Lady Bug – Stethorus punctillum

Stethorus punctillum – Lady Bug

Latin Name: Stethorus punctillum (Family – Coccinellidae, Genus – Stethorus)

Common Name: Spider Mite Destroyer

Appearance: Adults of Stethorus punctillum are small oval-shaped insects with 1.5-2mm body length. Their body is dark brown to the blackish body and covered with hair. They have yellow mouthparts and brownish-yellow antennae. It is also known as ladybirds or ladybugs.

Host Plants or Food: Obvious from the common name, they prey upon mites, especially two-spotted spider mites, European red mites, and other mites of the family Tetranychidae.

Territory: It is found in Europe, Africa, Southern Asia, Northern Asia, excluding China and North America, Southern Canada, and the West coast of the US.

Mode of Damage: Beneficial Garden Insect

Habits and Life History:

This insect is not native to North America and was introduced from Turkey in 1955 to control avocado brown mites and citrus red mites in the orchards.

It occurs in gardens, orchards, crops, and tree fields where they attack and prey on mites; therefore, they are beneficial biological controlling agents in the gardens and orchards.

Females lay eggs on the underside of the plant leaves where the mites are present.

Spider mite destroyer has four life stages: eggs, larvae, pupae, and adults.

Eggs are whitish-yellow, oval-shaped, and less 0.3 to 0.5 mm in length. Just before larval emergence, they turn blackish.

Larvae are greyish black and 2mm in size, covered with short hair, and slowly moving. It also feeds on mites, just like its adult form.

Pupae are more elongated than larvae and are covered entirely with yellow hair.

From egg to adult development, it takes almost 23 days, and adults feed for 25 days on average to lay eggs again. S. punctillum produces 2-4 generations per year.