Dermestidae are a family of Coleoptera that are commonly referred to as skin beetles. Other common names include larder beetle, hide or leather beetles, carpet beetles, and khapra beetles. There are over 1,800 species described.
Chilocorus stigma, commonly known as the twice-stabbed ladybug, is a native resident of the United States and Canada. It also has been introduced to Hawaii. It is shiny black, and there is one red spot on each elytron. The remainder of the body is black as well, but the abdomen is either yellow or red. It is sometimes confused with the "two-stabbed lady beetle", Chilocorus orbus, which is widespread in California.
Aonidiella aurantii or red scale is an armored scale insect and a major pest of citrus. It is thought to be a native of South China but has been widely dispersed by the agency of man through the movement of infected plant material. In the United States it is known as California red scale. It was first found in California between 1868 and 1875, apparently brought there on planting material imported from Australia.
Cactoblastis cactorum, the cactus moth, South American cactus moth or nopal moth, is native to Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and southern Brazil. It is one of five species in the genus Cactoblastis that inhabit South America, where many parasitoids, predators and pathogens control the expansion of the moths' population. This species has been introduced into many areas outside its natural range, including Australia, the Caribbean, and South Africa. In some locations, it has spread uncontrollably and was consequently classified an invasive species. However, in other places such as Australia, it has gained favor for its role in the biological control of cacti from the genus Opuntia, such as prickly pear.
Lasioderma serricorne, more commonly referred to as the cigarette beetle, cigar beetle, or tobacco beetle, is a small beetle that shares a remarkable resemblance with the drugstore beetle and the common furniture beetle. The cigarette beetle, along with the drugstore and furniture beetles, all belong to the Ptinidae beetle family. The cigarette beetle can be distinguished from A. punctatum by its flatter thorax, whereas the A. punctatum boasts a humped thorax. The cigarette beetle can be further differentiated from S. paniceum with its uniformly serrated antennae composed of 11 segments, unlike the three-segmented antennae of S. paniceum. Additionally, L. serricorne has more shallow grooves in its elytra, or hardened wing covers, compared to the A. punctatum and S. paniceum’s deep grooving.
Delphastus pusillus is a small ladybird beetle which preys on all species and stages of whitefly, but prefers eggs and nymphs. The adults are small, shiny, black beetles. Newly emerged adults are pale-brown to almost white. They eventually turn black with a brown head. The eggs are 0.2 mm long, clear and twice as long as they are wide. The elongate larvae are pale yellow.
Coccinellidae is a widespread family of small beetles. They are commonly known as ladybugs in North America and ladybirds in the United Kingdom; "lady" refers to mother Mary. Entomologists use the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles to avoid confusion with true bugs. The more than 6,000 described species have a global distribution and are found in a variety of habitats. They are oval beetles with a domed back and flat underside. Many of the species have conspicuous aposematic (warning) colours and patterns, such as red with black spots, that warn potential predators that they taste bad.
Cycloneda sanguinea, also known as the spotless lady beetle, is a widespread species of ladybird beetle in the Americas.
Alphitobius diaperinus is a species of beetle in the family Tenebrionidae, the darkling beetles. It is known commonly as the lesser mealworm and the litter beetle. It has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring nearly worldwide. It is known widely as a pest insect of stored food grain products such as flour, and of poultry-rearing facilities and it is a vector of many kinds of animal pathogens. In larval form, it is an approved novel food in the European Union, and also used as animal feed.
Planococcus citri, commonly known as the citrus mealybug, is a species of mealybugs native to Asia. It has been introduced to the rest of the world, including Europe, the Americas, and Oceania, as an agricultural pest. It is associated with citrus, but it attacks a wide range of crop plants, ornamental plants, and wild flora.
Dermestes ater is a species of beetle in the family Dermestidae, the skin beetles. It is known commonly as the black larder beetle or incinerator beetle. It is native to North America, but today it is found nearly worldwide. Like several other dermestid beetles, this species is a common pest of stored products.
Zygogramma exclamationis, commonly known as the sunflower beetle, is a species of leaf beetle belonging to the family Zygogramma. It is regarded as a pest of sunflower crops in North America.
Rhyzobius lophanthae, commonly known as the purple scale predator or the scale-eating ladybird, is a species of ladybird native to Queensland and Southern Australia. It was introduced into the United States in the 1890s and has since spread over the southern half of the country.
Hemiberlesia lataniae, the latania or palm scale, is a species of armored scale insect in the family Diaspididae. It was first described by the French entomologist Victor Antoine Signoret in 1869 using Latania lontaroides, a species of palm tree endemic to Réunion as its host; since then, it has been found on avocado trees growing in South Africa, Australia, Israel, the United States, and on a range of other plants in many parts of the world.
Aspidiotus destructor, the coconut scale, is a species of armoured scale insect in the family Diaspididae, found in many tropical and subtropical parts of the world. It is a serious pest of coconut and banana, and attacks a range of other fruiting trees and ornamental plants.
Chilocorus orbus is a species of lady beetle in the family Coccinellidae. It is native to North America. It is a black, domed beetle with two large red spots and is commonly called the twice-stabbed lady beetle or the two-stabbed lady beetle. Both adults and larvae feed on scale insects.
Cryptognatha nodiceps, known generally as the coconut scale predator or sugarcane scale predator, is a species of lady beetle in the family Coccinellidae; it is found in the Caribbean region, North America, and Oceania, having been introduced to various countries in an attempt to provide biological pest control of the coconut scale.
Quadraspidiotus juglansregiae, commonly known as the walnut scale, is a species of armoured scale insect in the family Diaspididae. It is native to North America where it feeds on a wide range of ornamental and forest trees and bushes.
Chilocorus subindicus, is a species of lady beetle found in India, Sri Lanka and Maldives.
Sasajiscymnus tsugae, formerly Pseudoscymnus tsugae, is a species of insect in the family Coccinellidae. It feeds on the hemlock woolly adelgid.
