Anegleis cardoni (Weise)

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 : 40-44

Anegleis cardoni (Weise)

( Figs 23–25 )

Verania cardoni Weise, 1892: 19 (Holotype, ZMB; Type locality: ‘Chota-Nagpore’-Mandar).

Coelophora cardoni: Gorham 1894a: 202 ; 1894b: 209.

Micraspis cardoni: Timberlake 1943: 27 .

Anegleis cardoni: Iablokoff-Khnzorian 1982: 295 ; Poorani 2002a: 321.

Diagnosis. Length: 3.50–3.75 mm; width: 3.25–3.50 mm. Form ( Figs 24a , 25g –i ) round, strongly convex. Ground colour pale creamy yellow. Head ( Fig. 23a ) yellow, posteriorly blackish. Pronotum with a pair of triangular markings on posterior margin and a pair of small, transverse markings in the middle. Scutellar shield very small, triangular and black. Each elytron with a pair of thin black stripes, outer one anteriorly bent towards suture and inner one posteriorly bent towards lateral margin and a small circular spot near apex; suture with a black stripe; lateral margins of elytra very narrowly black. Ventral side uniform pale yellow. Posterior margin of ventrite 5 in female medially slightly produced, that of ventrite 6 arcuate, a transverse sclerotized projection present beneath ventrite 6; posterior margin of ventrite 6 in male emarginate. Spermatheca vermiform ( Fig. 23e, f ). Male genitalia ( Figs 23g –k , 24i–k ) as illustrated. It is externally strikingly similar to Phrynocaria perrotetti (Mulsant) and can be separated from it by the much smaller scutellum, elytral pattern and the absence of prosternal carinae.

Immature stages. Eggs ( Fig. 25a ) yellowish and spindle shaped. Larva ( Fig. 25b–d ) dark purplish brown to pitchy brown with creamy white or pale yellowish spots. Pupa ( Fig. 25e, f ) reddish brown to pinkish with pale yellow or whitish markings.

Distribution. India: Widely distributed (Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Orissa, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh); Sri Lanka; Pakistan.

Prey/associated habitat. Predaceous on aphids, mealybugs, scales, whiteflies, eggs and immature stages of Lepidoptera . Known hosts are as follows: Aleyrodidae : Aleurodicus dispersus Russell , Aleurolobus barodensis (Maskell) ; Aphididae : Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris) , Aphis craccivora Koch , Aphis gossypii Glover , Brevicoryne brassicae (Linnaeus) , Lipaphis pseudobrassicae (Kaltenbach) , Macrosiphum euphorbiae (Thomas) , Sitobion miscanthi (Takahashi) , Aphis (Toxoptera) aurantii Boyer de Fonscolombe , and Aphis (Toxoptera) citricidus (Kirkaldy) ; Coccoidea: Coccidohystrix insolita (Green) , Lecanium sp. , Megapulvinaria maxima (Green) , Monophlebus sp. , Orthezia sp. , Parasaissetia (as Saissetia ) nigra (Nietner), Planococcus citri (Risso) , Pseudococcus sp. , Pulvinaria psidii Maskell , Pulvinaria sp. , Saissetia coffeae (Walker) (as S. hemisphaerica (Targioni Tozzetti)) , green mealy scale on coffee shade trees; Lophopidae : Pyrilla perpusilla (Walker) ; Psyllidae : Diaphorina citri Kuwayama ; Lycaenidae : Chilades lajus (Stoll) ; Papilionidae : Papilio demoleus Linnaeus ; Araneae : Olios (as Sparassus ) lamarcki (Latreille).

Frequently associated with whitefly infestations on Cassia siamea , and guava. Collected on sandal, Pterolobium indicum , Dodonea viscosa , Canthium didymum , lantana, Zizyphus oenoplia , and Ageratum sp. (Chatterjee & Bose 1933). Associated with aphids, mealybugs and scales infesting cabbage and other crucifers, brinjal, wheat, peas, tomato, Achyranthes aspera , Coccinia indica , Duranta repens , D. erecta , Zizyphus jujuba , chrysanthemum, neem, and several other plants (Afroze 2000). Collected on sunflower, sunnhemp, castor, coconut, sugarcane, and tobacco (label data). Collected on wheat, maize, berseem, walnut, potato, mulberry, and spinach ( Hayat et al. 2017).

Irshad (2001) recorded Amritodus atkinsoni , Comstockaspis perniciosa , and Pyrilla perpusilla as hosts in Pakistan. Afroze (2000) studied its biology on C. insolita and B. brassicae .

Seasonal occurrence. “Passes through many generations in a year (at least six), populations are high during January–March and August–December and low during April–July in South India ” ( Korschefsky 1933; Chatterjee & Bose 1933). Collected almost throughout the year, particularly common during June–August in south India (label data). Common during mid-September to April in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh (Afroze 2000).

Natural enemy. Nothoserphus mirabilis Brues ( Coleoptera : Proctotrupidae ) (unpublished data).

Notes. It is one of the most common species in South India with a propensity to feed on various whiteflies, which is unusual in Coccinellini . Chatterjee & Bose (1933) studied its hosts and seasonal incidence in detail.Afroze (2000) studied its bioecology and briefly described and illustrated the life stages.

Figures

FIGURE 23. Anegleis cardoni (Weise): a. head; b. abdomen, female; c. ventrite 6, female; d. ventrite 6, male; e. spermatheca; f. spermatheca, variant; g–k. male genitalia: g. tegmen, lateral view; h. tegmen, ventral view; i. penis; j. penis apex, lateral; k. penis apex, ventral.

FIGURE 24. Anegleis cardoni (Weise): a. adult, dorsal view; b. head; c. maxilla; d. antenna; e. labium; f. abdominal postcoxal line; g. epipleuron; h. coxite; i–k. male genitalia: i. tegmen, ventral view; j. penis; k. penis apex.

FIGURE 25. Anegleis cardoni (Weise), life stages: a. eggs; b–d. larva; e, f. pupa; g–i. adult.