Brachiacantha bipartita Mulsant

Nestor-Arriola, Jorge Ismael, Toledo-Hernandez, Victor Hugo, Solis, Angel, Gonzalez, Guillermo & Vetrovec, Jaroslav, 2021, The Brachiacantha Dejean, 1837 (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae) of Central America, ZooKeys 1024, pp. 157-196 : 157

Brachiacantha bipartita Mulsant Figures 5 , 33-36

Brachyacantha bipartita Mulsant, 1850: 521. Crotch 1874: 211.

Brachyacantha westwoodii Gorham, 1894: 185 (in part). Leng 1911: 305 (in part).

Brachiacantha bipartita : Booth and Pope 1989: 369. Nestor-Arriola and Toledo-Hernández 2016: 826.

Material examined.

Costa Rica • 1♂ ; San José; 1000-1200 m. a. s. l.; Ago 1980; N. L. H. Krauss leg. (USNMNH) . Guatemala • 1♀; Antigua; Oct 1965; L. H. Krauss leg. (USNMNH) .

Diagnosis.

Body oval. Elytron orange. Head pale yellow in males, black in females. Males with pronotum black except lateral and anterior margins pale yellow to yellowish white (Fig. 5 ). Male genitalia with penis guide shorter than parameres, symmetrical, sides convergent at apical ⅓ (Fig. 34 ); parameres curved, wide at base, narrowed to apex, apex acute, setae arising from the apex and the convex side margin (Fig. 33 ); penis curved in basal ½, apex with long slender alae (Fig. 36 ), basal capsule crested, apex long and slender (Fig. 35 ).

Natural history.

This species has been collected on coffee plants ( Coffea sp.).

Distribution.

Mexico and Central America. New record to Costa Rica and Guatemala.

Discussion.

This species is easily recognizable by the orange elytra without maculation. The only species similar to B. bipartita is B. westwoodii , but B. westwoodii is much larger and has the pronotum almost entirely orange with only a basal black macula ( Nestor-Arriola and Toledo-Hernández 2016). The material was identified following the description of Mulsant (1850) and considering the information of Booth and Pope (1989).

Figures

Figures 5 - 8. Brachiacantha sp. 5 Brachiacantha bipartita, female 6 Brachiacantha aperta, female 7 Brachiacantha isthmena sp. nov. 8 Brachiacantha cachensis.

Figures 33 - 36. Brachiacantha bipartita, male genitalia 33 Tegmen, lateral view 34 Tegmen 35 Penis 36 Penis apex.