Hippodamia quinquesignata ambigua, 1852

Leeper, John R., 2014, Nomenclatural and Taxonomic Notes on Names of Hawaiian Coccinellidae (Coleoptera), Proceedings of the Hawaiian Entomological Society 46, pp. 1-7 : 2-3

Hippodamia quinquesignata ambigua

LeConte, 1852.

The use of Hippodamia quinquesignata ambigua LeConte represents an updating to the most recent usage and a downgrading of ambigua to subspecies status.

Justification: ITIS lists H. quinquesignata ambigua (TNS: 692658) and cites Gordon (1985). Gordon (1985: 729–731) justified the use of Hippodamia quinquesignata ambigua LeConte stating: “ Crotch (1873) and Casey (1899) considered H. punctulata a synonym of H. ambigua , but Crotch (1874) revived the name H. punctulata and authors since have considered it a subspecies or race of H. ambigua . Timberlake (1943) pointed out the difficulty in separating H. ambigua and H. punctulata due to the variability of the thoracic color pattern. Hippodamia punctulata is the form lacking convergent pronotal spots; H. ambigua has those spots; however, most large series from a single locality will contain examples of both forms. I cannot logically maintain these forms as subspecies and therefore regard H. punctulata as a junior synonym of H. ambigua . Hippodamia obliqua Casey is a form of H. ambigua with the pronotum having the black area reduced and the convergent pale spots large. Hippodamia q. ambigua is a Pacific Coast subspecies ranging from southern California to northwestern Washington, but some of the northern series examined contain some specimens not separable from H. q. quinquesignata . In spite of this, I feel it best to maintain both subspecies for the present. Hippodamia obliqua is represented by 7 types in the Casey collection, and I here designate and label a male as the lectotype and the remainder as paralectotypes.”

Gordon (1985: 729–731) provided the following synonyms for H. quinquesignata ambigua :

Hippodamia ambigua LeConte 1852:

131; Crotch 1873: 366; Crotch 1874:

96; Casey 1899: 79; Leng 1903a: 41;

Timberlake 1919: 172.

Hippodamia 5-signata ambigua : Timberlake 1943: 12.

Hippodamia quinquesignata ambigua :

Chapin 1946: 16; Hatch 1961: 173.

Hippodamia punctulata LeConte 1852:

131; Crotch 1873: 366; Crotch 1874: 96;

Casey 1899: 79; Timberlake 1919: 172.

Hippodamia quinquesignata punctulata: Chapin 1946: 16 .

Hippodamia obliqua Casey 1899: 79 ; Chapin 1946: 13.

Hippodamia quinquesignata obliqua: Timberlake 1943: 12 .

Names Used in Hawaii: Leeper (1976: 294) treated this taxon as Hippodamia quinquesignata punctulata LeConte with a notation of first use in Hawaii by Williams (1948: 203) as Hippodamia 5-signata punctulata LeConte and most recently Nishida (2002: 51) lists both Hippodamia ambigua LeConte and Hippodamia quinquesignata punctulata LeConte.

The Bishop Museum Hawaiian All-Species Checklist currently lists the following Hippodamia names that are or could be synonyms of Hippodamia quinquesignata ambigua LeConte :

Hippodamia 5-signata

Hippodamia ambigua Le Conte

Hippodamia quinquesignata

Hippodamia quinquesignata subsp.

punctulata LeConte

Hippodamia 5-signata subsp. punctulata

The UHIM currently lists this species as Hippodamia quinquesignata punctulata LeConte.

This is the first use of Hippodamia quinquesignata ambigua LeConte in Hawaiian literature.