Cheilomenes sexmaculata (Fabricius, 1781)

Ali, Muhammad, Raza, Ghulam, Ali, Shaukat, Anjum, Syed Istiaq & Hussain, Ishtiaq, 2018, The Tribe Coccinellini Weise (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) in Sindh, Pakistan, The Coleopterists Bulletin 72 (3), pp. 629-638 : 633

Cheilomenes sexmaculata (Fabricius, 1781) ( Fig. 4A–E )

Material Examined. [SINDH], 46, 2♀, Hyderabad, 12.XII.1965, leg. Ahmed; 36, 7♀, Mirpur Khas , 20. VI.1971, leg. M. Khan ; 66, 10♀, Thatta , 30.IV.1971, leg. M.I. Khan ; 76, 10♀, Karachi , 30. V.1971; leg. Anser ; 36, 5♀, Karachi , 18.VII.2009, leg. M. Ali ( NHMUK) ].

Diagnosis. Body brownish black to yellowish; head between eyes with punctures of similar size to eye facets; head black posteriorly, clypeus and mouthparts brownish yellow; pronotum yellowish brown with a transverse brownish black band in middle near posterior margin, a smaller black, transverse band anterior to first one, connected to each other in the center; color of elytra highly variable but generally brownish yellow, on each elytron the first patch may be small, inverted V-shaped, the second completely W-shaped, the third one only rounded; legs brownish yellow. Length 3.5–6.4 mm; width 2.8–4.5 mm; body nearly oval to subrounded. Head with a dark patch posteriorly covering the orbit of eye; eyes small with minute facets; ligula with anterior margin slightly notched; submentum small, narrow anteriorly with minutely notched anterior margin. Prosternal process narrower with carinae parallel, reaching halfway to anterior margin of prosternum; scutoscutellar suture narrow, straight; epipleuron with inner margin narrow anteriorly and posteriorly, broader medially. Postcoxal line curved, medially parallel to posterior margin of first sternite, ending before reaching lateral margin; depression on last sternite in male with entirely surrounded with long setae.

Genitalia. Penis thick anteriorly, narrowing and coiled distally; penal capsule with elongated, straight inner arm with lunate crest dorsally, while outer arm short, broadly oval, slightly bent; median lobe slightly broader proximally, apically broadly pointed; parameres narrow, longer than median lobe; trabes hollow, flattened with rounded apex ( Fig. 4A–C ). Genital plates short, thick, outer margin slightly s-shaped; lateral plates slightly curved mesad; spermathecal capsule with cornu thick, moderate while ramus short, triangular, nodulus reduced to a schlerotized part ( Fig. 4D–E ).

Comment. It is very difficult to identify this species because of polymorphism. Six morphs of this species are recorded from Sindh Province. They differ from each other in color and patch pattern on the elytra and pronotum.

Distribution in Sindh Province. Tandojam, Hyderabad, Mirpur Khas, Thatta, and Karachi.

Figures

Fig. 4. Cheilomenes sexmaculata. A) Tegmen, lateral view, B) Tegmen, ventral view, C) Sipho, D) Genital plates, E) Spermatheca. Scale bars = 0.3 mm.