Bug card No. 1300 of 1,500
Steelblue ladybird
Halmus chalybeus
The steelblue ladybird is a tiny, round ladybird with no spots at all. Instead it shines in a shimmering blue and green, like a little metal bead. It is a hungry hunter of tiny plant pests.
Lives in
Australia, and New Zealand where people brought it, in gardens and orchards
Length
3 to 4 mm (0.12 to 0.16 in)
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It is a gardener's friend.
What does it eat?
Both the grown-ups and the larvae eat small insects such as scale insects, whiteflies, psyllids and tiny mites.
How big is it?
How long is it?
💅small enough to sit on your fingernail⚽could fly across a whole football pitch in 16 seconds⚡moves 1700 times its own body length every second
How big is Steelblue ladybird compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
How fast is it?
A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)
Steelblue ladybird about 24 km/h (15 mph)
A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)
A car driving in town about 50 km/h (31 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
It is only 3 to 4 millimetres long, smaller than a grain of rice.
2
People brought it from Australia to New Zealand in 1899 and 1905 to protect orange and lemon trees from pests.
3
It is now common on citrus trees in the north of New Zealand.
you asked
Most asked questions about Steelblue ladybird
?What does the steelblue ladybird eat?
Small plant pests such as scale insects, whiteflies and tiny mites.
?Is the steelblue ladybird good for gardens?
Yes. It eats insects that harm plants, especially on citrus trees.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Halmus chalybeus
- Named by
- Boisduval, 1835
- Group
- Ladybirds
- Family
- Coccinellidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Coleoptera > Coccinellidae
- Lives on
- Australia and Oceania
- Also known as
- Steel blue ladybird
Where the facts come from
- Halmus chalybeus (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Raewyn. CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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