Horniolus fortunatus (Lewis, 1896)

Chen, Xiaosheng, Xie, Xiufeng, Ren, Shunxiang & Wang, Xingmin, 2016, A taxonomic review of the genus Horniolus Weise from China, with description of a new species (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae), ZooKeys 623, pp. 1-19 : 8

Taxon classification Animalia Coleoptera Coccinellidae

Horniolus fortunatus (Lewis, 1896) Figs 4, 7

Scymnus fortunatus Lewis, 1896: 38; Ohta 1929: 10.

Scymnus (Scymnus) fortunatus : Mader 1955: 939.

Scymnus (Pullus) fortunatus : Kamiya 1961: 308.

Horniolus fortunatus : Miyatake 1963: 8; Kamiya 1966: 71; Sasaji 1971: 118; Wei et al. 1985: 67; Pang et al. 2004: 89; Kovář 2007: 579.

Diagnosis.

This species closely resembles Horniolus dispar Weise in elytral pattern and male genitalia, but can be distinguished from it by having dark brown pronotum with black marking (Fig. 4a) and the penis guide distinctly shorter than paremeres ( Sasaji 1971).

Description.

TL: 2.83 mm, TW: 1.91 mm, TH: 1.24 mm, TL/TW: 1.48, PL/PW: 0.53, EL/EW: 1.08, HW/PW: 0.63, PW/EW: 0.75.

Body elongate oval, slightly convex, dorsum covered with white pubescence (Fig. 4 a–c). Head, antennae and mouthparts dark brown. Pronotum dark brown with black marking at middle. Scutellum black. Elytra black with four reddish brown, transverse spots, first pair distinctly sinuated, located before middle in anterior half; second pair smaller, constricted medially, located apical ¼ length of elytra. Prothoracic hypomeron dark brown. Prosternum dark brown to black. Mesoventrite, metaventrite and elytral epipleura black. Legs dark brown.

Head with fine frontal punctures, slightly larger than eye facets, 1.0-2.0 diameters apart. Eyes finely faceted, interocular distance 0.54 times head width. Pronotal punctures as large as those on frons, 1.0-2.0 diameters apart. Surface of elytra with punctures larger than those on pronotum, separated by 2.0-3.0 diameters. Prosternal carinae Y-shaped with stem 1/7 as long as arm, arms narrowly separated. Abdominal postcoxal lines strongly recurved and complete laterally (Fig. 4d), reaching 5/6 length of abdominal ventrite 1, area enclosed by lines coarsely and sparsely punctate, broadly smooth along line.

Male genitalia not studied in the present paper. According to the descriptions and illustrations given by Sasaji (1971: 118), the penis is stout and distinctly convergent apically; penis capsule with long inner arm and short outer arm; apex of penis simple without membranous appendage; tegmen stout with penis guide boat-shaped, widest at base, then tapering gradually to pointed apex in ventral view; parameres strongly curved at base, longer than penis guide, sparsely covered with long setae at apices.

Female externally similar to male except for sexual characters. Abdominal ventrite 5 with apex rounded. Coxites triangular, elongated, outer and inner margins almost straight, tapering to blunt apices, each with dense, long terminal setae (Fig. 4e). Spermatheca tubular, long and intricately coiled (Fig. 4e).

Material examined.

CHINA: Shaanxi: 1♀, Ningqiang County, 32°49.98'N, 106°14.46'E, ca 850 m, 7. VI. 1982, Collecter unknown (SCAU).

Distribution.

China (Shaanxi); Japan.

Remarks.

This species has variable pronotal colouration ( Miyatake 1963). Lewis (1896) described this species in the genus Scymnus Kugelann based on only one specimen from Japan. In his original description, Lewis found a Ceylonese species which closely resembled this species. Ohta (1929) listed this species under Scymnus (s. str.) without examining any specimens, and this treatment was followed by Mader (1955). Kamiya (1961) assigned this species to the subgenus Scymnus (Pullus) Mulsant due to the complete abdominal postcoxal line. He also indicated the peculiar character of prosternal carinae and described the male genitalia.