Phrynocaria perrotteti

Phrynocaria perrotteti (Mulsant, 1850)

(Figs. 5, 6)

Coelophora perrotteti Mulsant, 1850: 409.

Coelophora perrotteti: Crotch 1874: 54.— Korschefsky 1932: 296.— Gordon 1987: 19.

Anegleis (Pseudanegleis) perrotteti: Iablokoff-Khnzorian 1982: 296.

Phrynocaria perrotteti: Poorani 2002: 339.

Diagnosis: The nominate form of Phrynocaria perrotteti (Figs. 5 a–c) is superficially strikingly similar (both as adults and larvae) to Anegleis cardoni (Weise) and both have surprisingly similar host affinities too and are frequently associated with whiteflies. Both species coexist in South India and the propensity for feeding on whitefly prey is much more pronounced in the case of P. perrotteti (Figs. 5j, k). Phrynocaria perrotetti is highly variable (Fig. 5 a–i) and can be identified only by a combination of the generic characters. Anegleis cardoni can be differentiated from the nominate form of P. perrotteti by the elytral pattern, widely separated and smaller eyes, much smaller scutellar shield, prothoracic hypomeron without foveae, and the male genitalia.

Brief redescription: Length 4.00– 4.70 mm, width 3.60–4.20 mm. Form (Figs. 5 a–i) variable from round to slightly broadly oval, strongly convex. Nominate form (Figs. 5 a–c) pale creamy yellow to lemon yellow, with black markings on pronotum and elytra as follows: pronotum with a pair of triangular markings on posterior margin, a circular median spot and two smaller lateral spots; scutellar shield broadly triangular; elytra with three stripes, one along suture, two on each elytron–inner stripe short and straight, outer stripe longer, curved, posteriorly clubbed. Highly variable with the following common forms: completely black except anterior and lateral margins of pronotum narrowly pale yellow (Fig. 5i) / completely orange to yellowish brown (Figs. 5g, h) / orange yellow with four small black spots (Fig. 5f) / orange yellow with a large black patch occupying most of the discal area except proximal one-fourth (Figs. 5d, e). Head (Fig. 6a) with large, posteriorly divergent eyes, antenna (Fig. 6b) with terminal antennomere elongate oval. Prosternal carinae present (Fig. 6c), reaching a little beyond middle of prosternum, anterior margin of mesoventrite deeply emarginate. Abdominal postcoxal line incomplete (Fig. 6d). Male genitalia (Figs. 6 e–g) with penis guide of tegmen in ventral view elongate, lanceolate in outline, slightly longer than parameres; penis (Fig. 6g) as illustrated. Female genitalia with spermatheca (Figs. 6h, i) strongly curved, infundibulum present. Larva (Figs. 5j, k) black with white or yellow spots.

Distribution: India: Delhi; Karnataka; Tamil Nadu; Pondicherry; Orissa; Punjab; West Bengal. Pakistan.

Notes: Poorani (2002) transferred Anegleis (Pseudanegleis) perrotteti to Phrynocaria based on the large, posteriorly distinctly divergent eyes, absence of meso- and metatibial spurs, incomplete abdominal postcoxal lines and deep foveae on anterolateral corners of prothoracic hypomeron. Anegleis Iablokoff-Khnzorian, 1982 is an Oriental genus of Coccinellini established with two anomalous subgenera, namely, Anegleis (Anegleis) and Anegleis (Pseudanegleis). The type species of these subgenera were Micraspis cardoni (Weise, 1892) and Coelophora perrotteti Mulsant, 1850, respectively. These two species are externally strikingly similar and mimic each other, but otherwise unrelated and both are distributed in the Indian Subcontinent with A. cardoni having a relatively wider geographic distribution in South Asia. The name Anegleis was first mentioned and included in Iablokoff-Khnzorian’s key to the Palaearctic genera of Coccinellini (Iablokoff-Khnzorian 1979) without a formal, detailed description and illustrations. Later, Iablokoff-Khnzorian (1982) in his conspectus on Palaearctic and Oriental Coccinellini established Anegleis as a new genus with these two subgenera. Iablokoff-Khnzorian (1984: 217) published an erratum and further list of amendments to his 1982 volume, in which he mentioned that Pseudanegleis was congeneric with Egleis adjuncta Mulsant, 1850 from South America and hence Pseudanegleis fell in synonymy with Egleis and Anegleis became its subgenus. Fürsch (1990) also included Egleis (Anegleis) Iablokoff-Khnzorian in his list of valid genera and subgenera of Coccinellidae. But the name Egleis (Anegleis) has not been used much after it was proposed though Anegleis has been widely used in most of the published literature. Anegleis (Pseudanegleis) should be removed from synonymy with Egleis and treated as synonymous with Phrynocaria following Poorani (2002).