Protothea quadripunctata (Mulsant)

(Figs 181, 182a–d)

Thea quadripunctata Mulsant, 1853: 155 (Type locality: l’Asie? collect. Motschulsky”).

Thea quadripunctata: Mulsant 1866: 148; Crotch 1874: 134; Korschefsky 1932: 560.

Protothea quadripunctata: Mader 1933: 287; Iablokoff-Khnzorian 1982: 542; Poorani & Ślipiński 2005: 329.

Protothea indica Weise, 1910: 44 (Type locality: Sikkim, India).— Korschefsky 1932: 570. Synonymized by Mader 1933: 287.

Nedina mirabilis Hoang, 1984: 68 .—Synonymized by Poorani & Ślipiński 2005: 329.

Diagnosis. Length: 2.85–3.25 mm; width: 2.45–2.70 mm. Form short oval, dorsum moderately convex and glabrous except head pubescent with silvery white hairs. Ground colour of dorsal side bright yellow, head and pronotum creamy yellow, pronotum with a roughly M-shaped, indistinct pale brown marking in the middle, anterior and lateral margins transparent; each elytron with four black spots in the nominate form (Fig. 182b), spots fused to form larger maculae (Fig. 182c, d) or totally absent (Fig. 182a); elytral margins transparent. Ventral side yellow except mesepimeron creamy yellow, prosternal intercoxal process, mesoventral process, metaventrite, and median portion of abdominal ventrites 1 and 2 dark pitchy brown to black; prosternal intercoxal process occasionally paler in anterior half, luteous to reddish brown, with only apical and lateral borders dark pitchy brown to black. Prosternal intercoxal process (Fig. 181e) prominent, pyriform with long white hairs and a pair of marginal carinae. Male genitalia (Fig. 181k–m) and spermatheca (Fig. 181j) as illustrated.

Distribution. India: North-eastern region (Assam, Nagaland, Sikkim); Vietnam; Thailand; Myanmar.

Prey / associated habitat. Collected in association with Ceratovacuna lanigera Zehntner ( Hemiptera: Aphididae: Hormaphidinae) on sugarcane (label data).

Seasonal occurrence. Collected during November–December and February (label data).

Note. See Poorani & Ślipiński (2005) for detailed description with illustrations.