Calvia quatuordecimguttata (Linnaeus)

POORANI, J., 2023, An illustrated guide to lady beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) of the Indian Subcontinent. Part 1. Tribe Coccinellini, Zootaxa 5332 (1), pp. 1-307 : 62

Calvia quatuordecimguttata (Linnaeus)

( Fig. 40b–e )

Coccinella 14- guttata Linnaeus, 1758: 367 (Type locality: Europe).

Calvia quatuordecimguttata: Mulsant 1846: 140 ; Booth 1997: 926; Poorani 2002a: 323; Ren et al. 2009: 182.

Coccinella 12- maculata Gebler, 1832: 76 . Synonymized by Belicek 1976: 327.

Oenopia dorsonotata Mulsant, 1850: 424 . Synonymized by Booth & Pope 1989: 353.

Diagnosis. Length: 4.00–6.00 mm; width: 2.70–3.70 mm. Form oval, dorsum moderately convex, glabrous. Head and pronotum orange-yellow, head posteriorly black, pronotum with a pair of oval black, discal spots on either side of middle, scutellar shield yellow, apically darker; ground colour of elytra pinkish in live specimens ( Fig. 40b, c ), with 11 black spots arranged in a 3-4-3-1 pattern ( Fig. 40d, e ) as illustrated: each elytron with four black spots arranged in a 1-2-1 pattern, one large black macula on suture around scutellar shield, two more progressively smaller black spots on suture in apical third. Elytral coloration sometimes yellowish-brown with seven pale yellow spots arranged in a 1-3-2-1 pattern. Elytral punctures dense, uneven and of variable size, interspaces between punctures convex. Middle and hind tibiae with a pair of apical spurs. See Booth (1997) for male genitalia illustrations.

Distribution. India (Himachal Pradesh; West Bengal); Bhutan; Nepal; Tibet. Booth (1997) mentioned that ‘it is a widespread and variably coloured Holarctic species which just extends into the more northerly parts of the Indian Subcontinent’. Widely distributed in the Palaearctic region ( Kovář 2007).

Prey / associated habitat: Found feeding on psyllids and aphids on mulberry and pomelo trees ( Sajan et al. 2019).

Notes. It is not commonly collected. Booth (1997) included it in his key to Indian Calvia species and illustrated the male genitalia. Sajan et al. (2019) provided an illustrated account from Nepal.

Figures

FIGURE40. a.Calviasichuanica (Photo courtesy:Jaroslav Větrovec); b.Calvia quatuordecimguttata, live adult(Photocourtesy: K.C. Sajan, Nepal); c. live adult; d, e. Calvia quatuordecimguttata (BMNH); f, g. Calvia quindecimguttata (BMNH).