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Alice Springs Beetles > Alice Springs Beetles Index

Mealybug Destroyer Beetle, also known as the Mealybug Destroyer Ladybird (Cryptolaemus montrouzieri) is native to eastern Australia and has been introduced to Western Australia and around the world to control the mealybug (family Pseudococcidae) that are pests in orchards and greenhouse.

The following photographs of Cryptolaemus montrouzieri were taken on a sacred River Red Gum tree in the Alice Springs Todd Mall in Central Australia, Northern Territory.

Cryptolaemus montrouzieri (Mealybug Destroyer Beetle), Alice Springs NT
Cryptolaemus montrouzieri (Mealybug Destroyer Beetle) on River Red Gum, Alice Springs NT
Cryptolaemus montrouzieri (Mealybug Destroyer Beetle), Alice Springs NT
Cryptolaemus montrouzieri (Mealybug Destroyer Beetle) on River Red Gum, Alice Springs NT
Cryptolaemus montrouzieri (Mealybug Destroyer Beetle), Alice Springs NT
Cryptolaemus montrouzieri (Mealybug Destroyer Beetle) on River Red Gum, Alice Springs NT
Cryptolaemus montrouzieri (Mealybug Destroyer Beetle), Alice Springs NT
Cryptolaemus montrouzieri (Mealybug Destroyer Beetle), Alice Springs NT

Check out our section on Fauna | Insects | Coleoptera | Ladybird Beetles | Cryptolaemus montrouzieri


  • Scientific classification
  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Arthropoda
  • Subphylum: Hexapoda
  • Class: Insecta
  • Subclass: Pterygota
  • Order: Coleoptera
  • Suborder: Polyphaga
  • Infraorder: Cucujiformia
  • Superfamily: Coccinelloidea
  • Family: Coccinellidae
  • Subfamily: Coccinellinae
  • Genus: Cryptolaemus
  • Species: Cryptolaemus montrouzieri

Footnote & References

  1. Cryptolaemus montrouzieri Mulsant, 1853, Atlas of Living Australia, https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/dd552b84-a313-4879-ada9-80d55b57d407
  2. Mealybug Destroyer (Cryptolaemus montrouzieri), iNaturalistAU, https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/taxa/244084-Cryptolaemus-montrouzieri

Alice Springs Beetles IndexBisallardiana sp Blaps polychresta Bolboceratidae Calosoma oceanicum Calosoma schayeri Carphurus (Soft-winged Flower Beetle) Cassidini Chalcophorotaenia Chlorobapta frontalis Coccinella transversalis (Transverse Ladybird) Cryptolaemus montrouzieri (Mealybug Destroyer Beetle) Cybister tripunctatus (Three-punctured Diving Beetle) Dicranolaius bellulus (Red and Blue Beetle) Enochrus (Water Scavenger Beetle) Eretes australis (Padded Diving Beetle) Hydrophilus brevispina Lepidiota Merimna atrata Neospades sp Pachydissus (Longhorn Beetles) Paropsisterna laesa (Eucalyptus Leaf Beetle) Phoracantha punctata (Longhorn Beetle) Phorticosomus sp Phoracantha recurva (Eucalyptus Longhorn Beetle) Prioninae subfamily Protaetia fusca (Mottled Flower Scarab) Pterohelaeus sp (Blue Pie-dish Beetles)

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