Brachiacantha jill Gordon and Canepari, 2014

Gordon, Robert D., Canepari, Claudio & Hanley, Guy A., 2014, South American Coccinellidae (Coleoptera), Part XVI: systematic revision of Brachiacantha Dejean (Coccinellinae: Hyperaspidini), Insecta Mundi 2014 (390), pp. 1-76 : 34-35

25. Brachiacantha jill Gordon and Canepari , new species

Description. Male holotype. Length 2.6 mm, width 1.8 mm; body elongate, nearly parallel sided, convex. Dorsal surface with head and pronotum alutaceous, dull, elytron smooth, shiny. Color yellow except head black, pronotum with large, wide, black basomedian macula extended to anterior pronotal margin, lateral 1/5 of pronotum yellow; elytron reddish yellow with sutural and apical margins black, sutural border slightly widened opposite apical spot, with 3 black spots, discal spot triangular on sutural margin, humeral spot not connected to lateral margin, apical spot on lateral margin projected inward nearly to suture ( Fig. 139 ); ventral surface with head, prosternum, meso- and metaventrites, and legs with basal 3/4 of femora black; abdomen yellowish brown except median 1/3 of ventrites 1–3 brown. Head punctures small, separated by a diameter or less, each puncture larger than an eye facet; pronotal punctures about as large as head punctures, separated by less than to 2 times a diameter, elytral punctures about as large as on pronotum, separated by 1 to 3 times diameter; metaventral punctures larger than on elytron, separated by less than a diameter. Clypeus apically emarginate, lateral angle rounded, surface with sparse, long pubescence. Eye canthus about 5 eye facets long, angled forward, apically rounded, black. Pronotum narrowed from base to apex, basal and anterior angles abrupt, lateral margin rounded, basal margin without trace of bordering line medially. Epipleuron narrow, descending externally, deeply emarginate for reception of femoral apices. Protibia narrowly flanged, flange slightly narrower than remainder of protibia, outer margin straight, smooth, with small, triangular basal tooth, tooth as long as 1/6 width of protibia at base, sponda not extended beyond protibial flange ( Fig. 140 ). Carinae on prosternal process widely separated at apex, convergent, not joined basally, ended at about middle of prosternum. Metaventrite without setal tuft. Basal abdominal ventrite without setal tuft. Abdomen with postcoxal line on basal abdominal ventrite flattened along apical ventrite margin, curved forward at apex, ventrite with sparse, long pubescence and small, dense punctures; ventrites 2–6 pubescent throughout, punctures fine, dense; ventrite 3 without cusp on each side of middle; 5th ventrite depressed in median 1/3, apex slightly emarginate; 6th ventrite medially depressed, apex shallowly emarginate. Apical tergite finely, densely punctured, apex widely emarginate. Genitalia with basal lobe slightly longer than paramere, slender, symmetrical, sides slightly convergent from base to rounded apex; paramere weakly Psc, slender, nearly straight, sides parallel to rounded apex, lower apical angle slightly produced ( Fig. 141, 142 ); sipho robust, strongly curved in basal 2/3, without visible lateral alae, basal capsule lightly sclerotized, inner arm short, triangular, apex narrowly emarginate, outer arm wider and longer than inner arm, with accessory piece, apex of outer arm with long, slender projection on each side, apex of each projection heavily sclerotized, basal border not emarginate ( Fig. 143, 144 ).

Female. Externally similar to male except genitalia with spermathecal capsule short, wide, narrowed from base to acute apex; bursal cap without sclerotized arms, apical strut short, slender, apical 1/4 spatulate ( Fig. 145 ).

Variation. Length 2.0 to 2.7 mm, width 1.6 to 2.0 mm. Pronotal color variable, females sometimes with pronotum entirely brown except lateral 1/4 yellow, males with median spot on each side of middle often brown, triangular. Humeral spot on elytron with connection to lateral margin nearly absent, humeral spot and mediolateral spot connected or discrete.

Type material. Holotype male; ( Argentina) Est. Expl. Agrop. Bella Vista (ctes), 9/X/961, S/Psidium, col.: M.A Rosillo, M.M. Portillo, ex Coleccion M. Viana Arg. 022008, Coleccion J.E. Barriga Chile 079752. ( JEBC) . Paratypes; 2, 1, same data as holotype ( JEBC) ; 1, ( Argentina) E. Exp. 8. Vista (Corrientes), 4/Vl/64, s/citrus, Coleccion J.E. Barriga Chile 077796, ex. Coleccion M. Viana Arg. 035977. ( JEBC) .

Remarks. This species has a dorsal color pattern similar to that of B. sellata , B. bruchi , and some members of the juanita and blandula groups, but B. jill is distinguished by male genitalia with a long, slender basal lobe. Male genitalia place this species in a group by itself, but there are noticeable similarities to genitalia of species in the juanita group.

Figures

Figures 139–156. 139–145. Brachiacantha jill. 139) Habitus. 140) Protibia. 141) Phallobase ventral. 142) Phallobase lateral. 143) Sipho. 144) Enlarged siphonal apex. 145). Female genitalia. 146–150. Brachiacantha blandula. 146) Habitus. 147) Phallobase ventral. 148) Phallobase lateral. 149) Sipho. 150) Female genitalia. 151–156. Brachiacantha april. 151) Habitus. 152) Phallobase ventral. 153) Phallobase lateral. 154) Sipho. 155) Enlarged siphonal apex. 156) Female genitalia.