New state, island and prey records from Hawai¿i, U.S.A., and a new country record from Laos for lady beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

Authors: Hesler, Louis; PERREIRA, WILLIAM - Dana Anne Yee Foundation; MATSUNAGA, JANIS - Hawaii Department Of Agriculture; YEE, DANA - Dana Anne Yee Foundation; Ahmed, Muhammad; Beckendorf, Eric

Submitted to: The Pan-Pacific Entomologist
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/17/2023
Publication Date: 6/30/2023
Citation: Hesler, L.S., Perreira, W.D., Matsunaga, J.N., Yee, D.A., Ahmed, M.Z., Beckendorf, E.A. 2023. New state, island and prey records from Hawai'i, U.S.A., and a new country record from Laos for lady beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae). The Pan-Pacific Entomologist. 99(2):128–141. https://doi.org/10.3956/2022-99.2.128.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3956/2022-99.2.128

Interpretive Summary: Ladybird beetles are an important group of insect predators. Several species of lady beetles have been purposefully and inadvertently introduced for over 100 years in the Hawaiian Archipelago. Here, we update the list of lady beetles in Hawai'i with two new state records, 17 new island records associated with 13 species, and various prey records. The update includes new geographic distribution records from the eight main islands and also the Northwestern Islands. We also report a new country record for a lady beetle first recorded in Hawaii in an earlier report. The new records demonstrate the value of ongoing sampling and regular examination of undetermined collections material. They will also assist personnel who work with insect management in Hawaii, including pest management practitioners, agriculturalists, conservationists, and biodiversity specialists.

Technical Abstract: Several species of lady(bird) beetles have been purposefully and inadvertently introduced for over 100 years in the Hawaiian Archipelago. Here, we report new state records for two lady beetle species in Hawai'i, 22 new island records associated with 14 lady beetle species, and prey information associated with eight records. The update includes new geographic distribution records from five of the eight main islands and the Northwestern Islands of the Hawaiian Archipelago. New state records are reported for Delphastus pallidus LeConte, 1878 and Novius pumilus (Weise, 1892) in Hawai'i. New island records are reported for Brumoides suturalis (Fabricius, 1798); Cycloneda sanguinea sanguinea Linnaeus, 1763; Diomus roseicollis (Mulsant, 1853); Hyperaspis connectens (Thunberg, 1808); Hyperaspis silvestrii Weise, 1909; Nephaspis bicolor Gordon, 1982; Nephus roepkei (Fluiter, 1938); Psyllobora vigintimaculata (Say, 1824); Rhyzobius lophanthae (Blaisdell, 1892); Scymnobius bilucernarius (Mulsant, 1850); Scymnus (Pullus) latemaculatus Motschulsky, 1858; Serangium maculigerum Blackburn, 1892; an undetermined Pharoscymnus sp. previously recorded in Hawai'i; and an undetermined Sticholotis sp. previously reported from Hawai'i. We report Laos as a new country record for the Sticholotis sp. Prey records are documented in Hawai'i that include Tetraleurodes acaciae (Quaintance, 1900) for Del. pallidus; Aleurodicus dispersus Russell, 1965 for Ser. maculigerum; Bemisia argentifolii Bellows & Perring 1994 and Metaleurodicus cardini (Back, 1912) for Nephaspis bicolor; Aleurotrachelus trachoides (Back, 1912) for Nephaspis indus; Aonidiella orientalis for R. lophanthae; Aphis nerii Boyer de Fonscolombe, 1841 for Scymnus latemaculatus; and Al. trachoides for D. roseicollis. The new records demonstrate the value of ongoing sampling and regular examination of undetermined collections material.