Cryptolaemus Explained

The genus Cryptolaemus consists of predatory beetles of the family Coccinellidae,^[1] whose larvae and adults mostly prey upon scale insects on ornamental plants.^[2]

Taxonomy

There are seven species in the genus, in two groups, all originally from eastern Australia, New Guinea, and Indonesia.^[3] Of these, Cryptolaemus montrouzieri Mulsant, 1850 is the most well-known.

Notes and References

1. https://www.biolib.cz/en/taxon/id270802/ Biolib
2. Web site: Know Your Friends - Mealybug Destroyer. www.entomology.wisc.edu University of Wisconsin. https://web.archive.org/web/20120216004540/http://www.entomology.wisc.edu/mbcn/kyf205.html. 2012-02-16. dead.
3. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bulletin-of-entomological-research/article/review-of-the-genus-cryptolaemus-coleoptera-coccinellidae-with-particular-reference-to-the-species-resembling-c-montrouzieri-mulsant/0AA709235A54333E3EE7F45D26F47ADD A review of the genus Cryptolaemus (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) with particular reference to the species resembling C. montrouzieri Mulsant