Chilocorus nigricaeruleus Li & Wang

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 : 52-54

Chilocorus nigricaeruleus Li & Wang

( Fig. 39 )

Chilocorus nigricaeruleus Li & Wang , in Li et al. 2018: 7 .

Diagnosis. Length: 4.40–4.67 mm; width: 4.00– 4.33 mm. Form ( Fig. 39a–c ) subcircular, dorsum strongly convex and glabrous. Head, antenna and mouthparts yellow, sparsely covered with short, greyish pubescence. Pronotum bluish black, anterior angles narrowly yellow ( Fig. 39b, c ). Scutellar shield and elytra dark bluish-violet with metallic lustre. Underside yellow except elytral epipleura black. Pronotum with moderately large and densely distributed punctures, smaller than those on head, separated by 2–3 diameters. Elytral punctures moderately large and evenly distributed on disc and separated by 2.0–4.0 diameters, slightly coarser, denser and closer on lateral sides. Abdominal postcoxal line ( Fig. 39e ) incomplete. Coxites ( Fig. 39f ) as illustrated. Male genitalia not studied.

Distribution. China (Yunnan). India (new record).

Material examined. Assam: 5000 ft, Shillong , 19-30. April 1924, Bose Coll. / one female (partially damaged) .

Notes. It was originally described from Yunnan, China. The sole female specimen examined from north-eastern India agrees well with the description given by Li et al. (2018). This is the only species of Chilocorus in India with dark bluish metallic dorsal coloration except for the yellowish-orange head and anterolateral corners of pronotum. Curinus coeruleus (Mulsant) (introduced) is the only other known species of Chilocorini from the Indian region with bluish-violet coloration but the pronotum has bright orange-yellow lateral sides and it is confined to southern India.

Figures

FIGURE 39. Chilocorus nigricaeruleus Li & Wang, female: a. dorsal view; b. lateral view; c. frontal view; d. prosternum; e. abdominal postcoxal line; f. coxites.