Illeis bistigmosa (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 : 159-161

Illeis bistigmosa (Mulsant)

( Fig. 113 )

Psyllobora bistigmosa Mulsant, 1850: 168 (Type locality: Penang, Malaysia).

Thea bistigmosa: Crotch 1874: 135 .

Illeis bistigmosa: Bielawski 1961a: 366 ; Iablokoff-Khnzorian 1982: 288; Poorani & Lalitha 2018: 112.

Diagnosis. Length: 2.50–3.50 mm; width: 2.10–3.20 mm. Form ( Fig. 113a, b ) elongate oval, broadest around middle; dorsum moderately convex and glabrous. Head and pronotum yellow, pronotum with a pair of large black spots on posterior margin on either side of scutellum, lateral margins transparent. Elytra yellow to yellowish brown, lateral margins transparent. Abdominal postcoxal line incomplete ( Fig. 113c ). Male genitalia ( Fig. 113d–f ) as illustrated.

Distribution. India: Northeastern region (Assam, Meghalaya); China.

Notes. It is closely related to I. bielawskii and appears to be slightly smaller in size. Kapur (1972) mentioned about examples of I. bistigmosa from southern India being smaller in size and lacking pronotal spots. Another pale creamy yellow species belonging to the bistigmosa complex, that is much smaller in size, also occurs in some parts of peninsular India and has very similar male genitalia. See Bielawski (1959, 1961), Yu (2010), Ren et al. (2009), and Poorani & Lalitha (2018) for more details / illustrations of I. bistigmosa .

Figures

FIGURE 113. Illeis bistigmosa (Mulsant): a, b. adult, dorsal view; c. abdominal postcoxal line; d–f. male genitalia: d. tegmen, lateral view; e. tegmen, ventral view; f. penis.