Brachiacantha regina 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 : 29-30

20. Brachiacantha regina Gordon and Canepari , new species

Description. Male holotype. Length 2.6 mm, width 2.0 mm; body oval, convex. Dorsal surface with head alutaceous, weakly shiny, pronotum and elytron smooth, shiny. Color yellow except pronotum with short, narrow, brown basomedian macula extended about 1/6 distance to apical pronotal margin, anterior border of macula broadly emarginate medially, each end slightly angled forward; elytron dark brown with 3 yellow spots, humeral angle with small, faint, reddish yellow spot, lateral spot posterior to humeral callus not connected to sutural spot, apical spot on apical margin occupying more than posterior 1/2 of apical declivity ( Fig. 114 ); ventral surface with head, pronotum brown, meso- and metaventrites dark brown; abdomen yellow except basal 3 ventrites darker in median 1/3. Head punctures small, separated by a diameter or less, each puncture slightly larger than an eye facet; pronotal punctures larger than head punctures, separated by less than to 2 times a diameter, elytral punctures larger than on pronotum, separated by 1 to 3 times diameter; metaventral punctures smaller than on elytron medially, separated by a diameter or less, larger and separated by less than a diameter in lateral 1/4. Clypeus apically emarginate, lateral angle rounded, surface with sparse, long pubescence. Eye canthus about 4 eye facets long, straight, apically rounded, yellow. Pronotum narrowed from base to apex, basal and anterior angles abrupt, lateral margin nearly truncate, weakly curved, basal margin without trace of bordering line medially. Epipleuron narrow, slightly descending externally, deeply emarginate for reception of femoral apices. Protibia narrowly flanged, flange narrower than remainder of protibia, outer margin straight, smooth, with small basal tooth about 1/8 as long as width of tibia at base, sponda slightly extended beyond protibial flange. Carinae on prosternal process narrowly separated at apex, convergent, joined at basal 1/6 of prosternum, single carina extended to prosternal base. 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 weakly emarginate; 6th ventrite medially depressed, apex shallowly emarginate. Apical tergite finely, densely punctured, apex slightly emarginate. Genitalia with basal lobe slightly longer than paramere, symmetrical, sides parallel in basal 2/3, curved in apical 1/3 to truncate apex; paramere Psc, curved, slightly widened from base to rounded apex, lower apical angle slightly produced ( Fig. 115, 116 ); sipho robust, strongly curved in basal 1/2, with lateral alae at apical 1/6, basal capsule lightly sclerotized, inner arm long, slender, projected forward, apex feebly, broadly emarginate, outer arm slightly longer and much wider than inner arm, with accessory piece, basal border broadly, shallowly emarginate ( Fig. 117–119 ).

Female. Unknown.

Variation. Unknown.

Type material. Holotype male; ( Brazil) Ch.Fry, Pernam. (Pernambuco), Fry Coll. 1905. 100., Cleothera sex-verrucata (Fab.). ( BMNH).

Remarks. Brachiacantha regina and B. sally are very similar, but B. regina has a small, faint pale spot at the humeral angle, the apical 2 spots on each elytron are not joined, the eye canthus is only 4 eye facets long, and male genitalia have the basal lobe apically truncate. Holotypes of both species bear identical labels, and were probably collected at the same time and place.

Figures

Figures 108–127. 108–113. Brachiacantha sally. 108) Habitus. 109) Phallobase ventral. 110) Phallobase lateral. 111) Sipho. 112) Siphonal apex. 113) Enlarged siphonal apex. 114–119. Brachiacantha regina. 114) Habitus. 115) Phallobase ventral. 116) Phallobase lateral. 117) Sipho. 118) Siphonal apex dorsal. 119) Enlarged siphonal apex. 120–127. Brachiacantha darlene. 120) Habitus. 121) Protibia. 122) Phallobase ventral. 123) Phallobase lateral. 124) Sipho. 125) Enlarged siphonal apex lateral. 126) Siphonal apex dorsal. 127) Female spermathecal capsule and bursal cap.