AbstractField studies of predators onAulacaspis tegalensis(Zhnt.) and laboratory breeding experiments, supplemented by taxonomic studies, showed thatChilocorus discoideusCrotch andC. bilineataKorsch. are junior synonyms ofC. schioedteiMuls. and that two other forms, originally described as ‘aberrations’, may also belong to this species. Similarly,C. erythrocephalusMuls. andC. solitusWeise are junior synonyms ofC. distigma(Klug).C. rufoplagiatussp. n., allied toC. distigma, is described from the shores of Lake Victoria, and the Oriental speciesC. nigritus(F.) is recorded from the African mainland for the first time.C. distigmais found in the savanna and steppe areas of Africa andC. schioedteiin the forest and adjoining zones. Comparative studies suggest that, althoughC. schioedteihas a higher fecundity, it is not displaced byC. distigmaas, unlike the latter, it is unable to breed under hot dry conditions. Comparison of host records for these two species show thatC. distigmais not restricted to feeding on Diaspididae, as isC. schioedtei, but that otherwise the range of hosts and associated plants is similar for both species. The potential of these species andC. nigritusfor use in biological control is discussed and it is suggested thatC. schioedteiis only suitable for trial in tropical areas without a dry season, but thatC. distigmaandC. nigritusmay be useful under a wider range of conditions.