Diversity of Ladybird Beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) in Tenerife and La Gomera (Canary Islands): The Role of Size and Other Island Characteristics

This paper provides new data on the ladybird beetles (Coccinellidae) from two islands in the Canary archipelago: Tenerife, the largest island, and La Gomera, the second smallest. As they clearly differ in size but are similar in location and geological age, they are a suitable model for testing the species-area relationship. Our study shows that, in line with this main assumption of the theory of island biogeography, clearly more species occur on a large island (Tenerife) than on a small one (La Gomera). The field surveys documented the occurrence of 35 ladybird species on Tenerife (including 5 not previously reported from this island) and of 20 species on La Gomera (2 species new to the island).