Elbelus tripunctatus Mahmood, 1967

(Figs 8 A–O, 14M–P)

Elbelus tripunctatus Mahmood, 1967: 13, Pl. 1, Fig. 2. DWORAKOWSKA (1972): 107, Figs 12–15, 19–25; DWORAKOWSKA (1979a): 5; SONG & LI (2014): 55.

Elbelus melianus Kuoh, 1992: 120, Fig.1. SONG & LI (2014):55. Syn. nov.

Material examined. CHINA: HAINAN: 2 ♁♁, Mt. Wuzhi, 600 m, 3.iv.2008, Qiulei Men leg.; 1 ♁, Mt. Wuzhi, 720 m, 31.vii.2009, Xia Gao leg.; 1 ♁ 1 ♀, Mt. Yingge, 320 m, 7.viii.2009, Xia Gao leg. FUJIAN: 2 ♁♁ 3 ♀♀, Mt. Wuyi, Sangang, 780 m, 14.viii.2008, Xia Gao & Xiaoting Li leg.; 11 ♀♀, same data as former except Bin Xiao leg. YUNNAN: 1 ♁, Menglun, 24.iv.1982, Jingruo Zhou & Sumei Wang leg.; 1 ♁, Menglun, 700 m, 26.vii.2005, light trap, Lin Lv leg.; 1 ♁, Menglun, 600m, 24.v.2009, light trap, Wei Cui leg.; 19 ♁♁, Daluo, 700 m, 7.v.2009, Libin Ma leg.; 7 ♁♁, same data as former except Wei Cui leg.; 12 ♁♁, Mengla, Longmen, 930 m, 17–20.v.2009, light trap, Wei Cui leg.; 5 ♁♁, Jinghong, Yaoqu, 800 m, 28–30.v.2009, light trap, Wei Cui leg.; 1 ♁, Jinping, 1900 m, 10.vi.2009, light trap, Wei Cui leg.; 5 ♁♁, Jinghong, Guanping village, 29.viii.2010, light trap, Meng Zhang leg.; 39 ♁♁, Jinghong, Yexianggu, light trap, Meng Zhang leg.; 54 ♁♁, Jinghong, Bubeng village, 3–4.ix.2010, light trap, Meng Zhang leg.; 15 ♁♁, Yingjiang, Nabang, 24°45 ′ 45 ″ N, 97°33 ′ 56 ″ E, 284 m, 2–3.v.2012, Yanghui Cao leg. (all NWAU).

Remarks. KUOH (1992) described E. melianus as a new species based on the following differences from E. tripunctatus and E. yunnanensis Chou & Ma, 1981: abdomen black; pygofer side provided with a long triangular lamella dorsally; dorso-apical process of the subgenital plate different; style with a curved, finger-like process near middle; apex of the aedeagal shaft not expanded. However, comparison of the drawings between E. melianus and E. tripunctatus indicated there were only slight differences in the processes on the subgenital plate and the style, and the other parts of the male genitalia were almost identical. In our study, we found that the dorso-apical process on the subgenital plate (Figs 11 H–K) is variable intraspecifically in E. tripunctatus; therefore, this character is not suitable for distinguishing different species in Elbelus . For the difference of the process on the style (Figs 11F, L), we speculate it is due to the drawing from a different angle: for instance, the finger-like process can be hidden in the lateral view. Therefore, we suggest here E. melianus as a junior synonym of E. tripunctatus .

Host plants. Abutilon theophrasti (Malvaceae), Cannabis sativa (Cannabaceae), Gossypium sp. ( Malvaceae), Melia azedarach (Meliaceae) (KUOH 1992).

Distribution. China (Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Heilongjiang, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shanghai, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang) (KUOH 1992, SONG & LI 2014), India (SOHI & DWORAKOWSKA 1983), Thailand (MAHMOOD 1967), Vietnam (DWORAKOWSKA 1972).