Abstract
The predatory ladybird species, Cheilomenes sexmaculata (Fabricius), is native to Asia and Australia but has established populations outside its native range, most recently on the eastern and northern coast of South America. Here, we report for the first time the identification of the introduced ladybird beetle, C. sexmaculata, to the Caribbean islands, specifically the island of Curaçao. Although C. sexmaculata is typically considered beneficial and used as a means of biological control in continental ecosystems, due to its high predatory and reproductive ability, it has the potential to cause major ecological impacts as an invader to sensitive Caribbean island ecosystems.
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Acknowledgments
We thank two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments that improved the quality of the manuscript. We thank M. Vermeij from CARMABI for logistical support and B. Isenia for permission for sampling. In addition, we are grateful to M. Helmus, C. Irian, K. Langhans, C. Lynch, T. Tran, and S. Williams for field support, sample processing, and genetic analyses.
Author Contribution Statement
JEB planned and conducted the field sampling. HRA identified the specimens in the lab. HRA and JEB wrote the manuscript.
Funding
This work was supported by funds from Temple University and the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) Grant 858.14.040.
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Assour, H.R., Behm, J.E. First Occurrence of Cheilomenes sexmaculata (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) on the Caribbean Island of Curaçao. Neotrop Entomol 48, 863–865 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-019-00699-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-019-00699-0