The Weta 45:27-30 27

Diet of the steelblue ladybird (Halmus

chalybeus)(Coleoptera:Coccinellidae)
Nicholas Martin*
15 Rutland Road, Mt. Wellington, Auckland 1051
Email:MartinN@landcareresearch.co.nz
*Research Associate, Landcare Research

Most people think that ladybirds feed on aphids and some species, such as
the yellow shouldered ladybird, (Apolinus lividigaster (Mulsant, 1853)) do
only eat aphids, but other species eat a variety of arthropods including
whitefly, mealybugs, scale insects or spidermites (Tetranychidae).
Published information and recent unpublished observations show that the
steelblue ladybird (Halmus chalybeus (Boisduval, 1835) (Coleoptera:
Coccinellidae) has a very varied diet (Table 1). It is the commonest species
of ladybird in Auckland and is usually found on trees and shrubs.

Early records of prey collated by Valentine (1967) include Green

planthopper, Pittosporum psyllid, and scale insects from three families:
Golden oak scale (Asterolecaniidae), Black scale (Coccidae) and San Jose
scale (Diaspididae). More recently Lo (2000) observed adults and larvae
feeding on young Chinese wax scale and Soft wax scale (Coccidae). The
ladybirds also eat Eriococcus spp. (Eriococcidae) (Alan Flynn pers.
comm.). I have also found ladybird larvae feeding on Flax scale.

Peter Workman (pers. comm.) observed adults and larvae feeding on

Tomato potato psyllid, while I have found larvae on an Acmena tree with
numerous psyllids (Ctenarytaina sp.).

The ladybird has been found feeding on Citrus whitefly (Jamieson et al

2009), while I have found ladybird eggs laid near colonies of Pittosporum
whitefly (Asterochiton pittospori Dumbleton, 1957) indicating a possible
prey. I also observed a larva in a colony of whitefly (Trialeurodes sp.) on
the tree fern, Dicksonia squarrosa, having difficulty walking because of
the wax stuck on its feet.
28 Nicholas Martin

Scientific Name Common name Classification Reliability Biostatus

Eriophyoid mites Acari: 5 unknown
Prostigmata:
Panonychus citri Citrus red mite Acari: 10 adventive
(McGregor, 1916) Prostigmata:
Tetranychidae
Tydaeidae sp. Acari: 5 unknown
Prostigmata:
Tydaeidae
Paropsis charybdis Stal, Eucalyptus Coleoptera: 6 adventive
1860 tortoise beetle Chrysomelidae
Asterochiton pittospori Pittosporum Hemiptera: 6 endemic
Dumbleton, 1957 whitefly Aleyrodidae
Orchamoplatus citri Australian Hemiptera: 10 adventive
(Takahashi, 1940) citrus whitefly Aleyrodidae
Trialeurodes sp. Hemiptera: 8 endemic
'squarrosa' of NA Aleyrodidae
Martin 2010
Asterodiaspis variolosa Golden oak Hemiptera: 10 adventive
(Ratzeburg, 1870) scale Asterolecaniidae
Ceroplastes destructor Soft wax scale Hemiptera: 9 adventive
Newstead, 1917 Coccidae
Ceroplastes sinensis Del Chinese wax Hemiptera: 9 adventive
Guercio, 1900 scale Coccidae
Saissetia oleae (Olivier, Black scale Hemiptera: 10 adventive
1791) Coccidae
Diaspidiotus San Jose scale Hemiptera: 10 adventive
perniciosus (Comstock, Diaspididae
1881)
Poliaspis floccosa Flax scale Hemiptera: 10 endemic
Henderson, 2011 Diaspididae
Eriococcus sp. felted scale Hemiptera: 6 unknown
Eriococcidae
Siphanta acuta (Walker, Green Hemiptera: 10 adventive
1851) planthopper Flatidae
Ctenarytaina sp. Hemiptera: 9 adventive
'Acmena' of Dale 2011 Psyllidae
Bactericera cockerelli Tomato/potato Hemiptera: 8 adventive
(Sulc, 1909) psyllid Triozidae
Trioza vitreoradiata Pittosporum Hemiptera: 10 endemic
(Maskell, 1879) psyllid Triozidae
Uresiphita polygonalis moth Lepidoptera: 5 endemic
(Felder & Rogenhofer, Crambidae
1875)
Thripidae sp. Thysanoptera: 5 unknown
Thripidae

Table 1: Prey of Steelblue ladybird, Halmus chalybeus (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), from

Plant-SyNZ database (27 June 2013), listed by order and family of prey. The reliability
score shows the quality of evidence for the host association between two species (0-10,
10=high quality).
The Weta 45:27-30 29
In captivity adults and larvae fed on eggs of Paropsis charybdis Stal, 1860
(Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) (Alma 1980). In Cornwall Park, Auckland I
found a larva feeding on moth eggs.

Steelblue ladybirds also feed on mites. Alan Flynn (pers. comm.) found
eriophyid mites in the gut of ladybirds. They have been observed feeding
on citrus red mite (Jamieson et al 2005), while I saw a first instar larva
feeding on a tydeid mite. It later chased and ate a thrips larva.

References
Alma PJ. 1980. Observations on some coccinellids in New Zealand and
their significance to the biological control of Paropsis charybdis
(Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). New Zealand Entomologist. 7 (2):
164-165.

Jamieson LE, Charles JG, Stevens PS, McKenna CE, Bawden R. 2005.
Natural enemies of citrus red mite (Panonychus citri) in citrus
orchards. New Zealand Plant Protection. 58: 299-305.

Jamieson LE, Chhagan A, Curtis C. 2009. Seasonal phenology of

Australian citrus whitefly (Orchamoplatus citri) in New Zealand.
New Zealand Plant Protection. 62: 69-75.

Lo PL. 2000. Species and abundance of ladybirds (Coleoptera:

Coccinellidae) on citrus orchards in Northland, New Zealand, and
a comparison of visual and manual methods of assessments. New
Zealand Entomologist. 23: 61-65.

Valentine EW. 1967. A list of the hosts of entomophagous insects of New

Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Science. 10 (4): 1100-1210.
30 Nicholas Martin

a b

a. Adult steelblue ladybird, Halmus chalybeus (Coleoptera:

Coccinellidae), about 4 mm long (photograph by Tim Holmes,
copyright Plant & Food Research).

b. Larva of steelblue ladybird, Halmus chalybeus (Coleoptera:

Coccinellidae) (photograph by Tim Holmes, copyright Plant &
Food Research).