Chilocorus indicus (Miyatake), 2023

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 : 48

Chilocorus indicus (Miyatake) , comb. n.

( Fig. 34 )

Phaenochilus indicus Miyatake, 1970b: 113 .— Poorani 2002: 313; Giorgi & Vandenberg, 2012: 245 , 248.

Diagnosis. Form broadly rounded, dorsum convex and glabrous. Holotype male ( Fig. 34a ) as illustrated (Image courtesy: Hiroyuki Yoshitomi, Ehime University ), dorsum yellowish without any other maculation. Male genitalia ( Fig. 34c–e ) as illustrated.

Giorgi & Vandenberg (2012) stated that it is the only species possessing immaculate yellow elytra in India and “it also differs from the similarly colored species in possessing a more compact antennal club with the last antennomere not much longer than wide”. Chilocorus indicus is the only species of Chilocorus with yellowish elytra known from South India. Chilocorus albomarginalis , a Chinese species, reported in this work as a new addition to the Indian fauna, also has yellow elytra with paler lateral margins, but it is found only in north-eastern India.

Distribution. India: Tamil Nadu.

Notes. Miyatake (1970b) described it in detail and illustrated the genitalia. Giorgi & Vandenberg (2012) also illustrated the male genitalia and included it in their key to the known species of Phaenochilus . As Phaenochilus is treated as a synonym of Chilocorus ( Li et al. 2020b) , this species is formally transferred to Chilocorus here (comb. n.).

Figures

FIGURE 34. Chilocorus indicus (Miyatake): a. holotype male, dorsal view; b. holotype, labels; c–e. male genitalia: c. tegmen, lateral view; d. tegmen, ventral view; e. penis. (Photo credit for a, b. Hiroyuki Yoshitomi, Ehime University; c–e. redrawn from Miyatake 1970b).