Larva

[goosey]

This little thing was one of a pair on the Buddleia Globosa and was only 5mm. To the eye it looked spikey a bit like a ladybird larva but on the photos it appears much more fluffy. It moved very fast down the stem from one leaf juntion to the next. What can it be?

[Paul mabbott]

Straining my brain here but, yes: New Page 2 I think this is the larva of Cryptolaemus montrouzieri an Australian coccinellid used all over the world to kill mealy bugs. It is supposed not to survive northern European winters but has become established in southern Europe .... likely to become more common ...

[asheleaf]

I was sure i'd seen something similiar in a book recently. Searching through 'Ladybirds of Surrey' I came across Scymnus auritus larva. I'm not sure its the same but its certainly similiar. Check it out. Google and see what you think. http://ipm.ncsu.edu/cotton/InsectCor...bird_larva.jpg

ashe

[Paul mabbott]

Originally Posted by asheleaf

I was sure i'd seen something similiar in a book recently. Searching through 'Ladybirds of Surrey' I came across Scymnus auritus larva. I'm not sure its the same but its certainly similiar. Check it out. Google and see what you think. http://ipm.ncsu.edu/cotton/InsectCor...bird_larva.jpg
ashe

Yes, there are several (many) similar such larvae - I, for one, wouldn't want to differentiate them from pictures (if then) however Scymnus and related species are not commonly found in gardens whereas Cryptolaemus commonly turns up in garden centres &c regularly, especially in Holland.

So, I have no objective, anatomical reason to think this is one species more than another - just the chances of one species turning up on a Buddleja ...

[asheleaf]

Originally Posted by asheleaf

I was sure i'd seen something similiar in a book recently. Searching through 'Ladybirds of Surrey' I came across Scymnus auritus larva. I'm not sure its the same but its certainly similiar. Check it out. Google and see what you think. http://ipm.ncsu.edu/cotton/InsectCor...bird_larva.jpg

I take that back and bow to Paul's superior knowledge!! Must have both been writing at the same time. Thats another one I've never even heard of.

cheers, ashe

[goosey]

Thank you ashe and Paul,
We had a unusually warm winter - only an afternoon of snow and one frost all winter, in 15 years of living here I have never known another winter like it, so its easy to believe Cryptolaemus montrouzieri larvae survived.
To me the link ashe put on looks more like it as its spikes are not so curly. There are two of these things to my knowledge so if I spot any of the mealy bug predators or something totally new we might be able to decide then.

[Paul mabbott]

There is, of course, no reason why you should depend on opinions - keep an eye on these and see what they develop into! Larvae don't wander far (they can hardly fly off into the deep blue yonder) and see what they develop into and see what ladybirds you see in a month or two!

Any conclusive observations would be very interesting so keep up the good work!

Originally Posted by goosey

Thank you ashe and Paul,
We had a unusually warm winter - only an afternoon of snow and one frost all winter, in 15 years of living here I have never known another winter like it, so its easy to believe Cryptolaemus montrouzieri larvae survived.
To me the link ashe put on looks more like it as its spikes are not so curly. There are two of these things to my knowledge so if I spot any of the mealy bug predators or something totally new we might be able to decide then.

[Paul mabbott]

Originally Posted by asheleaf

I take that back and bow to Paul's superior knowledge!! Must have both been writing at the same time. Thats another one I've never even heard of.
cheers, ashe

No! You may well be right and I may be making the wrong deductions. I think not but lets see what else we can find out ... otherwise just keep our minds open ... without live animals to rear on we may never know what this, or many of the other species whose pictures are sent to the fora, are. It's all part of an educational process - for me, at least!