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Corresponding author: Andreas Sanchez ( andreas.sanchez@infofauna.ch ) Academic editor: Stève Breitenmoser
© 2022 Andreas Sanchez, Yannick Chittaro.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Sanchez A, Chittaro Y (2022) Annotated checklist of the Coccinellidae (Coleoptera, Coccinelloidea) of Switzerland. Alpine Entomology 6: 111-127. https://doi.org/10.3897/alpento.6.89476
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An updated checklist of the Swiss species belonging to the family Coccinellidae is presented and briefly discussed. This checklist includes 81 species (82 taxa including the subspecies) and is based on 33'976 occurrences obtained from the identification of specimens held in museum and private collections, as well as from records taken from the literature. Exochomus oblongus Weidenbach, 1859, Hyperaspis peezi Fürsch, 1976, Hyperaspis pseudopustulata Mulsant, 1853, Nephus bisignatus (Fürsch, 1984), Rhyzobius forestieri (Mulsant, 1853), Scymniscus anomus (Mulsant & Rey, 1852) and Scymnus doriae Capra, 1924 are recorded for the first time in Switzerland. In parallel, Chilocorus similis (P. Rossi, 1790), Bulaea lichatschovii (Hummel, 1827), Ceratomegilla rufocincta rufocincta (Mulsant, 1850), Coccinella undecimpunctata undecimpunctata Linnaeus, 1758, Chnootriba elaterii (P. Rossi, 1794), Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata (Fabricius, 1775), Hyperaspis quadrimaculata (Redtenbacher, 1843), Scymnus marginalis (P. Rossi, 1794) and Novius cardinalis (Mulsant, 1850) were recorded from Switzerland in the past but are excluded from this list, either due to insufficient documentation or because they represent isolated cases of introductions of non-indigenous species that never became established in Switzerland.
Insecta, beetle, ladybird, species list, new country records, faunistics, distribution
Considered for a long time as a member of the super-family Cucujoidea, the beetle family Coccinellidae now belongs to the super-family Coccinelloidea (
Despite the fact that this is a charismatic family, no overview has been published in Switzerland since the catalog of
This publication aims to present an annotated checklist of the species in Switzerland. It is based on a review of the Swiss museum and private collections, as well as of the literature and data gathered by naturalists. Thus, resident species are distinguished from species that are mistakenly mentioned for Switzerland, insufficiently documented and those introduced but not established in the country.
In order to present a complete list of the Swiss fauna, based on all existing information, we performed an exhaustive examination of the relevant material present in major Swiss museum collections, as was recently done for other beetle groups (see for example
AGRO Agroscope-Changins, Nyon (Stève Breitenmoser)
ETH Eidgenössische-Technische Hochschule, Zürich (Michael Greeff)
KMLI Kantonsmuseum Baselland, Liestal (Marc Limat)
LEBA Laboratoire d’écologie et biologie aquatique (UNIGE), Genève
MHNF Musée d’histoire naturelle de Fribourg (Sophie Giriens)
MHNS Musée de la nature du Valais, Sion (Sonja Gerber)
NMAA Naturama, Aarau (Janine Mazenauer)
NMB Naturhistorisches Museum Basel (Matthias Borer)
NMSG Naturmuseum St. Gallen (Karin Urfer)
NMTG Naturmuseum Thurgau, Frauenfeld (Barbara Richner)
NMSO Naturmuseum, Solothurn (Marc Neumann)
We also cited data gathered from three museums outside Switzerland:
MAMU Manchester Museum, Great Britain
TLMF Tiroler Landesmuseen, Innsbruck, Austria
SMNS Staatlichen Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart, Germany
Moreover, we included data from the private collections of the authors, as well as those of the following individuals. They are classified in alphabetical order. The municipality and the abbreviated canton of residence are indicated in brackets: Bastien Guibert (Gy GE), Berndt Eismann (Kreuzlingen TG), Hansjörg Brägger (Amriswil TG), Kevin Gurcel (France, Annecy), Stève Breitenmoser (Givrins VD) and Werner Marggi (Thun BE).
All available data from the literature relevant for Switzerland were also considered. The references from these publications are included in the bibliography if they are specifically cited in the text. Publications consulted but not cited in the text are not mentioned.
The subfamily and tribal classifications adopted here follow
The specimens were identified using the following publications:
When not otherwise specified, general information on species’ distributions is taken from
The list of the main synonyms of each taxon is provided in “Catalogue of Palaearctic Coleoptera” (
Once an exhaustive list of species was compiled, we followed the procedure proposed by
Those species whose presence in Switzerland is substantiated by less than 30 valid observations are subject to an additional comment (the majority of these species are illustrated in Fig.
A. Exochomus oblongus; B. Parexochomus nigromaculatus; C. Rhyzobius lophanthae; D. Calvia quindecimguttata; E. Ceratomegilla alpina redtenbacheri; F. Coccinella venusta adalioides; G. Coccinella trifasciata trifasciata; H. Oenopia impustulata; I. Hyperaspis concolor, habitus; J. aedeagus ventral view; K. Hyperaspis peezi, habitus; L. aedeagus ventral view; M. Hyperaspis pseudopustulata, habitus; N. aedeagus ventral view; O. Hyperaspis reppensis, habitus; P. aedeagus ventral view; Q. Clitostethus arcuatus; R. Nephus bisignatus, habitus; S. aedeagus ventral view; T. aedeagus lateral view; U. Scymniscus anomus, habitus; V. aedeagus ventral view; W. Scymnus doriae, habitus; X. aedeagus ventral view. When no scale is specified, the scale bar is equal to 1 mm.
There are various genera and species groups in Coccinellidae (mainly among the genera Nephus, Scymnus and Hyperaspis) for which the only known reliable characters are the male genitalia. For those species, only dissected males are counted as “verified” records, while records based exclusively upon female specimens were omitted as unverifiable.
The specimens and literature-based records presented here are listed in chronological order of discovery (or publication date) and then in alphabetical order by locality, depending on available information. All occurrences are cited according to the following scheme: number of specimens, locality (pre-2000 data) or municipality and abbreviated canton (post-2000 data), date, collector, determinator (in the case that the determinator was not one of the authors), collection and official acronym of the institution where the insect is deposited.
Information about localities and dates are reported as found on the labels. Interpretations of alphabetical abbreviations are placed within square brackets (“ []”). In old collections, the collector (leg.) is not always explicitly labelled. In such cases, we favored the « coll. » tag. In some cases, the original collection holder was not labelled but we were nonetheless able to identify the source of the collection based on type labels and/or handwriting.
The Charles Maerky collection, held by the Natural History Museum of Geneva, has long been considered problematic (
For literature-based data, detailed under “Published data”, we retained the locality as it appeared in the original citation. We consider the “source” of the records to be the author of the publication, for example: “Ormontsthal by Venetz I. (
Among the data cited in this paper under “Examined material” or “Published data”, we inserted a superscript number code before those entries we considered insufficiently documented to be retained, using the following code to describe error type (following
Abbreviations used: coll. = collection, det. = determinator, ex. = specimen, leg. = collector. Abbreviated Swiss cantons (only cantons cited in the text): AG = Aargau, BE = Bern, FR= Fribourg, GE = Geneva, GR = Grisons, JU = Jura, LU = Lucerne, TI = Ticino, VD = Vaud, VS = Valais.
We consider that the 81 species (82 taxa) listed in bold and without square brackets “ []” either currently do or formerly did form populations in Switzerland, even if only scant information is available for many of them. We also consider here several allochthonous species, originating from other regions of the world (sometimes introduced), which maintain (or have maintained) continuous populations in Switzerland during several years.
On the other hand, the 14 species (15 taxa including the subspecies) listed in square brackets “ []” should not be considered as belonging to the Swiss fauna, until new data show otherwise. In this category, we placed species whose individuals come from problematic collections, such as Charles Maerky’s or Max Täschler’s (
To facilitate the species’ search in this document, taxa appear in alphabetical order for subfamilies, tribes, genera, subgenera, species and subspecies.
All collected information represents 33'976 occurrences within the concerned family.
Updated distribution maps of these species are available on the info fauna – CSCF cartographic server (http://lepus.unine.ch/carto/). All the valid data are also available in http://www.GBIF.org (https://doi.org/10.15468/dl.w7yjnn).
Coccinellinae Latreille, 1807
Chilocorini Mulsant, 1846
Chilocorus bipustulatus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Chilocorus renipustulatus (L. G. Scriba, 1791)
[Chilocorus similis (P. Rossi, 1790)] C1
Exochomus oblongus Weidenbach, 1859 C2
Exochomus quadripustulatus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Parexochomus nigromaculatus (Goeze, 1777) C3
Coccidulini Mulsant, 1846
Coccidula rufa (Herbst, 1783)
Coccidula scutellata (Herbst, 1783)
[Cryptolaemus montrouzieri montrouzieri Mulsant, 1853] C4
Rhyzobius chrysomeloides (Herbst, 1792)
Rhyzobius forestieri (Mulsant, 1853) C5
Rhyzobius litura (Fabricius, 1787)
Rhyzobius lophanthae (Blaisdell, 1892) C6
Coccinellini Latreille, 1807
Adalia (Adalia) bipunctata (Linnaeus, 1758)
Adalia (Adalia) decempunctata (Linnaeus, 1758)
Adalia (Adaliomorpha) conglomerata (Linnaeus, 1758)
Anatis ocellata (Linnaeus, 1758)
Anisosticta novemdecimpunctata (Linnaeus, 1758)
Aphidecta obliterata (Linnaeus, 1758)
[Bulaea lichatschovii (Hummel, 1827)] C7
Calvia decemguttata (Linnaeus, 1767)
Calvia quatuordecimguttata (Linnaeus, 1758)
Calvia quindecimguttata (Fabricius, 1777) C8
Ceratomegilla (Adaliopsis) alpina alpina (A. Villa & G. B. Villa, 1835)
Ceratomegilla (Adaliopsis) alpina redtenbacheri (Capra, 1928) C9
Ceratomegilla (Ceratomegilla) notata (Laicharting, 1781)
Ceratomegilla (Ceratomegilla) rufocincta doderoi (Capra, 1944)
[Ceratomegilla (Ceratomegilla) rufocincta rufocincta (Mulsant, 1850)] C10
Ceratomegilla (Ceratomegilla) undecimnotata (D. H. Schneider, 1792)
Coccinella (Chelonitis) venusta adalioides (Capra, 1944) C11
Coccinella (Coccinella) hieroglyphica hieroglyphica Linnaeus, 1758
Coccinella (Coccinella) magnifica L. Redtenbacher, 1843
Coccinella (Coccinella) quinquepunctata Linnaeus, 1758
Coccinella (Coccinella) septempunctata Linnaeus, 1758
Coccinella (Coccinella) trifasciata trifasciata Linnaeus, 1758 C12
[Coccinella (Spilota) undecimpunctata undecimpunctata Linnaeus, 1758] C13
Coccinula quatuordecimpustulata (Linnaeus, 1758)
Halyzia sedecimguttata (Linnaeus, 1758)
Harmonia axyridis (Pallas, 1773)
Harmonia quadripunctata (Pontoppidan, 1763)
Hippodamia (Hemisphaerica) septemmaculata (DeGeer, 1775)
Hippodamia (Hemisphaerica) tredecimpunctata (Linnaeus, 1758)
Hippodamia (Hippodamia) variegata (Goeze, 1777)
Myrrha (Myrrha) octodecimguttata (Linnaeus, 1758)
Myzia oblongoguttata oblongoguttata (Linnaeus, 1758)
Oenopia conglobata conglobata (Linnaeus, 1758)
Oenopia impustulata (Linnaeus, 1767) C14
Oenopia lyncea agnatha (Rosenhauer, 1847)
Propylea quatuordecimpunctata (Linnaeus, 1758)
Psyllobora (Thea) vigintiduopunctata (Linnaeus, 1758)
Sospita vigintiguttata (Linnaeus, 1758)
Tytthaspis sedecimpunctata (Linnaeus, 1761)
Vibidia duodecimguttata (Poda von Neuhaus, 1761)
Epilachnini Mulsant, 1850
[Chnootriba elaterii (P. Rossi, 1794)] C15
Cynegetis impunctata (Linnaeus, 1767)
Henosepilachna argus (Geoffroy, 1785)
[Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata (Fabricius, 1775)] C16
Subcoccinella vigintiquatuorpunctata (Linnaeus, 1758)
Hyperaspidini Mulsant, 1846
Hyperaspis (Hyperaspis) campestris (Herbst, 1783)
Hyperaspis (Hyperaspis) concolor (Suffrian, 1843) C17
[Hyperaspis (Hyperaspis) erythrocephala (Fabricius, 1787)] C18
Hyperaspis (Hyperaspis) peezi Fürsch, 1976 C19
Hyperaspis (Hyperaspis) pseudopustulata Mulsant, 1853 C20
[Hyperaspis (Hyperaspis) quadrimaculata (Redtenbacher, 1843)] C21
Hyperaspis (Hyperaspis) reppensis (Herbst, 1783)
Noviini Mulsant, 1850
[Novius cardinalis] (Mulsant, 1850) C22
Platynaspidini Mulsant, 1846
Platynaspis luteorubra (Goeze, 1777)
Scymnini Mulsant, 1846
Clitostethus arcuatus (P. Rossi, 1794) C23
Nephus (Bipunctatus) bipunctatus (Kugelann, 1794)
Nephus (Bipunctatus) bisignatus (Fürsch, 1984) C24
[Nephus (Bipunctatus) kiesenwetteri (Mulsant, 1850)] C25
[Nephus (Nephus) binotatus (C. N. F. Brisout de Barneville, 1863)] C26
Nephus (Nephus) quadrimaculatus (Herbst, 1783)
Nephus (Nephus) redtenbacheri (Mulsant, 1846)
Scymniscus anomus (Mulsant & Rey, 1852) C27
[Scymniscus horioni (Fürsch, 1965)] C28
Scymnus (Neopullus) ater Kugelann, 1794
Scymnus (Neopullus) haemorrhoidalis Herbst, 1797
Scymnus (Neopullus) limbatus Stephens, 1832
Scymnus (Parapullus) abietis (Paykull, 1798)
Scymnus (Pullus) auritus Thunberg, 1795
Scymnus (Pullus) ferrugatus (Moll, 1785)
[Scymnus (Pullus) fraxini Mulsant, 1850] C29
Scymnus (Pullus) impexus Mulsant, 1850
Scymnus (Pullus) subvillosus (Goeze, 1777)
Scymnus (Pullus) suturalis Thunberg, 1795
Scymnus (Scymnus) apetzi Mulsant, 1846
Scymnus (Scymnus) doriae Capra, 1924 C30
Scymnus (Scymnus) femoralis (Gyllenhal, 1827)
Scymnus (Scymnus) frontalis (Fabricius, 1787)
Scymnus (Scymnus) interruptus (Goeze, 1777)
[Scymnus (Scymnus) marginalis (P. Rossi, 1794)] C31
Scymnus (Scymnus) nigrinus Kugelann, 1794
Scymnus (Scymnus) rubromaculatus (Goeze, 1777)
Scymnus (Scymnus) schmidti Fürsch, 1958
Scymnus (Scymnus) suffrianioides apetzoides (Capra & Fürsch, 1967)
Stethorini Dobrzhanskiy, 1924
Stethorus (Stethorus) pusillus (Herbst, 1797)
C1) [Chilocorus similis (P. Rossi, 1790)]
Published data. 1,8)Aigle by Jaccard H. (
Comment. None of the numerous citations in the older literature are reliable, as none of them are supported by specimens in the examined collections. In the Paleartic region, C. similis is only known from Italy, but absent from Sardinia (
C2) Exochomus oblongus Weidenbach, 1859
Fig.
Examined material. 1 ex., GR, Eng. [Engadin], V. d’Uina, VII.1972, leg. Toumayeff G.,
Comment. This very rare species which develops on pines (probably Pinus mugo Turra in Switzerland) and perhaps also on spruce (Picea spp.) and juniper (Juniperus spp.) in peat bogs, is only present in Germany (Bavarian region and Baden-Württemberg), in Austria and Italy (Tyrol), and very sporadically in Czech Republic, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Only one specimen was found in Switzerland in the canton of Grisons at 1800 meters above the sea level, close to the Tyrol region. Considered as belonging to the Swiss fauna, the species has not been found in Switzerland for 50 years, and further research is necessary to identify a real native population.
C3) Parexochomus nigromaculatus (Goeze, 1777)
Fig.
Examined material. 7 ex., Bern, leg. Benteli F., det. Kreissl E.,
Published data. 1)Genf by Chevrier F. (
Comment. Parexochomus nigromaculatus is widely distributed in Europe. It is known from all France and Corsica (
C4) [Cryptolaemus montrouzieri montrouzieri Mulsant, 1853]
Examined material. 8)11 ex., Suisse, Lucerne, Grossdietwil, IV.1993, leg. & det. Andermatt Biocontrol Suisse AG,
Comment. This Australian species is now established in the Paleartic region after several introductions on the continent for biological control of mealybugs (Hemiptera, Pseudococcidae) (
C5) Rhyzobius forestieri (Mulsant, 1853)
Examined material. 1 ex., Brissago TI, 3.VII.2022, leg. & coll. Chittaro Y.; 1 ♂, Mendrisio TI, 5.VII.2022, leg. & coll. Chittaro Y.
Comment. Rhyzobius forestieri is a species of Australian origin imported in Europe in the 1980s for the biological control of the Olive Scale Saissetia oleae (Olivier, 1791) (Hemiptera, Coccidae) (Katsoyannos 1984). In Switzerland’s neighboring countries, it is acclimatized since 1987 in France (
C6) Rhyzobius lophanthae (Blaisdell, 1892)
Fig.
Examined material. 1 ex., CH, TI, Lugano, Mt. Brè-Vetta, 11.–20.VII.1983, leg. Rezbanyai-Reser L.,
Published data. Most of the data above in
Comment. The situation of this exotic species, now established in Switzerland, was extensively detailed in
C7) [Bulaea lichatschovii (Hummel, 1827)]
Examined material. 3,4,6,8)3 ex., Genève, leg. Poncy E., coll. Maerky C.,
Published data. 1,8)[Schweiz] by Heer O. (
Comment. This species is present in Africa and in the eastern Palearctic region and has been occasionally introduced in Central Europe (
C8) Calvia quindecimguttata (Fabricius, 1777)
Fig.
Examined material. 3)1 ex., Tessin, leg. Ghidini A., coll. Maerky C.,
Published data. 1)Genf and Vallorbes by Lasserre H., 1)Schaffhausen by Stierlin G. and 1)Wallis by Venetz I. (
Comment. Even though this species was frequently recorded from Switzerland in the old literature, only a small number of records can be reliably assigned to this species, confirming the presence of a few scattered populations within the country. Very rare and localized in Switzerland, this species was principally found in the south of the country, in the canton of Ticino, although one specimen was found in the canton of Luzern in 1980 using a light trap (the attraction by light was already noticed by Klausnitzer (2019,
C9) Ceratomegilla alpina redtenbacheri (Capra, 1928)
Fig.
Examined material. 1 ex., Suisse, Grisons, Val Mora, 3.VIII.1974, leg. Besuchet C., det. Fürsch H.,
Comment. Ceratomegilla alpina is represented by two subspecies in the Palearctic region: C. a. alpina is present in Austria, France (Alps), Italy (north), Liechtenstein and Switzerland, and C. a. redtenbacheri is present in Austria (Alps), Bosnia and Herzegovina (
C10) [Ceratomegilla (Ceratomegilla) rufocincta rufocincta (Mulsant, 1850)]
Published data. 1)Switzerland (
Comment. Ceratomegilla rufocincta is represented by two subspecies in Europe: C. r. rufocincta and C. r. doderoi. No specimens referring to the nominal subspecies were found in the controlled collections in Switzerland, but the alpine subspecies doderoi occurs in our country at high elevation.
C11) Coccinella (Chelonitis) venusta adalioides (Capra, 1944)
Fig.
Examined material. 1 ex., Kt. Wallis, Col de Fenêtre, VII.1903, leg. [Steck T.], coll. Linder A., ETH; 1 ex., Simplon VS, 26.VI.2013, leg. Marggi W., coll. Sanchez A.
Published data. Col de Fenêtre, VII.1903, coll. Steck T. (
Comment. This species is represented by two subspecies: C. venusta venusta (J. Weise, 1879) and C. venusta adalioides.
C12) Coccinella (Coccinella) trifasciata trifasciata Linnaeus, 1758
Fig.
Examined material. 1 ex., Helvet., leg. Anonymous, ETH; 2 ex., Stürvis, leg. & coll. Killias E.,
Published data. Morteratsch-Gletscher and am Paradies by Meyer-Dür R. L. (
Comment. In the Palearctic region, this species is only represented by the nominal subspecies, distributed in Austria, Belarus, Finland, Italy, Norway, Russia, Sweden and Switzerland. In this last country, C. trifasciata trifasciata is rare and localized and seemed restricted to the east, where it was not found for more than 30 years. Nevertheless, it was found in 2022 in an alpine meadow located at 2640 m, in the region of Zermatt, located much further west. Little information is available concerning its ecology except for its presence at high altitude in Switzerland.
C13) [Coccinella (Spilota) undecimpunctata undecimpunctata Linnaeus, 1758]
Examined material. 3)1 ex., Genève, Sierne, leg. & coll. Maerky C.,
Published data. 1)Suisse (
Comment. All examined specimens belong to problematic collections that should not be considered (see
C14) Oenopia impustulata (Linnaeus, 1767)
Fig.
Examined material. 5 ex., Katz. [Katzensee], leg. & coll. Hugentobler H., ETH; 2 ex., Genève, La Batie, VI.1949, leg. & coll. Toumayeff G.,
Published data. 1)[Schweiz] by Heer O. (
Comment. This species is rare in Central Europe. In France, it is present in the Rhône Valley, in Alsace and in Seine-et-Loire (
C15) [Chnootriba elaterii (P. Rossi, 1794)]
Examined material. 3,4,6,8)1 ex., Genève, Chancy, leg. & coll. Maerky C.,
Published data. 1,8)Switzerland (
Comment. This phytophagous species living on Cucurbitaceae and Solanaceae is known from Europe, North Africa and Western Asia. In France, it is only found in Corsica (
C16) [Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata (Fabricius, 1775)]
Published data. 1,8)[Schweiz] by Heer O. (
Comment. Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata is a species native to Asia which is not present in Central Europe. Despite several publications announcing it from Switzerland, no specimen was found in the collections examined.
C17) Hyperaspis (Hyperaspis) concolor (Suffrian, 1843)
Fig.
Examined material. 1 ♀, Kt. Tessin, Taverne, VI.1938, leg. & coll. Linder A., ETH; 1 ex., Tessin, Biasca, 30.VII.1948, leg. Wolf J.-P., ETH; 1 ex., Kt. Tessin, Mendrisio, VI.1949, leg. & coll. Linder A., ETH; 1 ♂, Kt. Graubünden, Grono, V.1952, leg. & coll. Linder A., ETH; 1 ex., TI, Stabio, 18.VI.1971, leg. Spälti A., det. Klaunitzer B.,
Published data. Switzerland (
Comment. Hyperaspis concolor is a rare and localized species in Europe. In the neighbouring countries, it is known from France (from the Mediterranean region, from Paris (Bois de Boulogne) and from Indre-et-Loire (
C18) [Hyperaspis (Hyperaspis) erythrocephala (Fabricius, 1787)]
Published data. 1,8)Switzerland, uncertain data (
Comment. Hyperaspis erythrocephala is a rare and thermophilic species present in Central-Eastern Europe in Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. Its presence is considered uncertain in Germany and Switzerland by
C19) Hyperaspis (Hyperaspis) peezi Fürsch, 1976
Fig.
Examined material. 1 ♂, Sierre, 22.VII., leg. Favre E.,
Comment. Hyperaspis peezi is a very rare and localized species, only known from southeastern France and Corsica (
C20) Hyperaspis (Hyperaspis) pseudopustulata Mulsant, 1853
Fig.
Examined material. 1 ♂, Helvetia, Ticino, Medeglia, torbiera Boscior, 6.V.1992, leg. Rampazzi F.,
Published data. Switzerland, uncertain data (
Comment. The presence of this species in Switzerland is supported by only one male captured in 1992 in a peat bog in the canton of Ticino in the south of the country. The identification of the specimen from Geneva (Allondon) has not been confirmed for the moment and a misidentification with H. reppensis remains possible without the observation of the male genitalia. H. pseudopustulata is widely distributed in Central Europe (
C21) [Hyperaspis (Hyperaspis) quadrimaculata (Redtenbacher, 1843)]
Examined material. 3,4,6,8)1 ex., Veyrier, leg. Maerky C.,
Published data. 1,8)[Schweiz] (
Comment. This species is only distributed in Eastern Europe: Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Greece, Romania and Slovakia. The only specimen with “a Swiss label” belongs to the problematic collection of Charles Maerky, which should not be considered (
C22) [Novius cardinalis (Mulsant, 1850)]
Examined material. 17 ex., Tessin, Locarno, 6.VIII.1946, leg. & coll. Simonet J.,
Published data. 15 ex., Locarno, 6.VIII.1945, leg. Simonet J. and 10 ex., Locarno, IX.1951 (
Comment. Novius cardinalis is an Australian species which has been introduced in many countries in the World (including Europe) for the biological control of Icerya purchasi Maskell, 1879 (Hemiptera, Monophlebidae), an important pest of citrus trees (
C23) Clitostethus arcuatus (P. Rossi, 1794)
Fig.
Examined material. 2 ex., Kt. Waadt, Clarens, III.1944, II.1945, leg. & coll. Linder A., ETH; 1 ex., Préverenges, 6.VI.1950, leg. & coll. Besuchet C.,
Published data. 1)Basel by Imhoff L. (
Comment. Clitostethus arcuatus is a Mediterranean species which has expanded its range northward into Central Europe in recent decades, probably possible due to the effects of global warming (
C24) Nephus (Bipunctatus) bisignatus (Fürsch, 1984)
Fig.
Examined material. 2 ♂, 1 ♀, 3 ex., Davos, Seeh. [Seehorn], 6.XI.1935, leg. Wolf J.-P., ETH; 1 ♂, Filisur, 1.III.1936, leg. Wolf J.-P., ETH; 1 ♂, Davos, 29.III.1936, leg. Wolf J.-P., ETH; 2 ♂, 1 ♀, 2 ex., Davoser Tal, Se. [Seehorn], 24.X.1936, leg. Wolf J.-P., ETH; 1 ♂, 1 ♀, Davos, Seeh. [Seehorn], 13.X.1937, leg. Wolf J.-P., ETH; 1 ♂, Gola di Lago, 8.VIII.1962, leg. & coll. Scherler P.,
Published data. Switzerland (without mention of the subspecies) (
Comment. Nephus bisignatus is represented in the Palearctic region by two subspecies: N. b. bisignatus (Boheman, 1850) distributed in the Azores, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Great Britain, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia and Sweden and N. b. claudiae present in Austria, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands and Sweden (
C25) [Nephus (Bipunctatus) kiesenwetteri (Mulsant, 1850)]
Examined material. 3,4,6,8)1 ex., Suisse, Tessin, leg. Odier J., det. Fürsch H., coll. Maerky C.,
Comment. In Europe, this species is only present in the Mediterranean region: France (only Corsica), Italy (mainland, Sardinia and Sicily), Malta and Spain (mainland and Balearic Islands) (
C26) [Nephus (Nephus) binotatus (C. N. F. Brisout de Barneville, 1863)]
Examined material. 3,4,6,8)1 ex., Tessin, leg. Ghidini A., det. Fürsch H., coll. Maerky C.,
Comment. The only specimen cited here belongs to the problematic collection of C. Maerky (see
C27) Scymniscus anomus (Mulsant & Rey, 1852)
Fig.
Examined material. 1 ♂, Helv., Ticino, Gerre di Losone, leg. & coll. Focarile A., det. Canepari C.,
Comment. Scymniscus anomus is a Mediterranean species only known from the Mediterranean region (and Corsica) in France (
C28) [Scymniscus horioni (Fürsch, 1965)]
Published data. 1,8)Switzerland, uncertain data (
Comment. This species, known in Europe from Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Italy and Slovakia, is not considered indigenous to Switzerland on the basis of the available data: only one publication announces it for Switzerland, without any specimen referring to this species in the examined collections. Moreover,
C29) [Scymnus (Pullus) fraxini Mulsant, 1850]
Examined material. 3,4,6,8)1 ex., Suisse, Tessin, leg. Odier J., det. Fürsch H., coll. Maerky C.,
Comment. The only specimen labelled from Switzerland belongs to the problematic collection of C. Maerky (see
C30) Scymnus (Scymnus) doriae Capra, 1924
Fig.
Examined material. 1 ♂, 1 ♀, 1 ex., Helvetia, Ticino, Magadino, leg. & coll. Focarile A.,
Comment. Scymnus doriae, originally described from Florence, is a rare species known from the Mediterranean Region and Corsica in France (
C31) [Scymnus (Scymnus) marginalis (P. Rossi, 1794)]
Examined material. 3,4,6)1 ex., Genève, leg. Melly A., det. Fürsch H., coll. Maerky C.,
Published data. 1,4,6)[Schweiz] by Stierlin G. (
Comment. All Swiss literature records are very old and not verifiable, while the three specimens examined belong to the problematic collection of C. Maerky (see
This commented list on the Swiss Coccinellidae is in keeping with other syntheses on various beetle families published in the past years (see for exemple
Coccinellidae are represented by 81 species (82 taxa) in Switzerland, which represent about 80% of all known species in Central Europe (
Although there is no red list of Coccinellidae in Switzerland, several species seem to show strong decline in Switzerland or are maybe already extinct (?). This is particularly the case for several species linked to wetlands, like Parexochomus nigromaculatus and Calvia quindecimguttata, that have not been found in Switzerland for more than 40 years. As for other insect groups linked to wetlands (
Ladybirds are polyphagous but are mainly predators of phytophagous insects (
From a conservation point of view, it can be said that Switzerland harbors several rare and highly specialized species or subspecies that only occur at high altitudes in the Alps. This is the case for Ceratomegilla rufocincta doderoi, C. alpina alpina, C. alpina redtenbacheri, Coccinella trifasciata trifasciata or C. venusta adalioides, which are regularly found above 2000 m. Other species are very rare in Europe, like Exochomus oblongus or Hyperaspis peezi, and Switzerland plays an important role in the conservation of these species.
In the future, other species could be found in Switzerland, especially cosmopolitan species introduced in Europe for biological control, or southern species that would benefit from global warming to extend their distribution to the north.
We would like to acknowledge Claude Besuchet (1930–2020) who managed to get a large number of Swiss specimens identified or verified by European specialists during the course of his work on the Catalogue of Swiss Coleoptera, which was unfortunately left unfinished.
Special thanks are due to Oldřich Nedvěd (CZ-České Budějovice) and Johan Bogaert (B-Mechelen) for their helpful advice on some of the above-mentioned species. Finally, we are grateful to Stève Breitenmoser (AGRO), Bernhard Klausnitzer (D-Dresden), Jessica Litman (
We are also thankful to all the Swiss museum curators, who have welcomed us so often and so kindly within their institutions over the past few years, as well as all the active coleopterists whose expertise enriched our understanding of the distribution of these species in Switzerland.