Phaenochilus kashaya Giorgi & Vandenberg, 2012

Giorgi, José Adriano & Vandenberg, Natalia J., 2012, Review of the lady beetle genus Phaenochilus Weise (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae: Chilocorini) with description of a new species from Thailand that preys on cycad aulacaspis scale, Aulacaspis yasumatsui Takagi (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha:, Zootaxa 3478, pp. 239-255 : 248

3. Phaenochilus kashaya Giorgi & Vandenberg , new species

Phaenochilus kashaya Giorgi & Vandenberg , current article (original description; adult habitus, morphological details, and male genitalia figured).

Phaenochilus punctifrons: Chunram & Sasaji 1980: 481 (provisional ID in a checklist of the Coccinellidae of Thailand) (misidentification); Chunram 2002: 112 (habitus photo) (misidentification), not Weise 1895.

Type material: Holotype, male ( USNM); paratypes (14 total), 8 males, 6 females (2, USNM; 2, AMNH; 2, CASC; 2, TDOA; 2, ECMP; 2, EUCJ; 2, IOZB). Type locality: THAILAND: Nakhon , Ratchasima, Sub Tao, N 14°29.45’ E 101°58.60’

Remarks: The broad oval parameres of the male genitalia ( Fig. 13) will distinguish this species from congeneric species with a similar yellow to reddish orange or ferrugineus coloration. Phaenochilus kashaya further differs from P. metasternalis in possessing narrow, weakly explanate elytral margins ( Figs 5, 27, 32–34), and from P. punctifrons in possessing a more expansive pronotum with the anterior pronotal margins on each side of the emargination subtruncate ( Figs 28, 31).

Chunram and Sasaji (1980) tentatively assigned a specimen from Chiang Mai Province to P. punctifrons , and subsequently published a photographic image of a specimen from the same locality in a book on the lady beetles of Thailand ( Chunram 2002), but we believe these records to be a misidentification of P. kashaya .