Platynaspis saundersii Crotch

(Figs 8, 9)

Platynaspis saundersii Crotch, 1874: 197 .

Platynaspis saundersii: Korschefsky 1932: 235 .— Bielawski 1959: 107.

Platynaspidius saundersii: Miyatake 1985: 11 .

Platynaspidius saundersi: Poorani 2002: 315 .—Hayat et al. 2014: 140; Maqbool et al. 2020: 166.

Diagnosis. Length: 2.30–2.76 mm; width: 1.85–2.22 mm. Form (Figs 8a, 9f) short oval, dorsum convex and pubescent with white hairs. Head black. Pronotum black, except anterolateral corners yellow. Scutellar shield black. Elytra bright red or orange yellow to reddish brown, with nine black spots arranged in a 1-1/2-2-1 pattern on each elytron, one common spot just below scutellar shield, suture with a black stripe; occasionally elytral spots medially joined. Male genitalia (Fig. 8f–h), female genitalia (Fig. 8d) and spermatheca (Fig. 8e) as illustrated.

Immature­stages. The larva (Fig. 9a, b) is dorsoventrally flattened and dark brownish with paler areas on the mid-dorsal and lateral areas. Pupation takes place in small groups (Fig. 9c). The larvae and pupae have a striking resemblance to the type found in Aspidimerini .

Material­examined. INDIA: Himachal Pradesh: Nauni, Solan, iv.1987, Parkesh, K., Host: beans (1M, 1F); Katrain, 14.xi.87, A.K. Gupta, Host: Cauliflower (1M) (NBAIR). Many specimens without collection data received for identification .

Distribution. India: North-western and north-eastern regions (Himachal Pradesh; Jammu & Kashmir; Meghalaya; Uttarakhand; Uttar Pradesh). Pakistan. Nepal. Bhutan. Afghanistan.

Prey/associated­ habitat. It is the only fairly well-known species of Platynaspis from the Indian region. It is widely collected as an aphid predator from different parts of north-western India and Pakistan. It is a common predator of Aphis pomi De Geer and scale insects on apple, pear and wild apple in north-western India (Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh) and Pakistan (Rafi et al. 2005; Khan et al. 2009; Hayat & Khan 2014; Shah & Khan 2014; Maqbool et al. 2020). Recorded hosts include: Adelges sp. (Adelgidae), Aphis gossypii Glover, A. pomi (Aphididae); Comstockaspis perniciosa (Comstock) (Diaspididae) . Collected on cauliflower, beans, pine, and Cnicus sp.; Acyrthosiphon pisum, Aphis gossypii, Aphis craccivora Koch, Aphis ruborum Börner, Chaitophorus sp. from Pakistan (Irshad, 2001). Collected on apple and Solanum nigrum in Himachal Pradesh (Sharma et al. 2017); collected on apple, pear and wild apple in Jammu & Kashmir (Kundoo et al. 2018). On cauliflower, beans (label data).

Collected during May-August (eastern India); April-June, and October-November (Himachal Pradesh) (label data). In Kashmir, adults were observed to emerge in May and started overwintering in November (Maqbool et al. 2020); collected during May–September in Kashmir, India (Kundoo et al. 2018).