Coccinellidae Latreille, 1807

González, Guillermo, Kondo, Takumasa, Gasca-Álvarez, Héctor Jaime, Sandoval-Espinel, Madelyn Katherine, Niño-Suárez, Mayra Alejandra & Moreno, Maira Alejandra Zambrano, 2024, Coccinellidae (Coleoptera: Coccinelloidea) from Colombia: A systematic and illustrated list, Zootaxa 5478 (1), pp. 1-172 : 4-6

Family Coccinellidae Latreille, 1807

Coccinellidae represent a family of Coleoptera that evolved from a mycophagous to a predatory diet, finding in it an adaptive niche in which to thrive and develop ( Giorgi et al. 2009). Fossil records, biogeographical and molecular studies and phylogenetic inference methods have estimated their origin at 143 Ma (Upper Cretaceous), with a strong diversification between 125 and 70 Ma (Lower Cretaceous), in accordance with the flowering and adaptive radiation of the Hemiptera : Sternorrhyncha, their favorite prey ( Che et al. 2021; Szawaryn 2021). Coccinellidae is the family with the largest number of species within the superfamily Coccinelloidea , a group composed of predominantly mycophagous beetles ( Robertson et al. 2015). Currently, about 6000 species and 360 genera are known in Coccinellidae , classified into three subfamilies ( Microweiseinae , Monocoryninae and Coccinellinae ) where Coccinellinae contains most of the known species, and 37 tribes and sutribes, including Madeirodulini ( Vandenberg & Hanson 2019; Szawaryn et al. 2020; Che et al. 2021). At present, a consensus on tribal structure is far from being achieved ( Aruggoda et al. 2010; Magro et al. 2010; Robertson et al. 2015; Che et al. 2021). In the Americas, the family is abundant in the Neotropical Region (tropics and subtropics), with a lower species diversity in temperate and cool climate zones ( Ślipiński & Tomaszewska 2010).

Morphologically, coccinellids are small insects, generally with an average size of two to six millimeters in length, oval or rounded in shape, more or less compact, with simple margins and dorsum, without modifications such as striae, carinae, irregularities or expansions of any kind, such as spines, horns, or protuberances, only with irregularly distributed punctures. The dorsal coloration of many species is aposematic, presenting large bright areas with patterns of red, orange, and yellow spots, combined with black and white ( Figs. 4a–d ). Other species have earth tones, usually opaque, including brown, chestnut, ochre and black, sometimes with confusing mixtures of colors that allow them to hide between trunks and branches ( Figs. 1a–c ). Some species have metallic and shiny tones, blue, green, violet, or copper ( Figs. 2d , 3c , 11b ). The dorsal designs are simple, with large areas of different colors, adorned with oval, linear, or irregular stripes and spots, on the pronotum and elytra. Dorsal pilosity is absent in many species, while in others it is abundant and thick (González 2014). They have simple, cursorial legs, in some cases with the tibial edges expanded or with spines, the tarsi are pseudotrimerous, sometimes trimerous, rarely tetramerous, with the first two tarsomeres bilobed, the antennae have 6 to 11 antennomeres, with a terminal club, and the abdomen composed of five or six ventrites, with postcoxal lines present in most species. The male genital apparatus has an independent ejaculatory piece (penis), in the shape of a “C” or “J”, which is inserted into a central piece (tegmen), which has two usually well-developed parameres, and an articulated tegminal strut joined to the tegmen at the base. The female genital apparatus usually has a simple “C”-shaped spermatheca, rarely curled or with auxiliary parts, and a pair of coxites with an apical styli ( Ślipiński 2007). The larvae can be elongated or oval, somewhat flattened, with aposematic colors of red, orange, or yellow, alternating with white and black, others have inconspicuous colors such as cream, ocher, or brown ( Figs. 13d–h ). Many tend to be ferocious and agile hunters, especially those of the campodeiform type which are usually sclerotized or membranous. Others are entirely covered with white waxy excretions on the dorsum, providing them with chemical and physical protection. Many species have spicules (microscopic spines) covering large areas of the body surface that give them a silky appearance and many also have diverse types of thorny and complex setae. In a few groups the larvae have almost a bare derm ( Ślipiński 2007; González 2014).

Most species are predators, feeding mainly on different groups of Sternorrhyncha ( Insecta: Hemiptera ): aphids ( Aphididae ), soft scales ( Coccidae ), armoured scales ( Diaspididae ), mealybugs ( Pseudococcidae ), whiteflies ( Aleyrodidae ), psyllids ( Psyllidae ), fluted scales or cottony scales ( Monophlebidae ), ensign scales ( Ortheziidae ) and other groups (e.g., Adelgidae , Dactylopiidae , Liviidae , Triozidae ). Other favorite prey includes spider mites (Arachnidae: Acari: Tetranychidae ), thrips ( Insecta: Thysanoptera) and moth eggs ( Insecta: Lepidoptera ) ( Giorgi et al. 2009). Many species, such as Coleomegilla maculata ( Degeer, 1775) ( Michaud & Grant 2005) and Naemia seriata Melsheimer, 1847 ( McAlpine et al. 2018), supplement their diet with pollen. A large group of coccinellids has shifted to a phytophagous diet, with a few species considered pests ( Gordon 1975), whereas a bunch of genera has reverted to mycophagous feeding (González 2014; Majerus 2016). The coccinellid life cycle is characterized by a long adult life, which in some cases extends up to a year, after a short larval development of no more than a month, with very voracious larvae that usually follow the same type of feeding as the adults; some species are bivoltine or polyvoltine, presenting shorter life cycles ( Kuznetzov 1997; Majerus 2016).

More information on the biology and morphology of Coccinellidae can be found in numerous works: Hodek & Honek (1996), Kuznetzov (1997), Vandenberg (2002a), Ślipiński (2007), Ślipiński & Tomaszewska (2010), Hodek et al. (2012), González (2014) and Majerus (2016). For detailed information on the morphology of the larvae, see the works of Gage (1920), Rees et al. (1994) and Ślipiński (2007), and for pupae the work of Phuoc & Stehr (1974). Regarding the classification and phylogeny of Coccinellidae , the following studies may be consulted: Ślipiński. (2007), Aruggoda et al. (2010), Magro et al. (2010), Seago et al. (2011), Escalona & Ślipiński (2012b), Szawaryn et al. (2015), Robertson et al. (2015), Escalona et al. (2017), Li et al. (2019), Che et al. (2021), Nattier et al. (2021), and Tomaszewska et al. (2021).

Species richness, biodiversity, and biogeography of Colombia

Colombia is a country that has been privileged with a unique biodiversity.It contains two of the world’s 36 biodiversity hotspots, which are areas that have a great diversity and endemism of flora and fauna, but also are highly threatened: the Tropical Andes hotspot and the Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena hotspot ( López-Gallego & Morales-Morales 2022). Colombia has been recognized as one of the 12 countries with the greatest biodiversity worldwide ( Hernández et al. 1992). A great diversity of habitats has resulted in extremely rich inventories, with a flora that counts nearly 26,500 species of flowering plants, only slightly surpassed by Brazil, as well as 1,600 species of ferns, 976 of mosses and 1,700 of lichens, which places Colombia on the top in these groups in the Neotropics ( Rangel-Churio 2015). As for the fauna, Colombia holds the first place in birds with 1,834 species, and in amphibians with 700 species, representing the greatest richness in these groups in the Neotropics, with a great richness in reptiles (512 species) and mammals (492 species) ( Rangel-Churio 2015).

Regarding the arthropod fauna and especially insects, although it is possible to find extensive information, there are no consolidated taxonomic studies for many groups ( Girón et al. 2021). In some groups in which detailed information exists, the richness of Colombia’s fauna is confirmed, e.g. the list of Papilionoidea ( Lepidoptera ) provided by Garwood et al. (2022) places Colombia as the country with the most butterfly species in the world (3,642), equivalent to 19.4% of the total known for the planet. As for coccinellids, to date 404 species have been recorded for Colombia (present work), around half of them being endemic, with a species richness similar to that of Peru (415 species) and surpassed in the Neotropics only by Brazil (777 species) ( González 2007, 2012a).

From the biogeographical point of view, Colombia is located in the two biogeographical regions present in South America: the Andean region and the Neotropical region (according to Morrone 2001).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Living specimens: a: Coccidophilus sp.; b: Delphastus argentinicus; c: Azya orbigera orbigera; d: Brachiacantha bistripustulata; e: Cyrea mariae; f: Hinda decemverrucata; g: H. designata; h: Serratitibia bisquatuorpustulata. Photos: Cherre Sade Bezerra Da Silva (a), Gustavo Fernando Brahamian (b), Juan Arango (c, d), Nima Gallego (e), Beatriz Leiderman (f), Esteban Villa Restrepo (g), Jonathan Aguirre (h).

FIGURE 2. Living specimens: a: Neaporia sp.; b: Chilocorus cacti; c: C. nigrita; d: Curinus colombianus; e: Harpasus ferrugineus; f: H. quadrifolium; g: Zagreus adelae; h: Z. bimaculosus. Photos: Juan Arango (a, b, d), Evelin Arcaya (c, e), Elendil Cocchi (f), Sebastián Rueda Serrano (g), Cherre Sade Bezerra Da Silva (h).

FIGURE 3. Living specimens: a: Zagreus guttatus; b: Z. tetraspilus; c: Chnoodes terminalis; d: Dioria setigera; e: Anatis lebasii; f: Carpinchita devestita; g: Cheilomenes sexmaculata; h: Coelophora inaequalis. Photos: David Föster (a), Nicolás Zambrano (b), Juan Arango (c, g), Oscar Enciso (d), Juan Caicedo - Grupo Ecomunitario (e), Wilson Lombana Riaño (f), Cherre Sade Bezerra Da Silva (h).

FIGURE 4. Living specimens: a: Coleomegilla maculata maculata; b: Cycloneda emarginata; c: C. sanguinea; d: C. arcana; e: C. tricolorata; f: Egleis adjuncta; g: Eriopis punicola; h: Harmonia axyridis. Photos: Cherre Sade Bezerra Da Silva (a), Juan Arango (b, c, d), David Föster (e, h), Liliana Prada Lara (f), Juan Sebastián Martínez Moreno (g).

FIGURE 11. Living specimens: a: Toxotoma cruciata; b: T. flavofasciata; c: T. monovittata; d: Hyperaspis connectens; e: H. festiva; f: H. onerata; g: H. orthivora; h: H. pseudodonzeli. Photos: Yohan Solano (a), Juan Sebastián Martínez Moreno (b), Andreas Kay (c), Beatríz Leiderman (d), Wilson Lombana Riaño (e), Felipe Campos (f), Yenny Natalia Pedraza (g), Eerika Schulz (h).

FIGURE 13. Living specimens: a: Scymnus loewii; b: S. rubicundus; c: Stethorus sp.; d: larva of Coleomegilla maculata maculata; e: larva of Stethorus sp.; f: larva of Zagreus bimaculosus; g: larva of Scymnus sp.; h: larvae of Novius punicus. Photos: Fernando Tellez (a), Cherre Sade Bezerra Da Silva (b, c, d, e, f), Guillermo González (g), Takumasa Kondo (h).