Chilocorus melas Weise

POORANI, J., 2023, An illustrated guide to the lady beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) of the Indian Subcontinent. Part II. Tribe Chilocorini, Zootaxa 5378 (1), pp. 1-108 : 52

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.5378.1.1

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:68976F75-EC46-480B-AB8A-061B1441A958

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11067919

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03C44153-FF9F-FF9E-FF77-FE64FBE6FA4F

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Plazi (2023-11-27 08:46:38, last updated 2024-11-29 10:31:38)

scientific name

Chilocorus melas Weise
status

 

Chilocorus melas Weise

( Figs 37 View FIGURE 37 , 38 View FIGURE 38 )

Chilocorus melas Weise, 1898: 229 .

Chilocorus melas : Korschefsky 1932: 243; Booth 1998: 364; Poorani 2002: 311; Pang et al. 2004: 28; Kovář 2007: 593; Ren et al. 2009: 132; Li et al. 2018: 9 View Cited Treatment .

Chilocorus gressitti Miyatake, 1970a: 330 .— Hoáng 1983: 18. Synonymized by Booth 1998: 364.

Diagnosis. Length: 3.10–3.80 mm; width: 2.90–3.70 mm. Form ( Fig. 37a–c View FIGURE 37 ) round, dorsum hemispherical and strongly convex. Head dark brown to blackish with an anterior yellowish brown area in females, largely yellowish in males; pronotum almost wholly blackish to dark brownish or piceous (only anterior margin lighter brown), parts of ventral side also blackish or piceous; elytra finely punctate, sides of elytra with generally slightly coarser and more strongly impressed punctures than those on disk. Abdominal postcoxal line incomplete ( Fig. 37d View FIGURE 37 ). Male genitalia ( Fig. 37e–h View FIGURE 37 ) diagnostic, as illustrated. Female genitalia ( Fig. 37i View FIGURE 37 ) and spermatheca ( Fig. 37j View FIGURE 37 ) as illustrated.

It can be separated from C. nigrita , the most widespread Indian species, by the more or less completely black head and pronotum, the stronger and coarser punctation on the sides of the elytra and the male genitalia ( Booth 1998).

Life stages. Life stages ( Fig. 38 View FIGURE 38 ) as illustrated, larva ( Fig. 38a View FIGURE 38 ) distinct from C. nigrita in having a dark head and two transverse black bands, one anterior and one posterior.

Distribution. India: Limited to north-eastern region (Sikkim; West Bengal). Bhutan. Thailand. Vietnam. Malaysia. Indonesia. China ( Booth, 1998).

Prey/associated habitat. Hemiptera : Coccidae : Coccus viridis (Green) on citrus (label data).

Seasonal occurrence. Collected during March.

Notes. This species belongs to the nigrita -species group and is similar to C. nigrita in general appearance except for the coloration of the head and pronotum. It was originally described from Indonesia (Java) and it has a very limited distribution in the Indian mainland and is confined to the north-eastern region. For more detailed description / illustrations, see Miyatake (1970a) (as C. gressitti ), Booth (1998) and Li et al. (2018).

Booth, R. G. (1998) A review of the species resembling Chilocorus nigrita (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae): potential agents for biological control. Bulletin of Entomological Research, 88 (4), 361 - 367. https: // doi. org / 10.1017 / S 0007485300042115

Hoang, D. N. (1983) Coccinellidae of Vietnam. Part. 2. Nha zuat ban khoa hoc va ky thuat, Hanoi, 159 pp. [in Vietnamese with English summary]

Korschefsky, R. (1932) Coleopterorum Catalogus. Pars 120. Coccinellidae II. W. Junk, Berlin, 435 pp.

Kovar, I. (2007) Coccinellidae. In: Lobl, I. & Smetana, A. (Eds.), Catalogue of Palaearctic Coleoptera. Vol. 4. Elateroidea, Derodontoidea, Bostrichoidea, Lymexyloidea, Cleroidea, Cucujoidea. Apollo Books, Stentrup, pp. 71 - 74 + 568 - 630.

Li, W. J., Huo, L. Z., Wang, D., Ahrens, D. & Wang, X. M. (2018) Contribution to the genus Chilocorus Leach, 1815 (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae: Chilocorini), with descriptions of two new species from China. European Journal of Taxonomy, 469, 1 - 34. https: // doi. org / 10.5852 / ejt. 2018.469

Miyatake, M. (1970 a) The East-Asian coccinellid beetles preserved in the California Academy of Sciences. Tribe Chilocorini. Memoirs of the College of Agriculture, Ehime University, 14 (3), 303 - 340.

Pang, H., Ren, S. X., Zeng, T. & Pang, X. F. (2004) Biodiversity and their utilization of Coccinellidae in China. Science and Technology Press of Guangdong, Guangzhou, 168 pp. [in Chinese]

Poorani, J. (2002) An annotated checklist of the Coccinellidae (Coleoptera) (excluding Epilachninae) of the Indian Subregion. Oriental Insects, 36, 307 - 383. https: // doi. org / 10.1080 / 00305316.2002.10417335

Ren, S. X., Wang, X. M., Pang, H., Peng, Z. Q. & Zeng, T. (2009) Colored pictorial handbook of ladybird beetles in China. Science Press, Beijing, 336 pp. [in Chinese]

Weise, J. (1898) Ueber bekannte und neue Coccinelliden. Archiv fur Naturgeschichte, Band I, 64, 225 - 238.

Gallery Image

FIGURE 37. Chilocorus melas Weise: a. adult, dorsal view; b. adult, lateral view; c. adult female, frontal view; d. abdomen, female; e–h. male genitalia: e. tegmen, lateral view; f. tegmen, ventral view; g. penis; h. penis apex; i. female genitalia; j. spermatheca.

Gallery Image

FIGURE 38. Chilocorus melas Weise: a. larva; b–d. adult (Photo credit: Rojeet Thangjam).

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Coleoptera

Family

Coccinellidae

SubFamily

Coccinellinae

Tribe

Chilocorini

Genus

Chilocorus