Chilocorus bipustulatus (Linnaeus), 1758

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 : 34

Chilocorus bipustulatus (Linnaeus)

( Fig. 24 )

Coccinella bipustulata Linnaeus, 1758: 367 .

Chilocorus bipustulatus : Mulsant, 1846: 170; Crotch 1874: 185; Jakobson 1916: 990; Korschefsky 1932: 239; Pang & Mao 1979: 88; Gordon 1985: 654; Poorani 2002: 311; Pang et al. 2004: 27; Kovář 2007: 593; Ren et al. 2009: 128; Li et al. 2018: 24 .

Diagnosis. Length: 3.10–4.50 mm; width: 2.70–4.00 mm. Form broadly rounded, dorsum subhemispherical, strongly convex ( Fig. 24a–c ). Head yellowish with short sparse pubescence. Pronotum dull black to brown. Elytra dull black to brown with three small transverse yellow or orange spots before middle, inner two spots often fused with each other forming a single transverse band. Abdominal postcoxal line incomplete, ventrite 6 shallowly emarginate ( Fig. 24d ). Male genitalia ( Fig. 24e–h ), spermatheca ( Fig. 24i ) and coxites ( Fig. 24j ) as illustrated.

Distribution. India (Jammu & Kashmir); Pakistan; China; Mongolia; Western Europe; Russia; Introduced and established in parts of Africa and the USA.

Prey/associated habitat. Hemiptera : Diaspididae : Parlatoria blanchardi (Targioni Tozzetti) , Comstockaspis perniciosa (Comstock) , Diaspidiotus prunorum (Laing) . Associated with scales infesting willow.

Seasonal occurrence. Collected in June–July from Jammu & Kashmir (label data).

Notes. It appears to be confined to the colder parts of north-western India. For more detailed description and / or illustrations, see Pang & Mao (1979), Kuznetsov (1997) and Ren et al. (2009).

Figures

FIGURE 24. Chilocorus bipustulatus (Linnaeus): a. adult, dorsal view; b. adult, frontal view; c. adult, lateral view; d. abdomen; e–h. male genitalia: e. tegmen, ventral view; f. tegmen, lateral view; g. penis; h. penis apex; i. spermatheca; j. coxites.