Sclerotia substriata (Gorham, 1880)

Ghosh, Srinjana, Sarkar, Subhankar Kumar & Chakraborty, Susanta, 2023, New distributional records of fireflies (Coleoptera, Lampyridae, Luciolinae) from two Eastern States of India with notes on their biology and an updated Indian checklist, Biodiversity Data Journal 11, pp. 98948-98948 : 98948

Sclerotia substriata (Gorham, 1880)

Materials

Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: Santu Paria; sex: 1 male; occurrenceID: E12FC091-3CE3-5559-AC50-16E014DDE237; Taxon : scientificName: Sclerotia substriata (Gorham, 1880); family: Lampyridae ; Location : country: India; countryCode: Ind ; stateProvince: West Bengal; locality: East Midnapore ; locality: Egra ; verbatimCoordinates: 21°53'60''N, 87°31'48'' E; Event : samplingProtocol: Hand picking; eventDate: 11-August-18; Record Level : collectionCode: VUEC-0065; basisOfRecord: Preserved Specimen Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: Srinjana Ghosh; sex: 3 males; occurrenceID: FA0BE07B-3E4F-5C41-A991-283E8E5A2060; Taxon : scientificName: Sclerotia substriata (Gorham, 1880); family: Lampyridae ; Location : country: India ; countryCode: Ind ; stateProvince: West Bengal; locality: Aamtala , South 24 Parganas ; verbatimCoordinates: 22°21'59'' N, 88°16'37''; Event : samplingProtocol: Net sweeping; eventDate: 14-September-19; Record Level : collectionCode: VUEC-0103, VUEC-0104, VUEC-0105; basisOfRecord: Preserved Specimen

Diagnosis

Length 8.4 mm; Width 3.8 mm; PN, MN and MS yellowish-orange, elytra light greyish-brown with its apices black tipped and lateral and sutural margins bright yellow, legs yellow with the apical parts of tibae and entire tarsi brownish-black (Fig. 12). Scl. substriata can be distinguished from Scl. aquatilis (the other known species of the genus from India) by the following set of male characters: V3, V4, V5 brownish-black (in case of Scl. aquatilis , V4 and V5 having dark brown patches along the posterior margin with the dark patch of V5 occupying approximately 2/3 of the part posteriorly), LO occupies the entire V6 and V7, with the V7 having a moderately deep (approximately 1/3 of V7 length) median emargination at its anterior margin (in case of Scl. aquatilis , a small median emargination at the anterior part of V7). Male genitalia (Fig. 13): Aedeagus L/W 2.1, aedeagal sheath sternite bears no oblique median ridge at posterior part and anteromedian margin of sheath tergite with rounded prolongation (in case of Scl. aquatilis , aedeagal sheath sternite having an oblique bar and a small median posterior emargination, anteromedian margin of sheath tergite emarginated); Sclerites (Fig. 13 a, b) - ventral sclerite almost circular with asymmetrically thickened ventral surface, a curved band lying in the middle; right sclerite bears anterior ventral projection which is hollow and apically rounded; at its side, there lies a curved anteriorly pointed projection, minute lateral projections become fused and lie behind and beneath both of ventral and right sclerites as a broad piece with irregular lateral margins; left sclerite has three lateral slender and pointed projections, the inner arm of median and posterior projections are curved and apically pointed.

Biology

Males of Scl. substriata were found in flight up to canopy heights of 6 to 7 metres and over macrophyte surfaces during nocturnal hours. On shining of a bright light, the individuals stop flying and drop. Females are macropterous. Metapneustic larvae are exclusively aquatic in nature and the later instars lack tracheal gills, while in initial instars, lateral bristles function as gills ( Fu and Ballantyne 2009). The 1st - 2nd instar larvae obtain dissolved oxygen through tracheal gills, whereas the 3rd - 6th instar back-swimmer larvae, without tracheal gills, swim just below the water surface and expose their abdominal segments to air to breath by their terminal spiracles ( Fu et al. 2005, Zheng et al. 2008). Adult individuals were found near aquatic sites.