Chilocorus circumdatus (Gyllenhal)

POORANI, J., 2023, An illustrated guide to the lady beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) of the Indian Subcontinent. Part II. Tribe Chilocorini, Zootaxa 5378 (1), pp. 1-108 : 38

Chilocorus circumdatus (Gyllenhal)

( Figs 26–28 )

Coccinella circumdatus Gyllenhal , in Schönherr 1808: 152.

Chilocorus circumdatus : Mulsant 1850: 454; Crotch 1874: 186; Korschefsky 1932: 242; Hoáng 1983: 20; Poorani 2002: 311; Li et al. 2018: 15 .

Diagnosis. Length: 4.50–5.10 mm; width: 4.10–4.70 mm. Form broad oval to almost circular, dorsum hemispherical, strongly convex and glabrous. Dorsal side uniform bright orange-yellow to ochreous / reddish brown, lateral margins of elytra with a narrow black border, about 1/10 th of elytral width ( Fig. 26a–c ). Ventral side orange-yellow. Abdominl postcoxal line incomplete ( Fig. 26d ). Male genitalia ( Fig. 26g –j ), spermatheca ( Fig. 26f ) and coxites ( Fig. 26e ) as illustrated.

Life stages. Life stages ( Figs 27 , 28 ) as illustrated.

Distribution. India (Assam; Himachal Pradesh; Jammu & Kashmir; Karnataka; Kerala; Manipur; Tamil Nadu; Uttar Pradesh; West Bengal); Sri Lanka; Nepal; Pakistan ( Khan et al. 2006); Laos; Indonesia; Introduced and established in Australia ( Houston, 1991), China ( Hong Kong) ( Swezey 1925), Cook Islands, Hawaii (Swezey 1915; Timberlake, 1943), Israel ( Ofek et al. 1997), Cyprus, South Africa, Bermuda, USA (Florida) ( Frank & Mizell 2002).

Prey/associated habitat. Hemiptera : Coccoidea: Aonidiella aurantii (Maskell) , Aonidiella orientalis (Newstead) , Aspidiotus destructor Signoret , Aspidiotus nerii Bouché , Aulacaspis rosarum Borchsenius , Aulacaspis crawii (Cockerell) , Chrysomphalus aonidum (Linnaeus) (= C. ficus Ashmead ), Coccus viridis (Green) , Lepidosaphes beckii (Newman) , Lepidosaphes gloverii (Packard) , Lepidosaphes piperis (Green) , Parlatoria pergandii Comstock , Pinnaspis aspidistrae (Signoret) , Pinnaspis buxi (Bouché) , Serenaspis minima (Maskell) (as Hemichionaspis minor Maskell ), Pseudaulacaspis pentagona (Targioni Tozzetti) , Rutherfordia major (Cockerell) , Saissetia coffeae (Walk- er), and Unaspis citri (Comstock) . Associated with scale insects infesting tea, coffee, pepper, and other plantation crops, Melia dubia , mulberry, and citrus. More common in cooler climates and plantations at high altitudes than in plains.

Seasonal occurrence. Collected during July–August, September–October, December–January (label data).

Notes. Stebbing (1903), Nagaraja & Hussainy (1967), Miyatake (1970a), Ślipiński & Giorgi (2006) and Ren et al. (2009) have treated this species with descriptions and illustrations. Das et al. (1988) studied its biology on Chrysomphalus aonidum infesting tea. In Australia, it has been very effective against Unaspis citri in citrus orchards ( Ślipiński & Giorgi 2006). Joshi et al. (2022) reported it as a predator of the invasive azedarach scale, Aulacaspis crawii (Cockerell) infesting Melia dubia from Kerala, South India.

Figures

FIGURE 26. Chilocorus circumdatus (Gyllenhal): a. adult, dorsal view; b. adult, lateral view; c. adult, frontal view; d. abdomen, female; e. coxites; f. spermatheca; g–j. male genitalia: g. tegmen, lateral view; h. tegmen, ventral view; i. penis; j. penis apex.

FIGURE 27. Chilocorus circumdatus (Gyllenhal), life stages: a. egg; b. early stage larva; c. mature larva; d. pupa; e. adult.

FIGURE 28. Chilocorus circumdatus (Gyllenhal), life stages: a, b. early stage larvae; c. full grown larva; d, e. pupae; f–h. adult.