Delphastus quinculus Gordon

F, Guillermo González, Bermúdez, Rodrigo López & Kondo, Takumasa, 2012, First report of Delphastus quinculus Gordon and Diomus seminulus (Mulsant) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) feeding on eggs and first-instar nymphs of Crypticerya multicicatrices Kondo and Unruh (Hemiptera: Monophlebidae), Insecta Mundi 2012 (268), pp. 1-6 : 2-3

Delphastus quinculus Gordon ( Fig. 1–2 )

Delphastus quinculus Gordon 1994: 120 .

Material studied. (N=8). Colombia: Valle del Cauca, Palmira, Corpoica, Palmira Research Station , 03°30’34”N, 76°19’02”W, 1004 m a.s.l., 28.vii.2010, coll. Rodrigo López B., ex. feeding on eggs and nymphs inside ovisac of Crypticerya multicicatrices , on undetermined palm, 3 dissected specimens (1 adult male + 2 adult females) ; and 3 not dissected specimens ( CPGG). 2 male voucher specimens in alcohol ( ECCP) .

General Features. Length 1.3 to 1.4 mm. Oval, shiny, dark brown to black in color. Prosternum, legs and abdomen reddish brown. Pronotal punctuation large and conspicuous, elytral punctuation very hard to see. Examination of the genitalia (of males and/or females) is needed for a correct identification, since in Colombia there are 5 species in this genus, all with very similar external morphology. In females, apex of spermatheca with a row of 5 to 8 spicules. In males, genitalia are characterized by a long, slender, basal lobe and short parameres, which are narrow in lateral view ( Gordon 1994).

Known hosts. Aleurocanthus woglumi Ashby ( Gordon 1994) ( Hemiptera : Aleyrodidae ); Pinnaspis aspidistrae (Signoret) and Pinnaspis strachani (Cooley) ( Hemiptera : Diaspididae ) at a lemon orchard ( Miró and Castillo 2010); and Crypticerya multicicatrices Kondo and Unruh ( Hemiptera : Monophlebi- dae) (present study).

Note. According to Reyes et al. (2010), studies conducted on D. pusillus (LeConte) on T. vaporariorum by Garcia et al. (2005) and Perez et al. (2008) are misidentifications of D. quinculus . Until the work by Gordon (1994), species with glabrous, shiny elytra and an elongate tegmen were commonly misidentified as the North American species, D. pusillus , which does not occur in Colombia, and this trend continued because of unfamiliarity with Gordon’s work. Through the examination of female genitalia, Gordon (1994) discovered the presence of multiple species with similar morphology, including D. quinculus . Thus, the species identified as D. pusillus in Colombia could correspond either to D. quinculus or D. argentinicus Nunenmacher , which are species that are very hard to distinguish by external morphol- ogy or on the male genitalia alone.

Distribution. Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Peru, Trinidad, Venezuela ( Gordon 1994).

Biology. Members of the genus Delphastus are known to prey upon whiteflies ( Aleyrodidae ) and armored scales ( Diaspididae ) ( Gordon 1985). In the present study, we found individuals of D. quinculus preying upon eggs and first-instar nymphs of the MFS ( Monophlebidae ). In order to reach the eggs and newly hatched first-instar nymphs of the MFS, the adult beetles eat through the ovisac of the adult female ( Fig. 2 ). Sometimes several beetles were found within one ovisac. A second species of coccinellid also was found within the ovisacs of the MFS (see below).

Figures

Figure 1. Delphastus quinculus Gordon. A–D: habitus; E: abdomen (ventral view); F–G: male sipho; H–K: male tegmen; L: female coxites; M–N: female spermatheca. Photos by G. González.

Figure 2. Delphastus quinculus Gordon (see arrow) Known hosts. Tetranychus sp. (Acari: Tetranych- feeding on eggs inside ovisac of Crypticerya multicicatrices idae) and Aleurodicus cocois (Curtis) (Hemiptera: Kondo and Unruh. Notice that the coccinellid has eaten Aleyrodidae) on banana and plantain; Lepidosapart of the wax of the ovisac in order to get access to the phes beckii (Newman) (Hemiptera: Diaspididae), eggs that are held inside it. Photo by R. López Bermúdez. Aphis spiraecola Patch and Toxoptera aurantii