on ''Citrus'' and ''Pittosporum''. Originally described in 1878 from specimens collected in New Zealand ...

'' in

. It was later introduced in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

for the management of cottony cushion scale.Ormerod EA, Janson OE. 1889. Notes and descriptions of a few injurious farm & fruit insects of South Africa. Simpkin, Marshall & Co., London, England, 126 pp. This and related species were formerly classified in the genus ''Rodolia''.Pang, H., Tang, X.-F., Booth, R.G., Vandenberg, N., Forrester, J., Mchugh, J., & Ślipiński, A. (2020) Revision of the Australian Coccinellidae (Coleoptera). Genus ''Novius'' Mulsant of Tribe Noviini. ''Annales Zoologici'' 70 (1):1–24. https://doi.org/10.3161/00034541ANZ2020.70.1.001

Description

''Novius iceryae'' is about 3-5 mm long with a shiny and hemispherical body and pubescent dorsal surface. The base of the elytra has a large semicircular blood-red spot, enclosing the scutellum. The head is concealed from above. It is also found in

. ''Novius iceryae'' is similar to other species of the genus '' Novius'', (e.g., ''

Novius insularis Novius may refer to: *Decimus Junius Novius Priscus, consul of the Roman Empire in 78 *Quintus Novius, Roman dramatist of the first century BCE *Tiberius Claudius Novius, leading statesman of Athens 41-61 *River Nith, in Scotland; ''Novius'' in Lat ...

'', '' Novius occidentalis''), but they can be separated separate one from another by the structure of their male genitalia.

References

Coccinellidae Beetles of Africa Beetles described in 1889 {{Coccinellidae-stub