Spruce ball ladybug
| Spruce ball ladybug | ||||||||||||
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| Scymnus abietis | ||||||||||||
| Paykull , 1798 |
The spruce-ball Ladybird ( Scymnus abietis ) is a beetle from the family of ladybugs (Coccinellidae).
features
The species of the genus Scymnus are very small ladybirds. The spruce beetle is only about Marie two to three millimeters in size, but is considered in the subfamily Scymninae as relatively large type. The color of the head, neck shield and wing coverts light brown, he has no points. The underside is red-brown. The mesosternum is a little darker. The body shape is oblong-oval and hairy on top.
Because of its color and body shape, it could be confused with the elongated oval ladybird ( Rhyzobius chrysomeloides ) from the subfamily of the Coccidulinae . The antennae of the spruce ball ladybug, like all Scymninae, are shorter than the head is wide. With Rhyzobius they are longer. The spruce ball ladybug is difficult to distinguish from many species of Scymninae.
Occurrence
The beetles are widespread in Central , Northern and Southern Europe, as well as in Russia , Bulgaria and Romania . They live mainly on spruce and conifers, but also on deciduous trees.
food
The larvae feed on aphids and mites .
Danger
The spruce ball ladybug is one of the endangered species in some federal states of Germany and is on the red list. The causes of danger are:
- Change in use of arid sites such as semi-arid and dry grassland , inland dunes, fallow and wasteland through the abandonment of grazing, shrubbery and littering
- Intensification of forestry ( monocultures , removal of forest fringes, forest protection measures)
- Afforestation, intensive use or removal of heather, mountain meadows and residual wood
- Chemization in agriculture and forestry
Systematics
The spruce ball ladybug belongs to the Scymnini tribe within the subfamily Scymninae. Within the genus Scymnus it is counted to the subgenus Parapullus .
supporting documents
Individual evidence
- ↑ Red list of ladybirds (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) of the State of Saxony-Anhalt, 2nd version, as of February 2004 Reports of the State Office for Environmental Protection Saxony-Anhalt 39, 2004. (PDF; 69 kB)
literature
- Karl Wilhelm Harde and Frantisek Severa: Der Kosmos Käferführer, The Central European Beetles. Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-440-06959-1
Web links
- Scymnus (Parapullus) abietis at Fauna Europaea
- Scymnus abietis description and Dutch distribution map (nl.)