According to reports, at the Guangdong Province "World Wetland Day" and mangrove protection publicity event held in Guangzhou Haizhu National Wetland Park, a new global species-"Haizhu Microladybird" was officially released.It is reported that the new species was discovered during the 2022 Haizhu Wetland Insect Survey and Monitoring process, and was named after Haizhu, namely "Haizhu Microladybird".
The "Sea Pearl Microladybird" is extremely petite, with a body length of only between 1.2 and 1.3 millimeters, smaller than a sesame seed. Its body is an elegant oval, with its back and abdomen slightly bulging.
The feet and antennae take on a lighter hue, giving the overall appearance a harmonious and charming look. What's even more special is that its body surface is smooth and hairless, only dotted with sparse and short yellow bristles, adding a bit of delicacy and uniqueness.
During the investigation, the scientific research team discovered three precious "Haizhu Microladybird" specimens in the second and third phase research spaces of Haizhu Wetland. The ecological background of these discovery sites was mainly longan, lychee and other fruit trees, which provided a unique habitat for this new species.
It is worth mentioning that Micrococcinellidae is a relatively niche group in insect taxonomy. It was once classified under a subfamily of Pseudococcinellidae, but with the deepening of molecular biology research, it has now been promoted to an independent family.
Up to now, this family only contains 19 species in 7 genera, and most species are only distributed on some isolated islands in Central America, South America and South Africa, so they are extremely rare. The discovery of the "Sea Pearl Microladybird" is not only the first time this family and its species have been recorded in China, it is also an important supplement to global biodiversity research and has extremely high scientific value and ecological significance.