Spotless Lady Beetle, Cycloneda s. sanguinea
Blood-Red Ladybird Beetle
Railroad Canyon, Black Range, NM
Map: The Coccinellidae (Coleoptera) of America North of Mexico; Robert D. Gordon. 1985. Journal of the New York Entomological Society, Vol. 93, No. 1.
Black Range 2: This species is found as far south as Argentina and is the most widespread Lady Bird Beetle in Latin America. Interestingly, the pupae of this species has what is called a “gin trap”. The pupae has “four deep clefts, situated dorsally on the abdomen between the segments. The anterior margin of each cleft is densely beset with tiny teeth…When the pupa is at rest, with the body flexed and recumbent against the substrate, the traps are agape and ‘set’ for action. Stimulating such a pupa with a brush will cause it to straighten out abruptly, in a quick flipping action that causes the clefts to clamp shut…” Secret Weapons: Defenses of Insects…Thomas Eisner et al, p. 208