Coccinellidae

Food security in West Africa could be improved if basic taxonomic information about pests and biocontrol agents was readily available for the region. Because predatory ladybeetles have been important elements in pest management programs in other regions of the world, we reviewed the literature, conducted field surveys, and visited natural history museums in order to produce a catalogue of the Coccinellidae (Coleoptera) of West Africa. The catalogue includes 250 species representing 38 genera and 18 tribes, as well as summaries of available biological and distributional data.

RESUMEN En el presente trabajo se determinó el ciclo biológico y tabla de vida de Cycloneda sanguinea L. alimentado con el pulgón Aphis aurantii Boyer de Fonscolombe en condiciones de laboratorio. El material biológico se recolectó en huertas de yaca (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.) ubicadas en los municipios de San Blas y Compostela, Nayarit, México. Los experimentos se llevaron a cabo en el Laboratorio de Parasitología de la Universidad Autónoma de Nayarit, a una temperatura de 25 ± 2°C, 70 ± 10% HR y una fotofase de 12 horas. En estas condiciones, la duración de la fase inmadura fue de 19,32 ± 4,97 días y la longevidad de los adultos de 58,37 ± 3,44 y 61,71 ± 4,96 días, para machos y hem-bras, respectivamente. Las hembras presentaron un periodo de pre-oviposición de 3,9 ± 0,31 días, con una fecundidad de 882,2 ± 52,28 huevos/hembra. La curva de sobrevivencia fue de tipo I, en donde la mortalidad se concentró en los individuos de edades avanzadas, mientras que la curva de fecundi-dad, mostró dos puntos máximos de oviposición en los días 9 y 36 después de la emergencia de los adultos. La tasa neta reproductiva fue de 705,76 huevos hembra/hembra, en un tiempo generacional de 23,39 días y una tasa finita de crecimiento de 1,41 individuos por día. Palabras clave: Control biológico, pulgón negro de los cítricos, depredadores, yaca. ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to determine the biological cycle and life table of Cycloneda san-guinea L. fed with the aphid Aphis aurantii Boyer de Fonscolombe under laboratory conditions. The biological material was collected in jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.) orchards located in the municipalities of San Blas and Compostela, Nayarit, Mexico. The experiments were carried out in the Laboratory of Parasitology of the Autonomous University of Nayarit, at a temperature of 25 ± 2°C, 70 ± 10% RH and a photophase of 12 hours. The duration of the immature phase was 19.32 ± 4.97 days,

The members of Coccinellidae are among the most important biological control agents being used throughout the world. The objective of this study was to provide the current scenario of this family in Saudi Arabia. Collection surveys of ladybird individuals were conducted throughout Saudi Arabia. A total of 5400 specimens of Coccinellidae were collected belonging to 51 species in 19 genera and seven tribes: Sticholotidini (2 genera / 10 species), Coccidulini (1/3), Scymnini (4/24), Diomini (1/1), Hyperaspidini (1/3), Chilocorini (3/8), Noviini (1/3), Coccinellini (8/11), Epilachnini (2/2). One genus, Clitostethus, and eight species and subspecies,

El siguiente apunte corresponde a un trabajo individual realizado para la materia Entomología de la Escuela Argentina de Naturalistas, que se dicta de manera intensiva en Concordia, Entre Ríos, República Argentina.
El trabajo, que presenta algunos cambios respecto al original, fue corregido por el Dr. Luis Fernando Fortich, entomólogo y profesor de la cátedra.

Se armaron las “fichas” de cada especie siguiendo una metodología similar, intentando que el formato de éstas se respete en cada una, para darle coherencia a los textos. Foto. Frecuencia. TABLA. Datos ecológicos y observaciones directas. Ciclo biológico, morfología, características distintivas. Dieta. Coloración. Todas las especies citadas y fotografiadas fueron encontradas en jardines urbanos, en la ciudad de Santo Tomé, Provincia de Santa Fe, Argentina

Great knowledge and experience on microbiology are required for accurate bacteria identification.
Automation of bacteria identification is required because there might be a shortage of skilled
microbiologists and clinicians at a time of great need. We propose an automatic bacteria identification
framework that can classify three famous classes of bacteria namely Cocci, Bacilli and Vibrio from
microscopic morphology using the Naïve Bayes classifier. The proposed bacteria identification framework
comprises two steps. In the first step, the system is trained using a set of microscopic images containing
Cocci, Bacilli, and Vibrio. The input images are normalized to emphasize the diameter and shape features.
Edge-based descriptors are then extracted from the input images. In the second step, we use the Naïve
Bayes classifier to perform probabilistic inference based on the input descriptors. 64 images for each class
of bacteria were used as the training set and 222 images consisting of the three classes of bacteria and
other random images such as humans and airplanes were used as the test set. There are no images
overlapped between the training set and the test set. The system was found to be able to accurately
discriminate the three classes of bacteria. Moreover, the system was also found to be able to reject images
that did not belong to any of the three classes of bacteria. The preliminary results demonstrate how a
simple machine learning classifier with a set of simple image-based features can result in high
classification accuracy. The preliminary results also demonstrate the efficacy and efficiency of our two-step
automatic bacteria identification approach and motivate us to extend this framework to identify a variety of
other types of bacteria.

Due to growing criticism over the use of non-indigenous coccinellids, the two-spot ladybird, Adalia bipunctata (L.), has enjoyed increasing attention for aphid biocontrol in Europe. In the current study, eggs of the Mediterranean flour moth, Ephestia kuehniella Zeller, whether or not supplemented with bee pollen, were evaluated as a factitious food for larvae and adults of A. bipunctata. The predator showed slower larval development and lower survival when reared on live pea aphids, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris), than on E. kuehniella eggs. Survival on gamma-irradiated eggs of E. kuehniella was superior to that on frozen flour moth eggs, but other developmental characteristics were similar. Adults of A. bipunctata reared on Ac. pisum were only half as fecund as those offered irradiated or frozen E. kuehniella eggs, but egg hatch was markedly better on live aphids than on flour moth eggs (61 versus 20–27%, respectively). However, when a diet of flour moth eggs was supplemented with frozen moist bee pollen, egg hatch of A. bipunctata was equally as good as on live aphids. Supplementing flour moth eggs with dry pollen did not yield satisfactory results. Only 10% of larvae reached adulthood on moist bee pollen alone and resulting adults weighed less than half as much as those obtained on flour moth eggs. Our findings indicate that A. bipunctata is able to compensate for a suboptimal diet of animal prey by supplementary feeding on flower pollen. It is concluded that pollinivory may be a crucial trait for both the rearing of this natural enemy and its use in biological control programmes. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry

This work provides a preliminary inventory of West African Coccinellidae.
This was based on the West African Coccinellidae (WAC) specimens in the holdings of insect collections at the Laboratoire de Zoologie des Invertébrés Terrestres at the Institut Fondamental d’Afrique Noire Cheikh Anta Diop (IFAN), Senegal and the Biodiversity Center at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITAB), Benin.

La familia Coccinellidae, es un grupo de insectos conocidos coloquialmente como "mariquitas", "chinitas" o "vaquitas de San Antonio", y es considerado además como uno de los grupos de insectos benéficos más importantes. Debido a su gran importancia económica y ecológica como depredadores de muchos artrópodos dañinos actualmente se desarrollan programas de cría e introducción de coccinélidos para su uso en tareas de control biológico.
En la actualidad se registran alrededor de 6000 especies de la familia a nivel mundial, y en el Perú están presentes cerca de 350 especies en 64 géneros. La distribución de la familia a nivel de las regiones es conocida a través de estudios parciales en Piura, Cusco, y Madre de Dios.
El examen de nuevo material colectado entre los meses de julio del 2018 y febrero del 2019, y del material presente en la Colección Entomológica de la UNSAAC, permitió el registro de 76 especies repartidas en 23 géneros dentro de 12 tribus de la subfamilia Coccinellinae. Los especímenes estudiados provienen de 106 localidades dentro de las 13 provincias de la región, en un rango altitudinal comprendido desde los 565 m, en la localidad de Pillcopata (provincia de Paucartambo) hasta los 5250 m en los alrededores del Nevado Ausangate, en la provincia de Quispicanchi. Por otro lado, existe una mayor diversidad de especies de la familia en la provincia biogeográfica (PBG) de Yungas, en comparación con la PBG de Rondonia y ningún registro conocido en la PBG de la Puna. Las provincias con una mayor riqueza de especies son La Convención, Urubamba, Anta, Calca y Paucartambo.
Los géneros con distribución más amplia en la región son, el género introducido Hippodamia Chevrolat, y los géneros nativos Eriopis Mulsant y Cycloneda Crotch.
Tras el análisis de la distribución de los especímenes identificados, se determinó el primer registro para el Perú de las especies Psyllobora hybrida (Mulsant 1850), Serratitibia anna Gordon & Canepari 2013 y Zenoria stellaris (Gorham 1899). Por otro lado, se obtuvieron como primeros registros para la región Cusco a Paraneda pallidula guticollis (Mulsant 1850), Cycloneda ecuadorica (Timberlake 1943), Psyllobora marshalli Crotch 1874, Psyllobora lenta Mulsant 1850, Psyllobora constantini González et al. 2017, Zagloba beaumonti Casey 1899, y Curinus coeruleus Mulsant 1850; incluidos los primeros registros de los géneros Paraneda Timberlake 1943 y Zagloba Casey 1899.

The diversity of lady beetle fauna of Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC), Khumaltar, Lalitpur is studied
in this paper. All the findings are included except those of the subfamily Coccinellinae which have been included
in a separate paper previously. However, Epilachninae (now Epilachnini) is also included here. In this research,
except for Coccinellinae, 7 species from 5 subfamilies (Chilocorinae, Epilachninae, Sticholotidinae, Scymninae
and Coccidulinae), 5 tribes (Chilocorini, Epilachnini, Sticholotidini, Scymnini and Noviini) and 6 genera
(Chilocorus, Henospilachna, Jauravia, Pharoscymnus, Novius and Scymnus) were collected and identified. The
identified species were Chilocorus nigritus (Fabricius, 1798), Henosepilachna kathmanduensis Miyatake, 1985,
Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata (Fabricius, 1775), Jauravia quadrinotata Kapur, 1946, Pharoscymnus flexibilis
(Mulsant, 1853), Novius cf. pumilus (Weise, 1892) and Scymnus (Pullus) posticalis Sicard, 1913.

Great knowledge and experience on microbiology are required for accurate bacteria identification. Automation of bacteria identification is required because there might be a shortage of skilled microbiologists and clinicians at a time of great need. We propose an automatic bacteria identification framework that can classify three famous classes of bacteria namely Cocci, Bacilli and Vibrio from microscopic morphology using the Naïve Bayes classifier. The proposed bacteria identification framework comprises two steps. In the first step, the system is trained using a set of microscopic images containing Cocci, Bacilli, and Vibrio. The input images are normalized to emphasize the diameter and shape features. Edge-based descriptors are then extracted from the input images. In the second step, we use theNaïve Bayes classifier to performprobabilistic inference based on the input descriptors. 64 images for each class of bacteria were used as the training setand 222 images consisting of the three classes of bacteria and other random images such as humans and airplanes were used as the test set. There are no images overlapped between the training set and the test set. The system was found to be able to accurately discriminate the three classes of bacteria. Moreover, the system was also found to be able to reject images that did not belong to any of the three classes of bacteria. The preliminary results demonstrate how a simple machine learning classifier with a set of simple image-based features can result in high classification accuracy. The preliminary results also demonstrate the efficacy and efficiency of our two-step automatic bacteria identification approach and motivate us to extend this framework to identify a variety of other types of bacteria.

ABSTRAK Coccinellidae merupakan salah satu famili dari ordo Coleoptera yang memiliki keanekaragaman spesies dan kelimpahan yang cukup tinggi. Beberapa spesies Coccinellidae bersifat predator pada serangga yang berukuran kecil dan bertubuh lunak. Coccinellidae predator memiliki pola sebaran yang cukup luas, mampu hidup pada berbagai jenis habitat, salah satunya adalah eksosistem pertanaman cabai. Pemanfaatan Coccinellidae predator sebagai agens hayati dengan metode konservasi maupun augmentasi perlu didukung dengan ketersediaan data-data tentang Coccinellidae predator yang potensial. Pada saat ini informasi tentang Coccinelidae predator dan mangsanya pada tanaman cabai masih terbatas. Untuk itu dilakukan penelitian dengan tujuan untuk mempelajari keanekaragaman Coccinellidae predator dan kutu daun (Aphididae spp.) sebagai mangsa pada ekosistem pertanaman cabai. Coccinellidae predator dan kutu daun dikoleksi secara langsung (hand picking) dan menggunakan jaring ayun (Sweep Sampling Method). Data keanekaragaman spesies dianalisis menggunakan indeks Shannon-Wiener dan kemerataan spesies dianalisis dengan indeks Simpson. Perbedaan tingkat keanekaragaman pada masing-masing lokasi penelitian ditentukan dengan program Primer versi 5 For Window. Pada penelitian ini ditemukan sebanyak 10 spesies Coccinellidae predator dan 6 spesies kutu daun. Spesies Coccinellidae predator yang paling melimpah adalah Menochilus sexmaculatus (Fabricius) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) sedangkan Aphis gossypii (Glover) (Homoptera: Aphididae) menjadi spesies kutu daun yang paling melimpah diantara 6 spesies lainnya. Hasil analisis ineksd keanekaragaman Coccinellidae predator dan kutu daun lebih tinggi di Kenagarian Ganting (Kota Padang Panjang) jika dibandingkan dengan Kenagarian Tungkar (Kab. 50 Kota) dan Kenagarian Sungai Pua (Kab. Agam). ABSTRACT Coccinellidae is a family of the order Coleoptera which have species diversity and abundance is high. Some species of Coccinellidae predators in some insects are small and soft-bodied. Coccinellidae predators have a fairly wide distribution pattern, able to live in a variety of habitats, one of which is a chili crop ecosystem. Utilization of Coccinellidae predators as biological agents with conservation and augmentation method should be supported by the availability of data on potential Coccinellidae predators. At this time Coccinelidae information about predators and prey in pepper still limited. For that conducted research with the aim to study the diversity of Coccinellidae predators and aphids (Aphididae spp.) prey on chilli crop ecosystem. Coccinellidae predators and aphids collected hand picking and using a net swing. Data were analyzed species diversity using Shannon-Wiener index and evenness of species analyzed by Simpson index. Differences in levels of diversity at each study site is determined by the program Primer For Window version 5. This study found as many as 10 species of

Abstrak. Efendi S, Yaherwandi, Nelly N. 2016. Studi preferensi dan tanggap fungsional Menochilus sexmaculatus dan Coccinella transversalis pada beberapa mangsa yang berbeda. Pros Sem Nas Masy Biodiv Indon 2: 125-131. Tanggap fungsional Menochilus sexmaculatus Fabricius (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) dan Coccinella transversalis Thunberg (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) pada tiga mangsa yang berbeda, yaitu Aphis gossypii Glover (Homoptera: Aphididae), Aphis craccivora Koch (Homoptera: Aphididae), dan Myzus persicae Sulz (Homoptera: Aphididae), telah diteliti dengan tujuan untuk menentukan tipe tanggap fungsional pada masing-masing mangsa. Kerapatan mangsa yang dipaparkan adalah 10, 20, 30, 40, dan 50 individu. Pemaparan dilakukan selama satu jam. Predator Coccinellidae yang digunakan adalah imago betina yang sudah dilaparkan selama 24 jam. Penentuan tipe tanggap fungsional dianalisis dengan regresi logistik, sedangkan laju pemangsaan dianalisis menggunakan rumus Holling. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa kerapatan dan jenis mangsa mempengaruhi laju pemangsaan dan tipe tanggap fungsional kedua serangga uji. Laju pemangsaan M. sexmaculatus dan C. transversalis berbeda tidak nyata pada ketiga jenis mangsa yang dipaparkan. Begitu juga berdasarkan hasil analisis regresi logistik terungkap bahwa M. sexmaculatus memperlihatkan tanggap fungsional tipe I terhadap A. craccivora dan tipe III pada mangsa M. persicae dan A. gossypii. Berbeda dengan C. transversalis, pada mangsa A. gossypii, A. craccivora, dan M. persicae tergolong tanggap fungsional tipe I. Hasil ini menunjukkan bahwa predator M. sexmaculatus dan C. transversalis berpotensi sebagai agens kontrol biologis yang efektif. Abstrak. Efendi S, Yaherwandi, Nelly N. 2016. Study of preference and functional response of Menochilus sexmaculatus and Coccinella transversalis in several different preys. Pros Sem Nas Masy Biodiv Indon 2: 125-131. Functional response of Menochilus sexmaculatus Fabricius (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) and Coccinella transversalis Thunberg (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) on three different preys namely Aphis gossypii Glover (Homoptera: Aphididae), Aphis craccivora Koch (Homoptera: Aphididae) and Myzus persicae Sulz (Homoptera: Aphididae) had been investigated with the aim to determine the type of functional response in each of prey. The densities of prey exposed were 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 individuals. Exposure was carried out for one hour. Coccinellidae predators used were the female imago that made hungry for 12 hours. The determination of the type of functional response was analyzed by a logistic regression, while the predation rate was analyzed by using a Holling formula. The results showed that density and type of prey affected the predation rate and type of functional response on both test insects. The rate of predation of M. sexmaculatus and C. transversalis is no significant on three types of prey exposed. Likewise, based on the results of logistic regression analysis revealed that M. sexmaculatus showed a functional response to A. craccivora of type I and type III on preys of M. persicae and A. gossypii. In contrast to C. transversalis, the prey of A. gossypii, A. craccivora and M. persicae were belonging to the functional response of type I. These results indicated that the predator of M. sexmaculatus and C. transversalis were potential as an effective biological control agents. PENDAHULUAN Tanggap fungsional menjadi salah satu indikator untuk menentukan ukuran keefektifan suatu predator dalam pengendalian hayati. Pada awalnya, tanggap fungsional dikembangkan dari model pemangsaan predator (Rogers 1972). Istilah ini pertama kali diperkenalkan oleh Solomon pada tahun 1949 untuk menyatakan jumlah mangsa yang diserang oleh predator pada kerapatan populasi mangsa per satuan waktu. Selanjutnya disampaikan oleh Nelly (2005) bahwa tanggap fungsional merupakan komponen yang esensial dalam dinamika interaksi antara predator dengan mangsanya, karena dapat memberi gambaran mengenai keefektifan predator dalam mengendalikan populasi mangsanya.

The paper presents new data on the distribution of Coccinellidae in the Eastern
Beskid Mountains in south-eastern Poland. The material is based on observation obtained between 2010-2014 in ten research localities in the south-west part of the Eastern Beskid Mts. This paper contains a list of 32 species of Coccinellidae, among which 4 are new for that zoogeographical region. The study also confirms the presence of many species which were previously known only from a single or few locations in this region. Some rare species as Scymnus schmidti, Scymnus suffrianioides apetzoides, and Ceratomegilla notata were discussed.

Se presenta una revisión de los ejemplares de Coccinellini micofagos procedentes de varias provincias del departamento del Cusco, en el sur oriente de Perú. Este grupo presenta actualmente nueve especies en el país, dentro de los géneros Oxytella Weise 1902, y Psyllobora Chevrolat 1836. En el material examinado se reporta la ocurrencia de cinco de ellas: Oxytella longula Weise, Psyllobora marshalli Crotch, P. abancayana Almeida, P. constantini González, Perla & Almeida, y P. hybrida (Mulsant); además de otras tres especies, aún no identificadas, dentro del género Psyllobora. Para cada especie se presenta una diagnosis, fotografías y microfotografías de habito y estructuras genitales, e información sobre su distribución en Cusco.
In this work, we presented a review of the specimens of mycophagous Coccinellini from various provinces of the Cusco Department, south east of Peru. This group currently has nine species in the country, within the genera Oxytella Weise 1902, and Psyllobora Chevrolat 1836. In the material examined the occurrence of five of them is reported: Oxytella longula Weise, Psyllobora marshalli Crotch, P. abancayana Almeida, P. constantini González, Perla & Almeida, and P. hybrida (Mulsant); in addition to three other species, not yet identified, within the genus Psyllobora. For each species a diagnosis, photographs and photomicrographs of habit and genital structures, and information on their distribution in Cusco are presented.

The members of Coccinellidae are among the most important biological control agents being used throughout the world. The objective of this study was to provide the current scenario of this family in Saudi Arabia. Collection surveys of ladybird individuals were conducted throughout Saudi Arabia. A total of 5400 specimens of Coccinellidae were collected belonging to 51 species in 19 genera and seven tribes: Sticholotidini (2 genera / 10 species), Coccidulini (1/3), Scymnini (4/24), Diomini (1/1), Hyperaspidini (1/3), Chilocorini (3/8), Noviini (1/3), Coccinellini (8/11), Epilachnini (2/2). One genus, Clitostethus, and eight species and subspecies, Cheilomenes lunata lunata (Fabricius, 1775), Clitostethus arcuatus (Rossi, 1794), Nephus ornatulus Korschefsky, 1931, N. nigricans (Weise, 1879), Pharoscymnus fleischeri (Weise, 1883), Novius yemenensis Raimundo & Fürsch, 2006, Scymnus (Scymnus) scapuliferus Mulsant, 1850, and Stethorus endrodyi Fürsch, 1970, are reported as new records to S...

Epilachna lucianae n. sp. y Epilachna matei n.sp. son descritas en base a ejemplares colectados en las regiones peruanas de Huánuco y Cusco; se proveen además nuevos registros de tres especies del género
Epilachna Chevrolat para el Perú.
Epilachna lucianae n. sp. and Epilachna matei n. sp. are described using specimens collected in the Peruvian regions of Huanuco and Cusco; new records are also provided for some species of the genus Epilachna Chevrolat for Peru.

Comparison of the ladybeetle fauna of the city Roermond and the nature reserve the Meinweg (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

The ladybird fauna (Coccinelidae) of an urban area and those of a nature reserve are compared. The research in the city of Roermond was  executed in 2015 and the research at the nature reserve the Meinweg in 2016. 22 species were recorded in Roermond, and 27 on the Meinweg. This difference is explained by the absence of species of heather and pine forest in the city. The Meinweg is typified by heathland, and  deciduous and coniferous forest, while the urban area consists of gardens, parks, streets and ruderal terrain. This results in a clear difference in the fauna of ladybeetles between the urban area and the nature reserve. The Meinweg is inhabited by many heathland species, Chilocorus bipustulatus, Exochomus nigromaculatus, and coniferous forest species, Myzia oblongoguttata, Myrrha octodecimguttata, who lack a suitable habitat in the urban areas. There are however many other species which find their optimum in the urban area. These include two pioneer species Hippodamia variegata or Coccinella quinquepunctata, which profit from the many ruderal terrains. Also generalist species have a preference for the city and are found in the Meinweg mainly in the edge region, where the influence of man is largest. This is especially true for Adalia bipunctata and Oenopia conglobata, which were found across the whole urban area of Roermond, but were at de Meinweg restricted to the verges of the reserve. This is possibly caused by the preference of these species to hibernate during the winter in buildings. Another difference is the seemingly higher supply of aphids or plant lice in the city which might be caused by the soil being richer in nutrients in the city than that in nature reserve the Meinweg and possible by the plants being weaker in the city than in the reserve due to the urban conditions. Finally, there are species for which barely any difference was observed between the city and nature reserve. Some of these are generalists (Propylea quatuordecimpunctata, Coccinella septempunctata), but they also include a specialist like Aphidecta obliterata. The latter is largely restricted to Picea abies, but large solitary trees in both city and nature are already enough to sustain a population. The only species which was found to be omnipresent in both areas is the exotic species Harmonia axyridis. However the number of individuals of this species encountered on the Meinweg is lower than in the city of Roermond.

COCCINULA QUATUORDECIMPUSTULATA IN THE ROERMOND AREA
With special attention to the destruction of their habitat at the Meinweg National Park The distribution of ladybirds of the species Coccinula quatuordecimpustulata in the Netherlands is limited to the central part of the province of Limburg and the southeastern part of the province of Brabant. East of the town of Roermond there is a large population, and the species is even quite common there within suitable habitats. Their main habitat is that of approximately 20 cm high grassy vegetation interspersed with thickets of Common broom (Cytisus scoparius). Grazing by large herbivores seems to have a negative impact. At the Meinweg nature reserve, there is a second threat, as Wild boar (Sus scrofa) rooting around in the soil destroy suitable (hibernation) habitats. Nevertheless, the Meinweg has the potential to be a key area for Coccinula quatuordecimpustulata.

—Harmonia axyridis (Pallas), an Old World Coccinellini, is reported as established in southeastern Louisiana. A few specimens were also collected in eastern Mis-sissippi. The species is described, illustrated, and compared to //. dimidiala (F.) and II. quadripunctata (Pontopiddian).

Mulsantina Weise, 1906 es un género del Nuevo Mundo, de distribución primaria en América Central y del Norte, y actualmente está compuesto por 9 especies, con 2 de ellas presentes en América del Sur. En este trabajo se describe a Mulsantina alejandroi, a partir de 3 ejemplares colectados en el departamento del Cusco, en el sur oriente del Perú. Esta nueva especie, además de ser el primer registro del género para el país, es el taxón más austral del género, y junto con M. mexicana Chapin y M. latifasciata González, representan los únicos registros sudamericanos del grupo.
Mulsantina Weise, 1906 is a New World genus, primarily distributed in Central and North America, and currently comprising 9 species, with 2 of them present in South America. In this work, Mulsantina alejandroi is described, based on 3 specimens collected in the department of Cusco, in southeastern Peru. The new species, in addition to being the
first record of the genus for Peru, is the southernmost taxon of the genus, and together with M. mexicana Chapin and M. latifasciata González, represent the only South American records of the group.

Laboratory experiments were conducted to determine the functional and numerical responses of fourth instar larvae, adult male, and adult female ladybird beetles, Anegleis cardoni Weise (Cole-optera: Coccinellidae), to different densities of aphids, Aphis gossypii Glover (Hemiptera: Aphididae), on the bottle gourd, Lagenaria vulgaris Seringe (Cucurbitales: Cucurbitaceae). The results revealed a density dependent, Type II functional response of A. cardoni. Prey consumption increased curvilinearly with an increase in prey density for all three predatory stages. Numerical responses revealed significant increases in oviposition with increases in prey density. The food exploitation efficiency and the efficiency of conversion of ingested food decreased with increases in prey density. The attack rate was highest for adult females, followed by fourth instar larvae and adult males. Prey consumption was highest and handling time lowest in fourth instar larvae, followed by adult females and males. Therefore, fourth instar larvae of A. cardoni may be considered the most efficient predatory stage in aphid management strategies.

HIBERNATING LADYBIRDS ON PLANES
While examining bugs under the bark of planes (Platanus spec.) hibernating ladybirds were frequently found. For species such as Harmonia quadripunctata, Oenopia conglobata and Platynaspis luteorubra, this research into winter quarters gives substantial additional information about their distribution. For example, the number of 25 km2 squares where Harmonia quadripuncta has been observed (from 2000 onwards) in the South of Limburg increased from 5 to 18.

Qualitative and quantitative differences in prey are known to affect the life histories of predators. A laboratory study was used to evaluate the suitability of three aphid prey, Aphis gossypii, Aphis craccivora and Lipaphis erysimi, for the ladybird beetle, Anegleis cardoni (Weise). Development was fastest on A. gossypii followed by A. craccivora and L. erysimi. Percentage pupation, immature survival, adult weight and the growth index were all highest when reared on A. gossypii and lowest on L. erysimi. Similarly, oviposition period, lifetime fecundity and egg viability were all highest on a diet of A. gossypii, lowest on L. erysimi and intermediate on A. craccivora. Age-specific fecundity functions were parabolic. Adult longevity, reproductive rate and intrinsic rate of increase were all highest on A. gossypii and lowest on L. erysimi. Life table parameters reflected the good performance on A. gossypii and poor performance on L. erysimi. Estimates of individual fitness values for the adults reared on A. gossypii and A. craccivora were similar and higher than that of adults reared on L. erysimi. Thus, the three species of aphid can all be considered essential prey for A. cardoni.

LADYBIRDS AT THE MEINWEG NATIONAL PARK
The large ladybirds (Coccinellinae, Chilocorinae and Epilachninae) in the Meinweg National Park were investigated from March to October 2016. A 24 square kilometre area was surveyed by sweeping through the vegetation or by shaking trees and shrubs. A total of 27 species were encountered.
Three species, Coccinella hieroglyphica, Oenopia impustulata and Anisosticta novemdecimpunctata, which were reported in a previous study, were not encountered in the present study. Two of them may still be present, however, but the status at the Meinweg of Oenopia impustulata, one of the rarest ladybird species in the Netherlands, is doubtful. Since the year 2000, 30 species of ladybirds have been reported from the Meinweg. Compared to the total of 35 for the Netherlands as a whole, this means that 80% of the Dutch species can be found at the Meinweg. Most species are confined to a specific habitat. Species typically found in coniferous forests are Myrrha octodecimguttata, Myzia oblongoguttata, Anatis ocellata and Harmonia quadripunctata. Typically found on moorlands are Chilocorus bipustulatus and Exochomus nigromaculatus. A number of (urban) species like Adalia bipunctata, Coccinella quinquepunctata and Psyllobora vingtiduopunctata are most prominently
present at the edges of the Meinweg area, where human influence is greatest.
Finally, species like Coccinella septempunctata, Harmonia axyridis and Propylea quatuordecimpunctata are present across the whole area. The only species found in every one-kilometre grid square is Harmonia axyridis, but it was far outnumbered by captured individuals of Coccinula quatuordecimpustulata. This is remarkable, since the distribution of the C. quatuordecimpustulata in the Netherlands is restricted to Central Limburg and Eastern Brabant.