Brachiacantha blandula (Weise) Gordon, Robert D., Canepari, Claudio & Hanley, Guy A., 2014

Gordon, Robert D., Canepari, Claudio & Hanley, Guy A., 2014, South American Coccinellidae (Coleoptera), Part XVI: systematic revision of Brachiacantha Dejean (Coccinellinae: Hyperaspidini), Insecta Mundi 2014 (390), pp. 1-76 : 35-36

26. Brachiacantha blandula (Weise) , new combination

Hyperaspis blandula Weise, 1902: 172 ; Korschefsky 1931: 185; Blackwelder 1945: 446.

Description. Male. Length 2.9 mm, width 2.4 mm; body oval, convex. Dorsal surface with head alutaceous, dull, pronotum alutaceous, feebly shiny, elytron slightly alutaceous, shiny. Color yellow except head black with yellow clypeus, pronotum black except anterior 1/10 and lateral 1/12 yellow; elytron with all margins black and 3 black spots, sutural margin with large, oval, discal spot, black border triangularly widened on apical declivity, humeral spot large, irregularly oval, apical spot large, irregularly rounded ( Fig. 146 ); ventral surface with head, prosternum, meso- and metaventrites black, legs 1 and 2 with outer 1/2 of tibia dark brown, leg 3 entirely dark brown; abdomen dark brown. Head punctures small, separated by a diameter or less, each puncture as large as an eye facet; pronotal punctures slightly larger than head punctures, separated by less than to twice a diameter, elytral punctures as large as on pronotum, separated by 1 to 3 times a diameter; metaventral punctures larger than on elytron, separated by a diameter or less medially, separated by less than to 3 times a diameter laterally. Clypeus weakly emarginate apically, lateral angle rounded, surface with sparse, long pubescence. Eye canthus about 6 eye facets long, slightly angled forward, apically rounded, brown. Pronotum narrowed from base to apex, basal and anterior angles abrupt, lateral margin weakly rounded, basal margin without trace of bordering line medially. Epipleuron narrow, slightly grooved, not descending externally, deeply emarginate for reception of femoral apices. Protibia narrowly flanged, flange narrower than remainder of protibia, outer margin straight, smooth, basal tooth small, about 1/6 width of tibia at base, sponda slightly extended beyond protibial flange. Carinae on prosternal process widely separated at apex, convergent toward base, joined slightly anterior to middle of prosternum. Metaventrite without setal tuft. Basal abdominal ventrite without setal tuft. Abdomen with postcoxal line on basal abdominal ventrite slightly flattened along posterior ventrite margin, extended forward at apex, ventrite with sparse, long pubescence and small, dense punctures; ventrites 2–6 pubescent throughout, punctures fine, dense; ventrite 3 without cusp on each side of middle; 5th ventrite slightly depressed in median 1/3, apex broadly, weakly emarginate; 6th ventrite depressed medially, apex deeply emarginate. Apical tergite densely punctured, apex slightly emarginate. Genitalia with basal lobe longer than paramere, symmetrical, sides convergent from base to apex, narrowed in apical 1/3, apex rounded; paramere short, Psc, wide, same width throughout, apex rounded ( Fig. 147, 148 ); sipho robust, strongly curved in basal 1/2, with large lateral alae immediately posterior to apex, basal capsule heavily sclerotized, inner arm short, narrow, apex rounded, outer arm wider and longer than inner arm, with accessory piece, basal border not emarginate ( Fig. 149 ).

Female. Externally similar to male except genitalia with spermathecal capsule short, wide, narrowed from base to apex, apex with short, narrow extension; bursal cap oval, with arms not sclerotized, apical strut long, widened from base to rounded apex, flat in lateral view ( Fig. 150 ).

Variation. Length 2.6 to 3.0 mm, width 2.4 to 2.6 mm. Male head varies from entirely black to having apical 1/2 yellow, or entirely head yellow.

Type locality. Peru, Rio Toro.

Type depository. ZMHB (lectotype here designated).

Geographical distribution. Bolivia, Brazil, Peru.

Specimens examined. 9. Bolivia. Dept. S. Cruz; Prov. del Sara. Brazil. Chapada; Taquara. Peru. Chanchamayo, La Merced. ( CMNH) ( USNM) ( ZMHB).

Remarks. Brachiacantha blandula is in its own group, but has a dorsal color pattern similar to B. hazel . The patterns differ somewhat and male genitalia are distinctive for both species.

The lectotype female in the ZMHB is labeled “ Peru Rio Toro/ex. coll. J. Weise/TYPUS (red paper)/ Cleothera blandula m. (handwritten)/ SYNTYPUS Hyperaspis blandula Weise, 1902 labelled by MNHUB 2004 (red paper).” Two additional syntypes with the same labels, except for Weise’s hand written label, are designated paralectotypes.

Figures

Figures 139–156. 139–145. Brachiacantha jill. 139) Habitus. 140) Protibia. 141) Phallobase ventral. 142) Phallobase lateral. 143) Sipho. 144) Enlarged siphonal apex. 145). Female genitalia. 146–150. Brachiacantha blandula. 146) Habitus. 147) Phallobase ventral. 148) Phallobase lateral. 149) Sipho. 150) Female genitalia. 151–156. Brachiacantha april. 151) Habitus. 152) Phallobase ventral. 153) Phallobase lateral. 154) Sipho. 155) Enlarged siphonal apex. 156) Female genitalia.