Microcaria albolineata (Gyllenhal)

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 : 196

Microcaria albolineata (Gyllenhal)

( Figs 138 , 139a, b )

Coccinella albolineata Gyllenhal , in Scĥnherr, 1808: 158 (Type locality: East India).

Calvia albolineata: Mulsant 1850: 146 .

Bothrocalvia albolineata: Crotch 1874: 143 ; Korschefsky 1932: 521; Poorani 2002a: 322; Ren et al. 2009: 176; Yu 2010: 61.

Diagnosis. Length: 4.70–6.50 mm; width: 3.80–5.00 mm. Form ( Figs 138a , 139a, b ) broad oval, dorsum strongly convex ( Fig. 138b ), glabrous except head with sparse pubescence. Head ( Fig. 138d ) light brownish yellow to testaceous, eyes large with divergent inner margins. Pronotum yellowish-testaceous, with two oblique, oblong, irregularly shaped yellowish-brown spots in the middle, sometimes fused into a roughly M-shaped marking. Elytra dull brown, with pale yellow markings as follows: an elongate, cylindrical marking from basal margin to nearly 2/3 of the elytral length, adjacent to sutural line; a broader band at outer margin extending from humeral callus to nearly half the length of elytron and a narrow line starting from humeral callus and ending at elytral apex, with two brown islands, one at humeral callus and the other just before apex. Abdominal postcoxal line ( Fig. 138c ) incomplete. Male genitalia ( Fig. 138f–i ) and spermatheca ( Fig. 138e ) as illustrated.

Distribution. India: Commonly collected in the northeastern region (Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Sikkim, West Bengal); Nepal; Hong Kong; China; Taiwan; Japan;

Prey/associated habitat. Associated with adelgids and aphids feeding on pine, spruce, and other coniferous trees; feeds on Cinara sp. , Pineus sp. (label data). Predatory on Oracella acuta (Lobdell) ( Hemiptera : Pseudococcidae ) (CABI 2021) and Eulachnus thunbergii Wilson infesting Pinus khasya (Devi 1989) .

Seasonal occurrence. Collected during January–February, April, June–July, August, and September (northeastern region). Shantibala & Singh (1991) reported this species from an altitude of 2000–2500 m from the northeastern region of India.

Notes. It is common in the northeastern states of India. Rao & So (1967) briefly described it and illustrated the habitus. Devi (1989) and Wadhi & Parshad (1980) provided notes on its hosts and distribution. For more illustrations, see Ren et al. (2009) and Yu (2010).

Figures

FIGURE 138. Microcaria albolineata (Gyllenhal): a. adult, dorsal view; b. adult, lateral view; c. abdominal postcoxal line; d. head; e. spermatheca; f–i. male genitalia: f. tegmen, lateral view; g. tegmen, ventral view; h. penis; i. penis apex.

FIGURE 139. a, b. Microcaria albolineata (Gyllenhal): a. live adult; b. adult, darker variant; c–f. Microcaria lewisii (Crotch): c. live adult (Photo credit: K. C. Sajan, Nepal); d, e. adult, dorsal view (BMNH); f. adult, lateral view.