Kingdom Animalia Family Coccinellidae Tribe Noviini Phylum Arthropoda Order Beetle | Class Insecta Subfamily Coccidulinae Scientific name Rodolia Rank Genus | |
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Similar Rodolia cardinalis, Beetle, Icerya purchasi, Icerya, Cryptolaemus | ||
Rodolia cardinalis y su larva depredando a la cochinilla icerya purchasi
Rodolia is a genus of ladybird beetles belonging to the family Coccinellidae.
Contents
Selected species
This genus include about 50 species:
Description
Rodolia species have a semispherical body, covered with dense, short hairs. They are reddish-purple, with or without black spots.
Rodolia species regularly feed on aphids and small mites, which makes them good as biological control agents.
The most famous species is Rodolia cardinalis, introduced for purposes of biological control in all tropical and subtropical regions of the world and become so cosmopolitan. Other species have been introduced in more restricted areas (Micronesia) always for the biological control of insects.
Distribution
These species are worldwide widespread. They are mostly native to tropical and subtropical regions of Asia (China, Taiwan, Pakistan, India, Indochina, Indonesia) and Oceania (Australia, New Guinea), associated with scale insects.