Hippodamia variegata (Goeze)

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 : 153-157

Hippodamia variegata (Goeze)

( Figs 107–109 )

Coccinella variegata Goeze, 1777: 246 (Type: MNHN; Type locality: Palaearctic).

Adonia variegata: Mulsant 1846: 39 ; Korschefsky 1932: 346.

Hippodamia variegata: Belicek 1976: 338 ; Poorani 2002a: 333; Ślipiński et al. 2020: 72.

Hippodamia (Adonia) variegata: Iablokoff-Khnzorian 1982: 326 .

Diagnosis. Length: 4.00– 5.50 mm; width: 2.40–3.10 mm. Form ( Fig. 107a–c ) narrow, elongate oblong-oval, dorsum moderately convex, glabrous. Head yellow with a black transverse marking in posterior half, reaching nearly up to middle of eyes. Pronotum black with white anterolateral margins and a pair of median eye spots/ markings, sometimes fused together. Scutellar shield black. Ground colour of elytra orange yellow, brick red or bright red, with whitish/creamy yellow areas adjacent to scutellar shield and a maximum of thirteen black spots-one postscutellar spot and six on disk of each elytron; pronotal and elytral pattern highly variable, elytra sometimes with only subscutellar spot, other spots variously confluent or obsolete ( Figs 107a–c , 109 ). Ventral side black, except prothoracic hypomera, elytral epipleura and parts of legs yellowish brown. Antenna 11-segmented with a compact club ( Figs 107d , 108b ). Tarsal claw cleft ( Fig. 108d ). Abdominal postcoxal line ( Figs 107f , 108c ) complete, very shallowly arched. Male genitalia ( Figs 107h, i ; 108g, h ) and female genitalia ( Fig. 108e ) and spermatheca ( Figs 107g ; 108f ) as illustrated.

Distribution. India: Commonly distributed in the plains of north India and up to 14000–15000’ in the Himalayas. It seems to have expanded its geographical range into western and peninsular India in recent years (Arunachal Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal); Nepal; Bhutan; Pakistan; Afghanistan; Myanmar; China; Europe; North Africa; North America. A Palaearctic species, naturally spread or introduced in several countries such as Australia ( Ślipiński et al. 2020).

Prey/associated habitat. Aphidoidea: Adelges spp. , Aphis craccivora Koch , Aphis fabae Scopoli , Aphis gossypii Glover , Aphis malvae (Koch) , Aphis spiraecola Patch , A. umbrella (Boerner) , Brachycaudus cardui (Linnaeus) , Brachycaudus helichrysi (Kaltenbach) , Brachycaudus pruni (Koch) , Brachyunguis harmali Das , Brevicoryne brassicae (Linnaeus) , Dreyfusia (as Adelges ) knucheli (Schneider-Orelli & Schneider) (as Chermes himalayensis Stebbing ), Diuraphis noxia (Mordvilko) , Eriosoma lanigerum (Hausmann) , Hyalopterus atriplicis (Linnaeus) , Hyalopterus pruni (Geoffroy) (as H. arundinis auctt.), Hayhurstia atriplicis (Linnaeus) , Hyperomyzus carduellinus (Theobald) , Liosomaphis himalayensis Basu , Lipaphis pseudobrassicae (Kaltenbach) , Macrosiphum rosae (Linnaeus) , Myzus ornatus Laing , Myzus persicae (Sulzer) , Sitobion avenae (Fabricius) (as Macrosiphum granarium (Kirby)) , Sitobion graminis Takahashi , Sitobion miscanthi (Takahashi) , Aphis (Toxoptera) aurantii Boyer de Fonscolombe , Uroleucon sonchi (Linnaeus) . Margarodidae : Drosicha stebbingi Green. Lepidoptera : Noctuidae : Helicoverpa armigera (Ḩbner).Acari: Tetranychidae : Tetranychus urticae Koch (as T. telarius Linnaeus ). Collected in association with aphids on wheat, maize, pearl millet, cabbage, cauliflower, lucerne, safflower, carrot, bhendi, mustard, berseem, groundnut, apple, linseed, bittergourd, walnut, mulberry, etc. and adelgids on silver fir pine, and other conifers.

Found feeding on aphids infesting Eleusine indica , Oryza sativa , Bidens pilosa , marigold and eggplant in Nepal ( Sajan et al. 2019).

Seasonal occurrence. Common during February–July; collected during February and September–December in north and northwestern regions (label data); January (Karnataka). Common from March to June ( Kapur 1939). In Pakistan, it is a multivoltine species and overwinters from November to March ( Irshad et al. 2001). In Nepal, found throughout the year, more abundant during July–August ( Sajan et al. 2019).

Natural enemies. Homalotylus flaminius (Dalman) and Hyperteles sp. ( Kapur 1939) , Dinocampus coccinellae (Schrank) , Oomyzus scaposus (Thomson) , Parachrysocharis sp. ; Verticillium lecanii (Zimmerman) Viégas.

Notes. Kapur (1957), Bielawski (1972), Booth et al. (1990) and Yu (2010) treated this species in detail. From India, Stebbing (1903) described the life history and immature stages and illustrated the adult. Kapur (1939, 1942) studied its bionomics with descriptions and illustrations of immature stages. Sharma & Verma (1993) studied its seasonal occurrence and predatory potential. Poorani (2007) recorded it from South India for the first time.

Figures

FIGURE 107. Hippodamia variegata (Goeze): a–c. adult, common variants; d. antenna; e. maxilla; f. abdominal postcoxal line; g. spermatheca; h, i. male genitalia: h. tegmen, ventral view; i. penis.

FIGURE 108. Hippodamia variegata (Goeze): a. adult, dorsal view; b. antenna; c. abdominal postcoxal line; d. tarsal claws; e. female genitalia; f. spermatheca; g, h. male genitalia: g. tegmen, ventral view; h. penis.

FIGURE 109. Hippodamia variegata (Goeze): a–f. live adult, variants.