Coccinella luteopicta (Mulsant)

POORANI, J., 2023, An illustrated guide to lady beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) of the Indian Subcontinent. Part 1. Tribe Coccinellini, Zootaxa 5332 (1), pp. 1-307 : 81

Coccinella luteopicta (Mulsant)

( Figs 50 , 51 )

Adalia luteopicta Mulsant, 1866: 45 (Type locality: “Les régions boréales des Indes-Orientales”).

Adalia luteopicta: Korschefsky 1932: 433 .

Lioadalia luteopicta: Crotch 1874: 104 ; Mader 1930: 134; Kapur 1958: 326; 1963: 32; Miyatake 1967: 74.

Coccinella luteopicta: Iablokoff-Khnzorian 1982: 395 ; Poorani 2002a: 325; Ren et al. 2009: 186; Yu 2010: 115–116.

Diagnosis. Length: 4.75–5.35 mm; width: 3.48–4.00 mm. Form ( Fig. 50a , 51h ) elongate, almost oblong oval, moderately convex. Head black, with two pale yellow frontal spots adjoining inner margin of eyes. Pronotum black except anterolateral corners yellow. Elytra bright red, with a characteristic reticulate black pattern. Ventral side black, except elytral epipleura reddish or yellowish brown. Male genitalia ( Fig. 50d, e ) and spermatheca ( Fig. 50c ) as illustrated.

Immature stages. Life stages as illustrated in Fig. 51 .

Distribution. India (Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarkhand, West Bengal, northern region); Bhutan; Nepal; Tibet; China.

Prey/associated habitat. Predatory on Aphidoidea s.l. including adelgids. Known hosts include Adelges spp. , Lipaphis pseudobrassicae (Davis) (laboratory host). Feeds on indeterminate aphids attacking Artemisia sp. which is common in the mountains of Sikkim (2500–3000 m) ( Nagarkatti & Ghani 1972). Commonly associated with adelgids on spruce, silver fir, hemlock, Abies / Quercus / Rhododendron forests. As a rule, it is found very high in the mountains (Bielawski 1979). Collected on apple and radish ( Sharma et al. 2017).

Seasonal occurrence. Active during May–June. Collected during April–May, August–November (northern and northeastern regions of India, Nepal Himalayas).

Natural enemy. Bathymermis sp.

Notes. Nagarkatti & Ghani (1972) studied its biology in detail and described the life stages with illustrations. Kapur (1958) recorded the elytral pattern variations from Nepal. Miyatake (1967) and Bielawski (1971) described and illustrated the male genitalia. Yu (2010) recorded it from China.

Figures

FIGURE 50. Coccinella luteopicta (Mulsant): a. adult, dorsal view; b. head; c. spermatheca; d, e. male genitalia: d. tegmen, ventral view; e. penis.

FIGURE 51. Coccinella luteopicta (Mulsant), life stages: a, b. eggs on silver fir; c–f. larval instars; g. pupa; h. adult.