Exochomus quadripustulatus explained

Exochomus quadripustulatus, common name pine ladybird or pine lady beetle, is a species of beetle of the family Coccinellidae.^{[1] [2] [3]} The distribution range of E. quadripustulatus includes Europe, Northern Asia (excluding China), and North America.^[2]

Description

Exochomus quadripustulatus can reach a length of about 4-6 millimeters. It is almost circular, convex and shining, with a flange around the base. The color is quite variable and may change with ageing. Usually elytra are black with two larger red comma-shaped spots and two smaller red round or oval spots. The color of these spots can also be orange or yellow, but completely reddish brown specimens may occur. The pine ladybird in both adult and larval stages preys aphids and scale insects, especially Diaspidiotus perniciosus. Adults overwinter.

Distribution

This species is present in most of Europe, in the eastern Palearctic realm, and in the Near East. It was first recorded in Ireland (County Armagh) in 2014.^[4]

Habitat

This fairly common ladybug can be found from April to October on conifers and in areas with deciduous trees, but it can also occur elsewhere.

Ecology/Biological Control

Exochomus quadripustulatus helps with biological control in infested areas by being a candidate predator of Toumeyella parvicornis, an alien pest that infests stone pines; it has been observed to be more attracted to conspecific and heterospecific ladybugs than Cryptolaemus montrouzieri, another candidate predator, and responds to prey more quickly.^[5]

External links

• Web site: Exochomus quadripustulatus . Taxonomy Browser . National Center for Biotechnology Information . NCBI:txid115346. (This database is described in: Schoch . Conrad L . Ciufo . Stacy . Domrachev . Mikhail . Hotton . Carol L . Kannan . Sivakumar . Khovanskaya . Rogneda . Leipe . Detlef . Mcveigh . Richard . O’Neill . Kathleen . Robbertse . Barbara . Sharma . Shobha . Soussov . Vladimir . Sullivan . John P . Sun . Lu . Turner . Seán . 2020 . NCBI Taxonomy: a comprehensive update on curation, resources and tools . Database . en . Oxford University Press . 2020 . Article ID baaa062 . 10.1093/database/baaa062 . 1758-0463 . 7408187 . 32761142 .)
• Web site: Viervleklieveheersbeestje : Brumus quadripustulatus Linnaeus . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20181128164720/http://stippen.nl/stippen.php?soort=EXOQUA . 2018-11-28 . Stippen.nl.
• Web site: Pine Ladybird - Exochomus quadripustulatus . NatureSpot : wildlife and wild places of Leicestershire & Rutland.
• Web site: Isidro . November 9, 2011 . Brumus quadripustulatus . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160305112856/http://tubiologia.forosactivos.net/t3033-brumus-quadripustulatus . 2016-03-05 . El Árbol de la Vida . Biodiversidad Online :: Fichas de Especies Identificadas :: Fichas de Coleópteros.

Further reading

• Book: Vandenberg, Natalia J. . Arnett . R.H., Jr. . M. C. . Thomas . P. E. . Skelley . J. H. . Frank . 2002 . Family 93; Coccinellidae Latreille 1807 . American Beetles . 2 . Polyphaga: Scarabaeoidea through Curculionoidea . 371–389 . CRC Press LLC . Boca Raton, Florida . 10.1201/9781420041231 . 978-0-429-12771-7 . Google Books YiPNBQAAQBAJ .
• Book: Arnett, Ross H. . American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico . 2000 . CRC Press . Google Books DKzAmSDdLtsC . 462 .
• Kovář . Ivo . 1995 . Revision of the Genera Brumus Muls. and Exochomus Redtb. (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae) of the Palaearctic Region. Part I. . Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae . 44 . 5–124 .
• Book: White, Richard E. . The Peterson Field Guide Series . 29 . A Field Guide to the Beetles of North America . 1983 . Houghton Mifflin Company . 9780395318089 . Google Books 7eMQAQAAMAAJ, oD0lAQAAMAAJ. HathiTrust 000780227 . 235–237 .
• The Coccinellidae (Coleoptera) of America North of Mexico . Robert D. . Gordon . 1985 . Journal of the New York Entomological Society . 93 . 1 . 25009452 . 19, 31, 623–624, 636–638 .

Notes and References

1. Web site: McClarin . Jim . Moisset . Beatriz . Entz . Chuck . Quinn . Mike . Moyer . Tim . belov . v . Parker . Harsi S. . Parker . Abigail . 18 September 2006 . Last updated 11 July 2017 . Species Brumus quadripustulatus - Pine Lady Beetle . Bugguide . Iowa State University.
2. Web site: Brumus quadripustulatus (Linnaeus, 1758) . Integrated Taxonomic Information System . 2013 . 10.5066/F7KH0KBK . Taxonomic Serial No.: 692613 . U.S. Geological Survey .
3. Web site: Pine Lady Beetle : Brumus quadripustulatus (Linnaeus 1758) . Encyclopedia of Life . National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution.
4. Foster . Stephen . Nelson . Brian . Anderson . Roy . December 2018 . Pine ladybird Exochomus quadripustulatus (Linnaeus) (Coccinellidae) new to Ireland . . 27 . 3 . 114 . 0965-5794 . Web of Science ZOOREC:ZOOR15503017546.
5. Di Sora . Nicolò . Rossini . Luca . Contarini . Mario . Virla . Eduardo Gabriel . Speranza . Stefano . June 2024 . Are the ladybugs Cryptolaemus montrouzieri and Exochomus quadripustulatus (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) candidate predators of Toumeyella parvicornis (Hemiptera: Coccidae)? . Pest Management Science . en . 80 . 6 . 2881–2891 . 10.1002/ps.7996 . 1526-498X.