Brachiacantha juanita 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 : 20-21

11. Brachiacantha juanita Gordon and Canepari , new species

Description. Male holotype. Length 3.0 mm, width 2.5 mm; body elongate oval, convex. Dorsal surface with head alutaceous, dull, pronotum alutaceous, feebly shiny, elytron feebly alutaceous, shiny. Color yellow except pronotum with large, dark brown basomedian macula extended 4/5 distance to anterior pronotal border, lateral margin of macula with small, short, angulate dark brown projection; elytron dark brown with 4 yellow areas, lateral margin with irregularly narrow yellow vitta extended from humeral angle to beyond apical declivity, triangular basal spot at middle of elytron base, small, elongate oval spot medially on apical declivity, and transversely oval apical spot, all spots with margins slightly blurred, not crisply contrasted with background ( Fig. 56 ); ventral surface with head, median 1/3 of prosternum, meso- and metaventrites dark brown; abdomen dark brown except lateral 1/3 and ventrites 5–6 yellowish brown. Head punctures small, separated by a diameter or less, each puncture about as large as an eye facet; pronotal punctures larger than head punctures, separated by 1 to 2 times a diameter, elytral punctures larger than on pronotum, separated by 1 to 3 times a diameter; metaventral punctures about as large as on elytron, separated by a diameter. Clypeus emarginate apically, lateral angle rounded, surface with sparse, long pubescence. Eye canthus about 6 eye facets long, angled forward, apically rounded, yellow. Pronotum narrowed from base to apex, basal and anterior angles abrupt, lateral margin rounded, basal margin with trace of bordering line medially. Epipleuron narrow, flat, not descending externally, deeply emarginate for reception of femoral apices. Protibia widely flanged, flange as wide as remainder of protibia, outer margin straight, smooth, basal tooth small, broadly triangular, about 1/10 width of tibia at base, sponda not extended beyond protibial flange. Carinae on prosternal process widely separated at apex, parallel, not joined, ended at about middle of prosternum. Metaventrite without setal tuft. Basal abdominal ventrite without setal tuft. Abdomen with postcoxal line on basal abdominal ventrite rounded throughout, extended 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 weakly depressed in median 1/3, apex shallowly emarginate; 6th ventrite medially depressed, apex shallowly emarginate. Apical tergite finely, densely punctured, apex broadly, weakly emarginate. Genitalia with basal lobe about as long as paramere, symmetrical, sides slightly rounded, convergent from base to apex, apex narrowly rounded; paramere Psc, wide, not widened from base to apex, apex rounded ( Fig. 57, 58 ); sipho robust, strongly curved in basal 2/3, with large lateral alae at apical 1/5, basal capsule lightly sclerotized, inner arm short, narrow, apex bifid, outer arm wider and longer than inner arm, with accessory piece, basal border slightly emarginate ( Fig. 59–61 ).

Female. Similar to male except head dark brown, pronotum with large, dark brown median macula extended to anterior pronotal border, lateral 1/5 of pronotum yellow with yellow area narrowly, shortly extended along anterior pronotal margin. Genitalia with spermathecal capsule long, slender except base bulbous, widened from bulbous base to acute apex; bursal cap with 2 large, heavily sclerotized outer arms, apical strut large, long, heavily sclerotized, widened from enlarged base to rounded apex ( Fig. 62 ).

Variation. Length 2.6 to 3.0 mm, width 1.9 to 2.5 mm. Male pronotum sometimes lacking lateral projection of mediobasal spot, elytron with median spot on base often connected to spot on apical declivity, forming a vitta, size and shape of yellow elytral spots slightly variable.

Type material. Holotype male; Chapada, Brazil, Acc.No. 2966, May. ( CMNH) . Paratypes; 57, same data as holotype except some paratypes with month “June.” ( CMNH) .

Other specimens. 8. Brazil. Sao Paulo, Campos do Jordao; Santana do Riacho, MG (Serra do Cipó). ( CMNH) ( DZUP).

Remarks. This is a distinctive species of Brachiacantha because of the dorsal color pattern. It is also distinguished by the very short protibial tooth, wide protibial flange, and female spermatheca with bulbous base and long, slender cornu. Specimens listed under “Other specimens” differ by having the dorsal background color black with yellow areas sharply outlined against the black surface. Genitalia are the same as those of typical specimens, but the appearance is strikingly different.

Figures

Figures 51–68. 51–55. Brachiacantha joanne. 51) Habitus.52) Phallobase ventral.53) Phallobase lateral. 54) Sipho. 55) Enlarged siphonal apex. 56–62. Brachiacantha juanita. 56) Habitus. 57) Phallobase ventral. 58) Phallobase lateral. 59) Sipho. 60) Enlarged siphonal apex lateral. 61) Enlarged siphonal apex dorsal. 62) Female genitalia. 63–68. Brachiacantha anita. 63) Habitus. 64) Phallobase ventral. 65) Phallobase lateral. 66) Sipho. 67) Enlarged siphonal apex. 68) Female genitalia.