Scientific name

Chilocorus circumdatus (Gyllenhal)

Taxonomic position

Coleoptera: Coccinellidae: Chilocorinae: Chilocorini

Diagnosis

Length 4.50-5.10 mm, width 4.10-4.70mm. Form circular, hemispherical, strongly convex. Dorsum uniformly orange yellow to ochre / reddish brown, lateral margins of elytra with a narrow black border. Ventral side uniformly orange-yellow. Male genitalia (Figs. 1-2) and life stages as illustrated below.

 Male genitalia: 1. Tegmen, ventral view; 2. Sipho

Images

Full grown larva of C. circumdatus Full grown larva
Pupa of Chilocorus circumdatus  Pupae of C. circumdatus Pupa
Adult of Chilocorus circumdatus  Adult of Chilocorus circumdatus  Adults  Adult feeding on Chrysomphalus aonidum

Distribution

India: Assam; Himachal Pradesh; Jammu & Kashmir; Karnataka; Kerala; Tamil Nadu; Uttar Pradesh; West Bengal. Sri Lanka. Nepal. Indonesia. China. Introduced and established in Australia (Houston, 1991), China (Hong Kong) (Swezey, 1925), Hawaii (Timberlake, 1943), Israel (Ofek et al., 1997), Cyprus, South Africa, Bermuda, and Florida, USA(?) (CABI, 2002).

Prey / Associated habitat

HEMIPTERA: Coccoidea: Aonidiella aurantii (Maskell), Aonidiella orientalis (Newstead), Aspidiotus destructor Signoret, Aspidiotus nerii Bouche, Aulacaspis rosarum Borchsenius, Chrysomphalus aonidum (Linnaeus) (=C. ficus Ashmead), Coccus viridis (Green), Lepidosaphes beckii (Newman), Lepidosaphes gloverii (Packard), Lepidosaphes piperis (Green), Parlatoria pergandii Comstock, Pinnaspis aspidistrae (Signoret), Pinnaspis buxi (Bouche), Pinnaspis dysoxyli (Maskell) (as Hemichionaspis minor Maskell), Pseudaulacaspis pentagona (Targioni Tozzetti), Rutherfordia major (Cockerell), Saissetia coffeae (Walker), and Unaspis citri (Comstock). Frequently associated with scale insects infesting tea, coffee, pepper, and other plantation crops, mulberry, and citrus. More common in cooler climates and plantations at high altitudes than in plains.

In Australia (Queensland), it has successfully suppressed the citrus snow scale, Unaspis citri (Comstock), to sub-economic levels in most of the orchards (Smith et al. 1995).

Seasonal occurrence

Collected during July-August, September-October, December-January.

References

  • CABI. 2002. Crop Protection Compendium. Global Module, 2nd edition (On CD-ROM). CAB International, Wallingford, UK.
  • Das, S.C., Borthakur, M. & Gope, B. 1988. Bio-ecological studies on Chilocorus circumdatus Sch., an efficient predator of black scale, Chrysomphalus aonidum Ashm. Two and a Bud, 35: 15-18.
  • Miyatake, M. 1970. The East-Asian coccinellid beetles preserved in the California Academy of Sciences. Tribe Chilocorini. Memoirs of the College of Agriculture, Ehime University, 14(3): 303-340.
  • Houston, K.J. 1991. Chilocorus circumdatus Gyllenhal newly established in Australia and additional records for Coccinella undecimpunctata L. (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae). Journal of the Australian Entomological Society, 30, 341-342.
  • Nagaraja, H. & Hussainy, S.U. 1967. A study of six species of Chilocorus (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) predaceous on San Jose and other scale insects. Oriental Insects 1: 249-256.
  • Ofek, G., Huberman, G., Yzhar, Y., Wysoki, M., Kuzlitzky, W., Reneh, S. and Inbal, Z. 1997. The control of the Oriental red scale, Aonidiella orientalis Newstead and the California red scale, A. aurantii (Maskell) (Homoptera: Diaspididae) in mango orchards in Hevel Habsor (Israel). Alon Hanotea 51: 212-218.
  • Slipinski, A. and Giorgi, J.A. 2006. Revision of the Australian Coccinellidae (Coleoptera). Part 6. Tribe Chilocorini. Annales Zoologici (Warszawa), 56(2): 265-304.
  • Smith, D., Papacek, D. and N. Smith. 1995. Biological control of citrus snow scale, Unaspis citri (Comstock) (Homoptera: Diaspididae) in south-east Queensland, Australia. Israel Journal of Entomology, 29: 253-260.
  • Stebbing, E.P. 1903. Coleoptera 2. Notes upon the known predaceous Coccinellidae of the Indian region, Part I. Indian Museum Notes VI(1): 47-62.
  • Swezey, O.H. 1925. Records of introduction of beneficial insects into the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiian Planters' Record 29(4): 369-376.
  • Timberlake, P.H. 1943. The Coccinellidae or lady beetles of the Koebele collection-Part I. Hawaiian Planters' Record 47: 1-67.