Novius koebelei
Novius koebelei is a species of ladybird beetle native to Australia.[1] It is also present in the wild in New Zealand, where it is of exotic origin.[2] In New Zealand, it was first reported in 2006, having been found in Auckland.[3] It has been known under many names; due to variation in its colouration, it has been described as new six times after its original description in 1892.[4]
Novius koebelei | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Coleoptera |
Infraorder: | Cucujiformia |
Family: | Coccinellidae |
Subfamily: | Ortaliinae |
Tribe: | Noviini |
Genus: | Novius |
Species: | N. koebelei |
Binomial name | |
Novius koebelei Olliff, 1892 | |
Synonyms | |
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This species was introduced into California for biocontrol, alongside N. cardinalis. It is not thought to persist there now, however.[5]
Description
Compared to the better-known Novius cardinalis, koebelei typically has much more strongly confluent markings. This often creates a large concurrent red patch on each elytron, though some individuals may be entirely uniform red, and other variants exist.[4]
References
- CSIRO
- NZOR (Web Service Demonstrator)
- Biosecurity New Zealand 2006: Biosecurity magazine, (68) whole issue (PDF) [see p. 30]
- Pang, H., Tang, X.-F., Booth, R.G., Vandenberg, N., Forrester, J., Mchugh, J., & Ślipiński, A. (2020) Revision of the Australian Coccinellidae (Coleoptera). Genus Novius Mulsant of Tribe Noviini. Annales Zoologici 70 (1):1–24. https://doi.org/10.3161/00034541ANZ2020.70.1.001
- The Coccinellidae (Coleoptera) of America North of Mexico, Robert D. Gordon. 1985. Journal of the New York Entomological Society, Vol. 93, No. 1.