Illeis indica Timberlake

(Fig. 119)

Illeis indica Timberlake, 1943: 61 (Holotype male, NHNM; Type locality: Lahore).—Bielawski 1961a: 364; Poorani 2002a: 334; Poorani & Lalitha 2018: 119.

Diagnosis. Length: 4.70–5.00 mm; width: 3.70–4.30 mm. It is similar to its other congeners, particularly I. confusa in coloration, but it can be readily separated by its distinctive, more elongate body (Fig. 119a–c) with the elytra conspicuously narrowed in posterior half. The male genitalia (Fig. 119e–h), especially penis with a bifid apex (Fig. 119g, h), are also diagnostic. Spermatheca (Fig. 119d) as illustrated.

Distribution. India: Northern and eastern regions (Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Odisha, Punjab, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Andaman Islands); Bangladesh; Pakistan; Thailand.

Prey/associated habitat. Feeds on powdery mildews infesting mulberry, Dalbergia sissoo, chillies, rose, and other plants (label data); powdery mildew on Lagerstroemia speciosa .

Seasonal occurrence. Collected during December (Bihar). April–May (Pakistan) (Hayat et al. 2017).

Notes. See Timberlake (1943), Bielawski (1961a) and Ghorpade (1976) for more detailed description / illustrations of the genitalia. Rahman et al. (1993) and Bhattacharjee et al. (1994) recorded it as feeding on mulberry powdery mildew caused by Phyllactinia corylea .