Dry-grass dwarf ladybug

Dry-grass dwarf ladybug
Dry grass dwarf ladybug ( Scymnus frontalis )
Systematics
Family : Ladybird (Coccinellidae) Subfamily : Scymninae Tribe : Scymnini Genre : Scymnus Subgenus : Scymnus Type : Dry-grass dwarf ladybug
Scientific name
Frontal scymnus
( Fabricius , 1787)

Dry grass dwarf ladybug ( Scymnus frontalis )

Specimen, male

The dry grass dwarf ladybird ( Scymnus frontalis ) is a beetle from the ladybird family , tribe Scymnini .

features

The smallest ladybirds belong to the Scymnini tribe. The dry grass dwarf ladybug reaches a length of only 2 to 3 millimeters. Its body is elongated oval and covered with short gray hair. On the dark bottom of the wing covers are usually four reddish spots are emerging, but there may be only two or no spots exist. The pronotum is mostly red in front and on the sides. The legs are colored red. The males have a red head, while the females have a black or at most red front.

Occurrence

The species is widespread in Europe. It is only missing in the British Isles.

Way of life

The adult beetles are mostly seen between April and July. The heat-loving species prefers dry locations exposed to the sun as habitat, in particular dry grass , field and meadow edges and forest edges. The beetles are mostly found on herbaceous plants and grass. They feed on plant lice .

Web links

Commons : Dry grass pygmy ladybug ( Scymnus frontalis )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• www.kerbtier.de

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Arved Lompe: Beetle of Europe - Scymnus . www.coleo-net.de. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
2. ↑ ^{a b} Scymnus frontalis in Fauna Europaea. Retrieved March 4, 2018
3. ↑ ^{a b} Klaus Koch: Die Käfer Mitteleuropas - Ökologie - Volume 2. Goecke & Evers Verlag, Krefeld 1989, ISBN 3-87263-040-7 , p. 240.