Calvia Mulsant

POORANI, J., 2023, An illustrated guide to lady beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) of the Indian Subcontinent. Part 1. Tribe Coccinellini, Zootaxa 5332 (1), pp. 1-307 : 48-50

Genus Calvia Mulsant

Calvia Mulsant, 1846: 140 ; Crotch 1874: 143; Mader 1926: 20; Iablokoff-Khnzorian 1982: 176.

Type species: Coccinella decemguttata Linnaeus, 1758: 367 , by subsequent designation of Crotch 1874.

Anisocalvia Crotch, 1871: 329 ; Casey 1899: 96. Type species: Coccinella quatuordecimguttata (L.) by subsequent designation of Crotch 1874.

Calvia (Anisocalvia) : Korschefsky 1932: 521; Iablokoff-Khnzorian 1982: 184.

Eocaria Timberlake, 1943: 37 ; Iablokoff-Khnzorian 1982: 176. Type species: Eocaria muiri Timberlake , by original designation.

Diagnosis. Form broadly circular or broad oval or distinctly elongate oval, dorsum moderately to strongly convex, glabrous. Anterior clypeal margin straight or subtruncate between relatively narrow projections (distinctly concave with broad lateral projections in Calvia tricolor Korschefsky , an Indian species of doubtful generic status). Punctation on pronotum and elytra similar or often very different with elytra having distinct, strongly dual punctures. Middle and hind tibiae with a pair of apical spurs, rarely without. Abdominal postcoxal line usually incomplete, occasionally very short, without an associated line. Male genitalia with penis usually having a median swollen area and lateral flaps or wings. Female genitalia with spermatheca usually c-shaped, infundibulum present.

Distribution. Distributed throughout the Oriental and Palaearctic regions, except one species, Calvia quatuordecimpunctata (L.) which is found in the northern parts of North America. Many species of Calvia are endemic to the Himalayan region, the southern part of the Himalayas being a high biodiversity region for this genus (Booth 1997).

Affinities. Calvia is a genus difficult to define. Tomaszewska et al. (2021) included it in the Synonycha- group of genera based on their phylogenetic analysis and observed that it was a problematic genus requiring further studies due to its poorly defined and weakly supported relationships with the other genera in the group. Many known Indian species of Calvia appear to have distinctly dual elytral punctation which is highly unusual for Coccinellini . Booth (1997) observed that Calvia tricolor Korschefsky , ‘does not properly belong in Calvia ’ and indeed it is certainly not a Calvia (see species account for more details). Presence of a single mesotibial spur in Calvia shiva Kapur is another oddity that is most unusual in Coccinellidae / Coccinellini (Booth 1996) .

Included species. Fourteen species have been recorded from this region, of which only one, Calvia andrewesi (Weise) , is definitively known from peninsular / south India. Some of the species are highly polymorphic and variably coloured and examination of the male genitalia is required for correct species identification in such cases. Booth (1997) revised the species of this region, provided a key and prey information.