Oenopia quadripunctata Kapur

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 : 215-217

Oenopia quadripunctata Kapur

( Figs 153 , 154 )

Oenopia quadripunctata Kapur, 1963a: 27 (Holotype male, BMNH; Type locality: Shillong).— Poorani 2002a: 337; Poorani 2002b: 102; Yu 2010: 98–99.

Diagnosis. Length: 3.00– 3.50 mm; width: 2.50–2.90 mm. Form broadly rounded ( Fig. 153a ) to slightly more elongate oval ( Fig. 153b ), dorsum moderately convex and glabrous. Head black in female, yellow in male. Pronotum black, area extending from anterolateral corners to posterior margin yellowish. Scutellar shield black. Ground colour of elytra black, with four bright lemon yellow, oval spots and four semicircular or half spots near lateral margins ( Figs 153a, b ; 154 ). Ventral side dark brown to black except elytral epipleura lighter. Male genitalia ( Fig. 153d–f ) and spermatheca ( Fig. 153c ) as illustrated.

Distribution. India: Northeastern region (Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttarakhand, West Bengal); Bhutan; Myanmar; China.

Prey/associated habitat. Hemiptera : Aphididae : Aphis gossypii Glover , Aiceona litseae Basu & Hille Ris Lambers , Cervaphis rappardi indica Basu , Hyalopterus pruni (Geoffroy) , Tuberculatus indicus Ghosh , Tuberculatus (Acanthocallis) nervatus Chakrabarti and Raychaudhuri , Aphis fabae complex (as O. nr. quadripunctata ), Aphis (Toxoptera) aurantii Boyer de Fonscolombe , Aphis fabae solanella Theobald , Tinocalloides sp. In association with aphids feeding on Duranta repens , Quercus serrata , and Litsea polyantha . On aphids infesting okra, almond and peach. Found on mulberry along with Illeis confusa ( Sajan et al. 2019) .

Seasonal occurrence. Collected during October–November, March–July (label data).

Notes. Kapur (1963a) described it from Sikkim. Devi (1989) and Singh et al. (1993) provided accounts of its prey, biology and predatory potential. Also treated and illustrated by Ren et al. (2009) and Yu (2010).

Figures

FIGURE 153. Oenopia quadripunctata Kapur: a. male, dorsal view; b. female, dorsal view; c. spermatheca; d–f. male genitalia: d. tegmen, ventral view; e. penis; f. penis apex.

FIGURE 154. Oenopia quadripunctata Kapur, live adult.