Brachiacantha bistripustulata (Fabricius)

Nestor-Arriola, Jorge Ismael & Toledo-Hernández, Víctor Hugo, 2019, Contribution to the knowledge of the dentipes group of the genus Brachiacantha (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), Zootaxa 4701 (6), pp. 537-552 : 539-541

Brachiacantha bistripustulata (Fabricius)

( Figs. 9a, b )

Coccinella laevis Thunberg 1781: 20 . Nomen oblitum.

Coccinella bistripustulata Fabricius 1801:383 . Nomen protectum.

Brachyacantha bis-tripustulata: Mulsant 1850:528.

Brachyacantha bistripustulata: Gorham 1894:188 . Casey 1899:119. Leng 1911:296. Korschefsky 1931:203. Blackwelder 1945:449.

Brachyacantha erythrocephala Gorham 1894:188 (no Coccinella erythrocephala Fabricius ). Crotch 1874:211.

Brachyacantha decora Casey 1899:119 . Bowditch 1902:206. New synonym.

Brachyacantha bistripustulata var. guttata Weise 1885:231 . Leng 1911:297. Korschefsky 1931:203.

Brachyacantha bistripustulata var. decora: Leng 1911:298 . Leng 1920:213.

Brachyacantha bistripustulata var. minor Leng 1911:298 . Leng 1920:213.

Brachyacantha bistripustulata var. obscura Leng 1911:299 . Korschefsky 1931:204.

Brachyacantha bistripustulata var. quichiana Leng 1911:298 .

Brachyacantha bistripustulata ab. decora: Korschefsky 1931:203 .

Brachyacantha bistripustulata ab. minor: Korschefsky 1931:203.

Brachiacantha decora: Gordon 1985:561 .

Brachiacantha laevis: Pope 1987: 58 .

Brachiacantha bistripustulata: Milléo & de Almeida 2007:420 . Gordon et al. 2014:10.

Type material: Lectotype of B. decora : TEXAS: “Brownsville, Casey bequest 1926, TYPE USNM 35574, decora Casey ” ( USNMNH) (1♂).

Material examined: More than 1750 specimens from Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and the United States of America.

Hosts: According to the labels on the examined material, this species has been collected on Vachellia sp., Vachellia campechiana (Mill.) Seigler & Ebinger , Arachis hypogaea L., Baccharis sp., Barkleyanthus salicifolius (Kunth) H. Rob. & Brettel , Bidens pilosa L., Carya sp., Cedrela odorata L., Citrus sp., C. aurantiifolia (Christm.) Swingle , C. sinensis (L.) Osbeck, Coffea arabica L., Euphorbia hirta L., Ipomoea arborescens (Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.) G. Don , Ixora sp., Juglans sp., Lantana sp., Larrea sp., Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit , Mangifera indica L., Medicago sativa L., Oryza sativa L., Pachyrhizus erosus (L.) Urb., Persea americana Mill. , Phaseolus vulgaris L., Physalis ixocarpa Brot. Ex Hornem , Prunus persica (L.) Batsch, Psidium sp., Quercus sp., Ricinus communis L., Rosa sp., Rubus sp., Saccharum officinarum L., Salix sp., Sambucus sp., Solanum angustifolium Mill. , S. dimidiatum Raf. , S. lycopersicum L., S. nigrum L., S. rostratum Dunal , Sorghum sp., Tecoma stans (L.) Juss. ex Kunth, Trema micrantha (L.) Blume, Thuja sp., Xanthium sp. and Zea mays L. It has been recorded as preying on Aphis sp., Aleuroglandulus malangae Russell and Orthezia sp.

Distribution: This species shows the widest distribution for any Brachiacantha species, from the southern United States to Peru and Brazil ( Gordon et al. 2014).

Discussion: This species is very common and shows variable coloration and body shape. Gordon (1985), in reviewing North American material, indicated that B. decora Casey should probably be synonymous with or a subspecies of B. bistripustulata but preferred to maintain it as a valid species until material from Mexico and Central America was examined. The male genitalia of the revised specimens of B. decora show no significant difference from those of B. bistripustulata (Fabricius) . Therefore, we regard B. decora as a junior synonym of B. bistripustulata .

The name Coccinella laevis was used by Thunberg (1781). Later, Fabricius (1801) used the name C. bistripustulata . Pope (1987) placed B. bistripustulata as a junior synonym of B. laevis ; however, the name B. laevis had not been cited until Pope’s paper; meanwhile, the name B. bistripustulata had been cited by several authors. According to Article 23.9 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (1999), an older synonym unused after 1899 cedes preference to the most used junior synonym and must be declared a nomen oblitum .

Figures

FIGURE 9. Brachiacantha bistripustulata, male. a) Third ventrite. b) Dorsal habitus.