Brachiacantha armandi (Mulsant) Gordon, Robert D., Canepari, Claudio & Hanley, Guy A., 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 : 23-24

14. Brachiacantha armandi (Mulsant) , new combination

Cleothera armandi Mulsant, 1850: 617 .

Hyperaspis armandi: Crotch 1874: 221 ; Korschefsky 1931: 184; Blackwelder 1945: 446.

Description. Male. Length 2.6 mm, width 1.9 mm; body oval, convex. Dorsal surface with head and pronotum alutaceous, dull, elytron smooth, shiny. Color yellow except pronotum with large, black basomedian macula occupying all of pronotal surface except narrow apical and lateral borders yellow; elytron black with 5 small yellow spots, humeral spot somewhat extended posteriorly along lateral margin, discal, mediolateral and apical spots oval ( Fig. 75 ); ventral surface with head, prosternum, meso- and metaventrites black, legs with basal 3/4 of femur brown; abdomen dark brown medially, lateral 1/4 and ventrites 5–6 lighter brown. Head punctures small, separated by about a diameter, each puncture as large as an eye facet; pronotal punctures as large as head punctures, separated by a diameter or less, elytral punctures larger than on pronotum, separated by 1 to 3 times a diameter; metaventral punctures smaller than on elytron, widely spaced, nearly absent. Clypeus weakly emarginate apically, lateral angle rounded, surface with sparse, long pubescence. Eye canthus about 6 eye facets long, slightly angled forward, apically rounded, yellow. Pronotum narrowed from base to apex, basal and anterior angles abrupt, lateral margin weakly rounded, basal margin without trace of bordering line medially. Epipleuron narrow, nearly flat, not descending externally, deeply emarginate for reception of femoral apices. Protibia narrowly flanged, flange narrower than remainder of protibia, outer margin straight, smooth, basal tooth very small, nearly invisible, length about 1/12 width of tibia at base, sponda slightly extended beyond protibial flange. Carinae on prosternal process widely separated at apex, convergent toward base, joined at basal 2/3 of prosternum. Metaventrite without setal tuft. Basal abdominal ventrite without setal tuft. Abdomen with postcoxal line on basal abdominal ventrite slightly flattened along posterior ventrite margin, extended forward apically, 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 broadly, weakly emarginate; 6th ventrite depressed medially, apex deeply emarginate. Apical tergite densely punctured, apex slightly rounded. Genitalia with basal lobe slightly shorter than paramere, slender, symmetrical, sides slightly convergent in basal 2/3, curved to acute apex in apical 1/3; paramere short, strongly Psc, slightly widened from base to apex, apex rounded ( Fig. 76, 77 ); sipho robust, strongly curved in basal 3/4 with lateral alae at apical 1/10, basal capsule heavily sclerotized, inner arm long, medially “pinched,” apex strongly bifid, outer arm slightly wider and longer than inner arm, with small accessory piece, basal border broadly, shallowly emarginate ( Fig. 78, 79 ).

Female. Similar to male except head entirely black, pronotum entirely black except narrow, lateral border yellow. Genitalia with spermathecal capsule long, slender, basal 1/4 enlarged, widened, cornu apically narrowed; bursal cap narrowly triangular, with 2 sclerotized lateral arms and an indistinct, wide, sclerotized area medially, apical strut long, widened from base to apex ( Fig. 80 ).

Variation. Length 2.0 to 2.6 mm, width 1.4 to 2.0 mm. Elytron with humeral and mediolateral spot sometimes narrowly connected along lateral margin of elytron.

Type locality. Brazil, Mato Grosso.

Type depository. MNHP (lectotype here designated).

Geographical distribution. Argentina, Brazil.

Specimens examined. 28. Argentina. Iguasu. Brazil. Campos Jordáo, Sao Paulo; Serra do Cipo, MG, 1300 m. ( DZUP) ( MNHP) ( USNM).

Remarks. Brachiacantha armandi is recognized by the very small, yellow elytral spots, female head entirely black without pale spot on base of frons, and nearly all black male pronotum. Both male and female genitalia place it in the juanita group.

The lectotype in the MNHP is labeled “Museum Paris, Matto-Grosso, de Castelnau 13-47.”

Figures

Figures 69–87. 69–74. Brachiacantha hazel. 69) Habitus. 70) Protibia. 71) Phallobase ventral. 72) Phallobase lateral. 73) Sipho. 74) Enlarged siphonal apex. 75–80. Brachiacantha armandi. 75) Habitus. 76) Phallobase ventral. 77) Phallobase lateral. 78) Sipho. 79) Enlarged siphonal apex. 80) Female genitalia. 81–87. Brachiacantha margaritae. 81) Habitus. 82) Phallobase ventral. 83) Phallobase lateral. 84) Sipho. 85) Enlarged siphonal apex lateral. 86) Enlarged siphonal apex dorsal. 87) Female genitalia.