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Members of the family Coccinellidae, commonly called as lady bird
beetles and are predatory on a wide variety of pests. The grubs and adults of the
beetle are voracious feeders of many sucking pests and effect natural control of
pests in our crop fields. The diversity and abundance of predatory coccinellids in
field crops are very much dependent on species and number of prey available.
The present investigation entitled "Taxonomy of predatory coccinellid
beetles (Coccinellidae : Coleoptera) in rice and vegetables was undertaken to study
the taxonomy, species composition and diversity of coccinellid predators in rice
and vegetable fields of Vellanikkara and to develop an up to date key for
identifying them. Survey was conducted at vegetable fields of College of
Horticulture and farmers fields, Vellanikkara and rice fields at Agricultural
Research Station, Mannuthy.
From the various fields surveyed, sixteen species of coccinellids were
collected. Associated with the aphid, Aphis craccivora, ten species of coccinellids
were recorded from cowpea fields. Four species of coccineIlids each were reported
from coccinia and bittergourd fields. In brinjal, three species of coccineIlids were
recorded on mealy bug C. insolitus. Only one species was recorded in bhindi
feeding on Aphis gossypii. They were included in four subfamilies, viz.,
Sticholotidinae, Coccirrellinae, Chilocorinae and Scyrnninae in five tribes and ten
genera Taxonomic characters of 11 species collected were studied, namely,
Jauravia soror of the subfamily Sticholotidinae, Coccinella transversalis,
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Cheilomenes sexmaculata, Micraspis discolor, Harmonia octomaculata and
Anegleis cardoni of the subfamily Coccinellinae, Brumoides suturalis of
Chilocorinae and Scymnus (Pullus) coccivora, S. (P) pyrocheilus, S. (P)
latemaculatus and Pseudaspidimerus trinolatus of the subfamily Scymninae.
A detailed key for all the species studied is prepared by the author. J
dorsalis and J pallidula of tribe• Sticholotidinae, s. (P.) coccivora and
Pseudoscymnus sp. of Scyrnninae are new records from Kerala. The present study
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has also revealed new prey records from Kerala: S. (P.) pyrocheilus and S. (P.)








latemaculatus on A. gossypii and A. craccivora; J. dorsalis, J. pallidula. on A.
gossypii; P. trinotatus on C. insolitus and A. gossypii .
. ' Of the total 400 species of coccinellids reported from India only 16
species were recorded in the present study from rice and vegetable fields. With the
diverse flora and fauna characteristic to Kerala, there is wider scope to explore the
species diversity of coccinellids in this region,: