Crops > Vegetables > Capsicum & chilli > Aphid predator, chillies, Guam



Crops > Vegetables > Capsicum & chilli > Aphid predator, chillies, Guam

Crops VegetablesCapsicum & chilliAphid predator, chillies, Guam

Aphid predator, chillies, Guam

February 2013. Can anyone identify the mystery aphid predator in this short video? It was found attacking Aphys gossypiiinfesting hot pepper on Guam. Is it a beetle larva?

  • Lepidoptera: Epipyropidae larvae from Lophopidae
  • Coleoptera Coccinellidae larva, subfamily Platynaspini (maybe Platynaspis sp.), or somewhere in that group of ladybirds

It was agreed that it is a coccinellid larva. The adhesive organ at the rear end, only 3 pairs of legs and a head with biting mouthparts. It runs too fast and smoothly to be Lepidoptera, and lacks the curved jaws of Neuroptera.

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