New ladybug species is the size of a grain of sand
Ladybugs are known to bring good luck, and this trait proved constant at a Japanese university when researchers discovered a new species of this iconic insect right on campus.
Ladybugs, also known as ladybugs or ladybugs, belong to the family Coccinellidae in the order Coleoptera (Beetles). The newly identified member is black Parastethorus pinicolaand researchers discovered it on a pine tree in the Hakozaki satellite of Kyushu University. In fact, its species name means “pine dweller.”
The identification of this tiny species – measuring just over 0.039 inches (or one millimeter) long – occurred in the context of a larger study. In a study recently published in Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragaetwo researchers from Kyushu University have updated the categorization of a group of ladybugs called Stethorini in Japan. Stethorini ladybugs are small and eat spider mites.
“I knew that this group of ladybugs often inhabits pine trees. Since there are Japanese black pines growing on the Hakozaki satellite, I decided to look there, and that’s where I found the new species,” said RyĹŤta Seki, first author of the paper and a graduate student in the entomological laboratory at the Graduate School of Bioresource and Bioenvironmental Sciences. “Normally, insect collectors don’t pay much attention to pine trees, which may be why scientists have neglected this species for so long.”
We can forgive the researchers for not identifying P. pinicola earlier. Pine dwellers and other small black ladybugs are so difficult to identify that they have not received much attention from researchers, Seki said. The only way to tell them apart is to open them, not to mention the fact that they are just a little bigger than a single grain of sand. It is therefore not surprising that previous literature contains a significant number of misclassifications.
So the duo studied around 1,700 ladybugs and also concluded that two species:Stethorus japonicus And Stethorus siphonule-are one and the same thing. Another previously unidentified species was also discovered, which they called Stethorus takakoae based on Seki’s grandmother, Takako ĹŚtsuki, and her support of his interest in insects.
“Standardizing these names is important because it allows us to share data and research with other countries in Asia,” Seki said. “This clarifies that this is a widespread species found from the tropics to temperate Japan.”
“People rarely notice such small insects. But as our study showed, even in a city or on a university campus, there are unknown species living right next to us,” said Munetoshi Maruyama of the Kyushu University Museum, the other co-author. “These ‘minor’ insects support our ecosystems. I hope this discovery will interest people in the diverse and fascinating world that exists unseen at our feet.”
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