Genus Novius Mulsant

Nomius Mulsant, 1846: 213 . Type species: Nomius cruentatus Mulsant, 1846, by monotypy. Junior homonym of Nomius Laporte, 1835 .

Novius Mulsant, 1846: addenda et errata [p. 4]. Replacement name for Nomius Mulsant. Treated as synonym of Rodolia by Iqbal et al. 2018: 1104.

Rodolia Mulsant, 1850: 902 . Type species: Rodolia ruficollis Mulsant, 1850, by subsequent designation of Crotch 1874: 280.- Korschefsky 1931: 98; Sasaji 1971: 233; Gordon 1972: 25; Gordon 1985: 665; Chazeau 1991; Ślipiński 2007: 141.- Synonymized by Iqbal et al. 2018: 1104.- Pang et al. 2020: 4.

Macronovius Weise, 1885: 63 . Type species: Novius limbatus Motschulsky, 1866 (subgenus of Rodolia).- Weise 1895: 149 (synonym of Rodolia).- Sicard 1907: 68.

Eurodolia Weise, 1895: 149 . Type species: Eurodolia severini Weise, 1895, by monotypy. Synonymized by Ślipiński 2007: 141.

Anovia Casey, 1908: 408 . Type species: Scymnus virginalis Wickham, 1905, by monotypy. Synonymized by Iqbal et al. 2018: 1104.- Pang et al. 2020: 4.

Diagnosis. Body small to medium, broad oval to distinctly elongate oval, convex; dorsum uniformly blood red or reddish-testaceous or dull reddish brown, rarely with black spots and other fasciae or markings, densely pubescent with silvery to yellowish white hairs (including dense, short erect hairs on eyes). Antennae short with eight antennomeres. Labrum flat or concave, anteriorly feebly emarginate. Terminal maxillary palpomere broadly securiform. Prosternal process strongly raised above rest of prosternum, margined apically, densely pubescent. Tarsi trimerous. Abdomen with six visible ventrites, abdominal postcoxal line complete, usually shallowly semicircular. Elytral epipleura concave, shortly descending externally.

Immature stages. The eggs are yellowish (Fig. 1a) or bright reddish and are laid on or in the vicinity of the ovisac of the host scales or mealybugs. The larvae (Fig. 1b, c) are ellipsoidal or more elongate fusiform in outline, often fleshy, dark purplish brown, greyish purple, orange yellow or reddish or pinkish with sparse white powdery coating or sometimes with dense pruinosity on the dorsal surface, usually without prominent tubercles or spines. The pupa (Fig. 1d) is enclosed inside the last larval skin longitudinally split open in the middle and is similar to those in the tribes Chilocorini and Hyperaspidini .

Distribution. Novius has a cosmopolitan distribution but is predominant in the tropics of the Old World (Pang et al. 2020).

Biology. The host range of Noviini primarily includes giant scales belonging to the family Monophlebidae (= Margarodidae of earlier authors; Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha) and most of the known species are specialized predators of giant scales. Most of the available host records for Indian species pertain to the members of Monophlebidae, particularly the genus Icerya Signoret (Fig. 2a–f); besides, species belonging to other genera of Monophlebidae including Labioproctus Green (Fig. 2g), Hemaspidoproctus Morrison (Fig. 2h), Perissopneumon Newstead, and Drosicha Walker are also known to be hosts of Novius spp. (personal observations; label data). The common hosts of Indian species of Novius are illustrated in Fig. 2. Other hosts including cochineal scales, armored scales, mealybugs, and even aphids and mites (Causton 2004) have been recorded in association with Novius spp. in the literature, but these may be mere associations that may not include actual feeding or support the development of the immature stages (Pang et al. 2020). In India, some species of Novius are commonly associated with some mealybugs and rarely, with whiteflies (personal observations/label data).

Reflex bleeding, a common phenomenon observed in many Coccinellidae, is most conspicuous in Novius spp. and the adults secrete dark reddish reflex blood at the slightest disturbance (Fig. 1g, h). Upon dissection, inner contents of most of the species appear to be dark reddish or dark pinkish, most probably as a result of the coloration of their host insects, particularly Icerya spp., most of which are dark reddish and are known to sequester carminic acid from their prey (Daloze et al. 1994, Forrester 2008).

Indian species. Pang et al. (2020) in their world checklist of Novius recorded 17 species from this region of which N. limbatus and N. rufopilosus appear to be doubtful records for India. Novius manganensis (Singh, 2014), described from Sikkim, north-eastern India, is treated as nomen dubium and the type is also not traceable for confirmation and presumed to be lost.