Parexochomus pubescens (Küster)

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 : 80

Parexochomus pubescens (Küster)

( Figs 59 , 60 )

Exochomus pubescens Küster, 1848: 94 .— Mulsant 1853a: 192; 1853b: 64; Korschefsky 1932: 256; Kapur 1951 a: 292; Poorani, 2002: 313.

Exochomus ( Parexochomus) pubescens : Chapin 1965: 250.

Parexochomus pubescens : Biranvand et al. 2017: 60 .

Diagnosis. Length: 2.50–2.80 mm; width: 2.0– 2.20 mm. Form short oval, dorsum strongly convex, with distinct, greyish white hairs ( Fig. 59a, b ). Head and pronotum yellowish brown, pronotum slightly fuscous in middle or with a distinct black median macula, elytra dark brown to black. Ventral side ( Fig. 59c ) dark brown except prosternum, legs and posterior abdominal ventrites yellowish. Prosternal intercoxal process without carinae ( Fig. 59g ). Abdominal postcoxal line ( Fig. 59h ) semicircular, nearly complete, area enclosed with dense punctures ( Fig. 60a ). Female genitalia ( Fig. 59i ), spermatheca ( Fig. 59j ) and male genitalia ( Fig. 60b–e ) as illustrated.

Distribution. India ( Haryana; New Delhi; Uttar Pradesh); Pakistan; Afghanistan; Middle East ( Syria, Palestine, Iran, Israel, Saudi Arabia); North Africa ( Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia); Europe ( Spain, Greece, France, Italy) ( Kovář 2007; Biranvand et al. 2017).

Prey / associated habitat. Collected on cowpea and grasses (label data). Predatory on Parlatoria spp. in Pakistan ( Ali et al. 2018). Known to feed on Bemisia tabaci ( Aleyrodidae ) and Tetranychus turkmenicus in Iran ( Moddarres-Awal, 2012).

Seasonal occurrence. Collected during September (label data from New Delhi).

Notes. It appears to be the smallest Chilocorini in the Indian region (Length: 2.50 mm) and built on a smaller scale than Brumoides spp. and it is distributed in northern states. Kapur (1951 a) provided notes on its distribution. See Biranvand et al. (2017) for a list of extralimital synonyms.

Figures

FIGURE 59. Parexochomus pubescens (Küster): a. adult, dorsal view (BMNH); b. adult with reduced pronotal macula (Haryana); c. adult, ventral view; d. head; e. maxilla; f. antenna; g. prosternum; h. abdomen; i. female genitalia; j. spermatheca.

FIGURE 60. Parexochomus pubescens (Küster): a. abdominal postcoxal line; b–e. male genitalia: b. tegmen, lateral view; c. tegmen, ventral view; d. penis; e. penis apex.