Expanded Geographical Distribution of Coleomegilla maculata lengi (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) in North America.

Simple Summary: Coleomegilla maculata lengi is an important insect predator in North American agroecosystems. Collection records reveal that the reputed range for C. maculata lengi has been substantially underestimated. New records indicate an expanded geographic range, including the recent expansion of C. maculata lengi in central North America and a new state record for Wyoming, USA. The expanding geographic range of C. maculata lengi contrasts with that of several species of lady beetles native to North America. Several species of lady beetle native to North America have declined in abundance in the last few decades, often accompanied by contractions in their geographic ranges. Coleomegilla maculata lengi is a lady beetle native to North America that is an important predator of pests in various agroecosystems. Its reported range spans the eastern half of the USA, with no sustained decline in abundance or contraction of its range reported. Indeed, we recently collected several individuals of this lady beetle in central USA roughly 500 km beyond the western edge of its reputed range. We hypothesized that new records could indicate either that previous range characterization failed to include pre-existing collection records further west or that C. maculata lengi has recently expanded its geographic range. To test these hypotheses, we searched several institutional insect collections and digital databases for records and found many earlier records of C. maculata lengi beyond its reputed geographic range, clearly showing that the previous characterization of its geographic distribution in North America was substantially underestimated. In addition, we report a new state record of C. maculata lengi from Wyoming, USA, that further indicates its geographic range expansion in North America. We discuss new records of C. maculata lengi in light of declines in native coccinelline lady beetle species in North America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]