Monochrome ladybug
| Monochrome ladybug | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Single-colored ladybug ( Rhyzobius litura ) |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Rhyzobius litura | ||||||||||||
| ( Fabricius , 1787) |
The single-colored ladybird ( Rhyzobius litura ) is a beetle from the ladybird family (Coccinellidae). It is also called the western slender ladybug .
features
The beetles are 2.5 to 3.8 mm long and have a rounded body. The single-colored ladybird is one of the European species in which only a small proportion (approx. 7%) have fully functional wings. The animals are colored dark red to brown. At the edge of the wing there is a black arch, above this arch is round, below in a zigzag course. They have three indistinct spots on each wing that are dull due to their hairiness. The beetle's antennae are long in relation to their length.
Western and Eastern slender ladybug
The coloring and the arch-shaped drawing of Rhyzobius litura , also called Western slender ladybug, is very variable. It cannot be used to reliably differentiate it from the closely related elongated oval ladybird ( Rhyzobius chrysomeloides , also known as the eastern slender ladybug ). In addition to its less convex, more elongated body shape, the pronotum of Rhyzobius chrysomeloides is rounder and tapered at the base. The keels of the prosternum are parallel between the coxes of the forelimbs. In many cases, a reliable identification of the species is only possible through a microscopic examination of the genital apparatus.
Occurrence and habitat
The single-colored ladybug is also called the western slender ladybug because it is native to Western Europe , especially Great Britain . It is the most common species of ladybug in the UK. It can even be found in the Azores . He lives in milder areas of Germany, such as Baden-Württemberg . In the southeast, the distribution area extends to Bulgaria and Greece . It often overlaps with that of the related species Rhyzobius chrysomeloides , which is also known as the Eastern slender ladybug.
The species lives in forests on trees and various herbaceous plants in places where it is protected from wind and weather.
Way of life
Because of their poor ability to fly, the animals fall to the ground in case of danger. Like many of their relatives, they mainly feed on aphids. Mating takes place in summer to late summer, when the female lays 6 or 8 eggs. The eggs overwinter, the larvae hatch in spring.
Individual evidence
- ^ Bernhard and Hertha Klausnitzer: Ladybirds . Die Neue Brehm-Bücherei Volume 451, Westarp Wissenschaften, 4th edition, Magdeburg 1997, page 63
- ^ Rhyzobius litura distribution map at GBIF
- ↑ The London and Essex Ladybird Surveys ( Memento of the original from November 5, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. with picture
- ↑ Die Käfer Baden-Württemberg 1950-2000 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Directory of the Coccinellidae in Baden-Württemberg
- ↑ Biodiversidade dos Açores distribution in the Azores
Web links
- Rhyzobius litura at Fauna Europaea
- Rhyzobius litura description and Dutch distribution map (nl.)