Cryptic-larva

Guides

• Brachypsectra fulva

  Texas beetle

  Brachypsectra fulva, commonly known as the Texas beetle, is a species in the family Brachypsectridae. Adults are rarely observed but are attracted to light and active from May to August. The larvae are predatory, living under bark, in leaf litter, and rock crevices, where they ambush small arthropod prey. The species occurs in the southwestern United States and Mexico.

  predatornocturnalsubcorticalleaf-littercryptic-larva

• Hyperaspis dobzhanskyi

  Dobzhansky's lady beetle

  Hyperaspis dobzhanskyi is a small lady beetle species in the family Coccinellidae, known from Arizona in the southwestern United States. Adults measure approximately 2.45 mm in length. The species belongs to a genus whose larvae are notable for producing waxy secretions that camouflage them among scale insects, their primary prey. Like other Hyperaspis species, it likely serves as a biological control agent of scale insect pests.

  lady-beetlescale-insect-predatorbiological-controlcryptic-larvaArizona-endemicCoccinellidaeHyperaspiswaxy-coatingbeneficial-insectmealybug-mimic