Coelophora saucia (Mulsant)

(Figs 73, 74)

Lemnia saucia Mulsant, 1850: 380 (Lectotype, UCCC; Type locality: Nepal).— Gordon 1987: 18; Ren et al. 2009: 208; Yu 2010: 73.

Coelophora saucia: Poorani 2002a: 329 .

Coelophora swinhoeii Crotch, 1874: 149 (Lectotype, UCCC).—Synonymized by Iablokoff-Khnzorian 1982: 249; Gordon 1987: 18 (lectotype designation).

Lemnia melanota Mulsant, 1850: 381 (Lectotype female, HEC, OMNH; Type locality: India).—Synonymized and lectotype designated by Booth & Pope 1989: 359.

Diagnosis. Length: 5.80–6.80 mm; width: 4.50–6.00 mm. Form (Fig. 73a) circular, dorsum strongly convex and glabrous. Head black. Pronotum black except lateral one-third areas white in live specimens and yellowish in dead specimens, occasionally medially paler with only a posterior transverse black macula. Elytra shiny black, with two large, transverse blood red maculae in middle (Fig. 74c, d), sometimes elytra only partially black with anterior and anterolateral areas reddish, with discal reddish spots reduced in size (Fig. 74e, f) or almost completely black. Abdominal postcoxal line (Fig. 73b) incomplete; ventrite 5 posteriorly broadly emarginate and ventrite 6 slightly more deeply but narrowly emarginate in male (Fig. 73b), medially produced and arcuate, respectively, in female (Fig. 73c). Male genitalia (Fig. 73d–g) and spermatheca (Fig. 73h) as illustrated.

This species is similar in general appearance and coloration to C. biplagiata, from which it can be differentiated by the pronotal marking which extends along the lateral margin up to the middle and the genitalia.

Immature stages. Larva (Fig. 74a, b) as illustrated.

Distribution. India: Widely distributed (Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Karnataka, Kerala, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, West Bengal); Nepal; Myanmar; Thailand; China; The Philippines; Korea; Japan.

Prey / associated habitat. Aphidophagous on several commonly found aphids including Aphis gossypii, A. craccivora, and A. fabae (label data). Associated with whiteflies on coconut (label data).

Devi (1989) recorded it as a predator of Aphis kurosawai, Cavariella salicicola, Ceratovacuna lanigera, Cervaphis rappardi indica, Lipaphis pseudobrassicae (as L. erysimi), and Toxoptera citricida (Aphididae) in association with various host plants in northeastern India ( Solanum sp., Salix sp., Cucumis sativus, Vicia faba, Ageratum conyzoides, Brassica napus, Colocasia antiquorum, Gynura angulosa, Mangifera indica, Saccharum officinalis, Artemisia vulgaris, and Cajanus cajan).

Notes. As mentioned earlier, references to C. biplagiata from India most probably apply to C. saucia, as it is more commonly distributed, particularly in northeastern states. Illustrations of the habitus, life stages and the genitalia are given by Ren et al. (2009) and Yu (2010).