Bug FAQMalaysian Ladybird
Chilocorus nigritus · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Coccinellidae
Also called: Black Scale-feeding Lady Beetle, Ladybird beetle
The Malaysian ladybird is native to Southeast Asia. It feeds on many scale insects, including Aonidiella aurantii and Aspidiotus rigidus. It looks very similar to Chilocorus subindicus.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Morphologically it resembles Chilocorus subindicus.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
It preys on a wide range of diaspid scale insects such as Aonidiella aurantii, Aspidiotus rigidus, and many others.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
It is native to Southeast Asia.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
It can be confused with Chilocorus subindicus because of similar morphology.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 2 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Florida, Hawaii.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: introduced in North America; introduced in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What does the Malaysian ladybird eat?
It feeds on many scale insects, including Aonidiella aurantii, Aspidiotus rigidus, and other diaspid scales.
Source: Wikipedia
How can I tell it apart from similar bugs?
It looks very similar to Chilocorus subindicus, so careful examination of morphology is needed.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Coccinellidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilocorus_nigritus
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-28 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-28.