Chilocorus coelosimilis Kapur

POORANI, J., 2023, An illustrated guide to the lady beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) of the Indian Subcontinent. Part II. Tribe Chilocorini, Zootaxa 5378 (1), pp. 1-108 : 38

Chilocorus coelosimilis Kapur

( Figs 29 , 30 )

Chilocorus coelosimilis Kapur, 1967: 171 .— Poorani 2002: 311; Li et al. 2018: 27.

Diagnosis. Length: 4.20–5.20 mm; width: 3.60–4.60 mm. Form subrounded to oval, elytra narrowed towards apex in posterior half, strongly convex. Ground colour orange yellow to ochreous, apical corner of each elytron with a black, oval spot which extends along lateral margin for a short distance ( Figs 29 , 30a–c ). Ventral side uniformly yellowish testaceous.Abdominal postcoxal lines ( Fig. 30d ) incomplete. Male genitalia ( Fig. 30f–i ) and spermatheca ( Fig. 30e ) as illustrated.

Distribution. India: Endemic to Andaman Islands (‘South Andamans, Port Blair, North Bay’). Records from Goa and Uttar Pradesh ( Afroze 1999) are unverified and almost certainly based on misidentifications of C. circumdatus , a similar looking and more common congener found in Indian mainland.

Prey/associated habitat. Hemiptera : Diaspididae : Aspidiotus destructor Signoret on coconut and oil palm (label data).

Natural enemy. Larvae are parasitized by Homalotylus sp. ( Hymenoptera : Encyrtidae ) ( Veenakumari & Mohanraj 2007).

Seasonal occurrence. Collected during November–December and February–March (label data).

Notes. It appears to be closely related to Chilocorus circumdatus , a more widely distributed species in the Indian mainland, and the male genitalia are almost indistinguishable from each other. Kapur (1967) described C. coelosimilis with illustrations and provided distinguishing features to separate the two. Veenakumari & Mohanraj (2007) studied its biology on A. destructor infesting coconut by laboratory rearing and described the immature stages.

Figures

FIGURE 29. Chilocorus coelosimilis Kapur: a, b. live adult.

FIGURE 30. Chilocorus coelosimilis Kapur: a. adult, dorsal view; b. adult, lateral view; c. adult, frontal view; d. abdomen, male; e. spermatheca; f–i. male genitalia: f. tegmen, lateral view; g. tegmen, ventral view; h. penis; i. penis apex.