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Pistillate Lady Beetle

Hyperaspis pistillata

Scymninae

Hyperaspis

pistillata

The Latin word pistillata means...well...quite a few things, ranging from the pistil of  a flower to a pestle used with a mortar, and I can't figure out which definition applies to this species or why. Any etymological advice is welcome!

Size: 2.75 - 4 mm

Food: Aphids and scale insects

Habitat: Poorly known; possibly coastal areas and lowlands

Range: Massachusetts to Florida, west along Gulf Coast to Louisiana

Similar species: Many black, two-spotted species of Hyperaspis; similarly patterned species in Chilocorinae and Coccinellinae are larger. Four-spotted form: the four-spotted form of Hyperaspis signata.

Not yet illustrated