Red-flanked Scymnus Ladybird Scymnus interruptus

The Scymnus ladybirds are tiny, just 1-2mm long, and have fine hair on their wing cases so they look less shiny. The Red-flanked Scymnus has a red patch on each wing case reaching the edge.

The Scymnus larva looks like a tiny caterpillar crossed with a sheep. It is covered in a waxy, white secretion and is, like many ladybird larvae, a good predator of aphids, mealybugs and scale insects. The waxy "wool" may help to protect it from the bites or stings of ants that farm the aphids or from other predatory insects. The larva of Scymnus frontalis ladybird looks similar although the habitat of the latter is usually less verdant and more heath/brownfield. The "sheep" is also a little more shorn?