Synonyms
Bucolus orbiculatus Slipinski and Dolambi, 2007:772.
Diagnosis
This is a very distinctive species due to its bluish metallic, circular body and grooved abdominal ventrites.
Description
Length 1.9-2.3 mm. Body black; pronotum and elytra with distinct bluish metallic tinge; mouthparts, antennae, tarsi and abdomen dark brown. Dorsum distinctly convex and circular in outline, covered with whitish mostly appressed pubescence forming whorled pattern on elytra. Punctures on head about as large as eye facets, separated by 1.0-2.0 diameters; intervals between punctures shiny without microsculpture. Anterior clypeal margin straight. Antenna short and stout. Apical maxillary palpomere, 1.5 times as long as broad, almost parallel-sided. Eyes at frons separated by about 2.2 times eye width. Pronotal base not margined; prosternum long in front of procoxae with broad and forward oriented, setose projection that is about 0.75 times width of prosternum. Prosternal process 0.8 times as wide as transverse coxal diameter. Hypomeron deeply concave with antennal foveae anteriorly. Scutellum pentagonal, setose. Elytral surface densely, punctate; all punctures of similar size and about as large as those on pronotum, setigerous and 2-3 diameters apart; interspaces shiny and without noticeable microsculpture. Epipleuron about 2.2 times as broad as metepisternum, narrowing posteriorly from the level of abdomen and completely absent at very apex. Foveae well defined; the mesofemoral fovea deeply delimited both on metepisternum and epipleuron; the metafemoral one deeply on epipleuron. Meso-metaventral junction 1.2 times as wide as mesocoxa; mesoventrite straight and bordered anteriorly with deep lateral pits near meso-metaventral junction. Protibia short and broad almost straight along external margin of deep tarsal groove; mid and hind tibiae similar to each other, narrower and sharply angulated externally; claws in both sexes appendiculate with basal tooth prominent and short. Abdominal postcoxal line recurved and incomplete; ventrite V arcuate with very fine marginal line along outer edge.
Male
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Female
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Variation
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Distribution and Biology
Known only from northern Queensland.
Species References
Slipinski, A and Dolambi, F. 2007. Revision of the Australian Coccinellidae (Coleoptera). Part 7. Genus Bucolus Mulsant. Annales Zoologici (Warszawa), 57: 763-781.
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