Skip to main content

Allenius iviei

Allenius iviei
Well hurray, it's time to learn about a brand new species! This recently discovered Ladybird Beetle is one of the rarest in the United States, and is known from only two specimens.

Allenius iviei was identified as a new species when a male landed on a trap set in Montana by entomology grad student Ross Winton. Winton at first thought that the tiny creature was a body part of an ant or another insect, not a whole specimen. Most confusing was the fact that the insect looked headless!

It was soon discovered that the Beetle was not headless at all-- it actually was able to retract it back into its thorax, much like how a turtle can pull their head into their shell. It was also discovered that the specimen was a male, and matched a female that was found in Idaho. Because there are now two examples, one of each sex, the insect was able to be declared a new species (with the species name derived from the name of Winton's adviser, Michael Ivie).

There is still much to learn about Allenius iviei. But for now it remains a rare, elusive, and unusual Ladybug. The head retracting, tiny size, and sand-dune habitat have made it unique enough to belong to a brand new genus, which it shares with A. californianus, another recent discovery.
IUCN Status : Not Listed
Location : United States
Classification : Phylum : Arthropoda -- Class : Insecta -- Order : Coleoptera
Family : Coccinellidae -- Genus : Allenius -- Species : A. iviei
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bornean Orangutan

The Bornean Orangutan is one of two extant Orangutan species in the world. It is the third largest primate (after Gorillas) and is the largest primarily tree-dwelling animal in the world. Males are substantially larger than females, and average at around 165lbs. Bornean Orangutans are largely solitary. A handful might live within a small range but they will seldom interact with one another. Males and females only meet up to breed, which happens only once every several years. A young Orangutan will stay with it's mother for about five years, and the females tend to go about eight years between births. That is the longest interim period of any animal! Sadly, the Bornean Orangutans are in a lot of trouble. They need large forests in order to thrive, and deforestation and habitat degradation has left many homeless. They are also hunted for meat and for traditional medicines. Conservation areas are being established to help these guys in the wild, and it is believed that there are a...
59 comments
Read more

Halloween Crab

Gecarcinus quadratus The Halloween Crab goes by many names, including the Red Land Crab, Whitespot Crab, and Moon Crab. I personally like Halloween Crab though, since it really reflects the interesting colors. They have black carapaces, orange-red legs, and purple claws! Halloween Crabs live in the Pacific coast mangroves and forests of Central and South America. They actually live in the forests as adults, and return to the ocean in order to reproduce. Did you know that they live as far away as 18 miles (30km)  from water? Not where you normally think Crabs to be! While living in the forest, the Crabs forage nocturnally for different plant matter, including leaves and sapling. They also dig long burrows into the ground for protection. These burrows can measure nearly 5 ft long! Halloween Crabs are sometimes kept in captivity, and can be very tricky pets due to their excellent climbing skills. IUCN Status :  Not Listed ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Four!

For anyone who was counting, yesterday was our birthday-- four years! Four years filled with animals from A to Z, more than 1,100 of them! I can't thank my readers enough, it's been wonderful! And in celebration of that milestone... I'm taking a break. Hopefully not forever, but for a little bit at least. In the mean time I plan on getting a new layout out, along with some updates to some of the older articles. I'll post updates here and on the Facebook page, I'm also brainstorming some new animal-related projects, so keep an eye out! Thanks again for four awesome years!
18 comments
Read more