Classification: | Kingdom: Animalia | Phylum: Arthropoda | Class: Insecta | Order: Coleoptera | Family: Coccinellidae | Genus: Chilocorus |

I had previously named this black ladybird beetle as Coelophora inaequalis based on the information from Beetle@SG Blog. In May 2016, I was both surprise and fortunate to see one of this black beetle on the underside of a leaf from the King of Bitters herb (Andrographis paniculata) growing in one of my pots. Even better, the beetle had just hatched from the pupa stage with the pupa cast next to it.

The beetle was black throughout except for part of the head region, lateral parts of pronotum, legs underside and elytral epipleura which are yellowish brown [1, 2]. Its length was reported to be 3.2-4.0 millimetres [2]. The list of recorded countries nearest to Singapore were Indonesia and Thailand [3]. It is a common predator of scale insects, especially those from the family Diaspididae [4, 5].

A 2013 report from the University of Florida indicated that the beetle was native to India. Its list of recorded countries included Malaysia and Indonesia. A detailed summary of this beetle as a biocontrol agent is available in a 2009 CAB Review article.

Reference:

[1] Hayat A, Khan MR, Naz F, Rafi MA. Ladybird beetles of sub-family Chilocorinae (Coccinellidae: Coleoptera) of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Pak Entomol 2014;36(2):135-143. | Read article |

[2] Mayadunnage S, Wijayagunasekara HNP, Hemachandra KS, Nugaliyadde L. Predatory Coccinellids (Coleoptera: Cocinellidae) of vegetable insect pests: A survey in mid country of Sri Lanka. Tropical Agricultural Research 2007;19:69-77. | Read article |

[3] Poorani J. An annotated checklist of the Coccinellidae (Coleoptera) (excluding Epilachninae) of the Indian sub region. J Oriental Insects 2002;36:307-383. | Read article |

[4] Omkar, Pervez A. Ecology and biocontrol potential of a scale-predator, Chilocorus nigritus. Biocontrol Sci Tech 2003;13(4):379-390.

[5] Booth RG. A review of the species resembling Chilocorus nigrita (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae): potential agents for biological control. Bulletin of Entomological Research 1998;88:361-367.