Steelblue ladybird facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Steelblue ladybird
On an oak leaf
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Family:	Coccinellidae
Subfamily:	Chilocorinae
Tribe:	Chilocorini
Genus:	Halmus
Species:	H. chalybeus
Binomial name
Halmus chalybeus (Boisduval, 1835)

Halmus chalybeus, commonly known as the steelblue ladybird, is a species of ladybird (the beetle family Coccinellidae) native to Australia. It has a rounded appearance with an iridescent blue/green colouration and is a predator of other insects. It was introduced to New Zealand from Australia in 1899 and 1905 to control black scale and blue gum scale (see scale insect) on citrus trees, where it is now common in northern regions. It has also been recorded eating San Jose scale. They are about 3–4 mm long.

Eating the egg of a monarch butterfly