Propylea Mulsant

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 : 240-242

Genus Propylea Mulsant

Propylea Mulsant, 1846: 147 , 152.

Type species: Coccinella quatuordecimpunctata Linnaeus, 1758 , by monotypy.

Oenopia (Pania) Mulsant, 1850: 420 . Type species: Oenopia (pania) luteopustulata Mulsant , by subsequent designation of Iablokoff-Khnzorian 1979.—Synonymized by Vandenberg & Gordon 1991: 32.

Pania: Iablokoff-Khnzorian 1979: 58 ; 1982: 121.

Diagnosis. Form oblong oval, convex. Inner margin of eyes more or less straight, interocular distance more than twice the eye width. Antenna with terminal antennomere rather elongate and oval-shaped. Anterior inner corners of prothoracic hypomera with a deep, oval impression / fovea to accommodate the antennal club. Anterior margin of mesoventrite with a deep, V-shaped median emargination. Abdominal postcoxal line incomplete without an associated line. Female genitalia with much reduced and short styli, infundibulum in the form of a lightly sclerotized piece of bursa at origin of sperm duct; spermatheca with poorly differentiated ramus and nodulus.

Distribution. Mainly distributed in the Palaearctic and Oriental region.

Affinities. Propylea is a distinctive genus and Tomaszewska et al. (2021) placed it in the Synonycha- group of genera and recovered it in a strongly supported clade comprising Alloneda and Coelophora (in part).

Included species. Three species, Propylea quatuordecimpunctata (Mulsant) , P. dissecta (Mulsant) , and P. luteopustulata (Mulsant) , are found in this region, the first being rare and apparently confined to the colder parts of northwestern region. Propylea japonica (Thunberg) has been reported from India but remains an unverified record for mainland India. The species of Propylea are somewhat similar in external appearance and the elytral pattern is often highly variable. The nominate forms of P. japonica , P. dissecta , and P. quatuordecimpunctata , have a characteristic yellow and black ‘checkerboard pattern’ on the elytra. The male genitalia are also very similar, with only small differences and need to be studied for accurate diagnosis.