Synonyms
Chaetolotis amy Slipinski, 2004: 400
Diagnosis
This species cannot be confused with any other Australian ladybird due to the unusual setation of dorsal side of body, the antennal grooves by the inner margin of eyes and the acuminate terminal maxillary palpomere
Description
Length mm 3.9-4.4. Body rounded, moderately convex; pronotal and elytral margins entirely visible from above. Surfaces between dorsal punctures highly polished and shiny. Ground colour of dorsal and ventral surfaces blackish brown to black, elytra usually with distinct greenish or bluish metallic tint; labrum and legs except for the tarsi and abdomen brown to dark brown, tarsi, mouthparts and antennae yellowish brown. Head slightly convex, sparsely and regularly punctuate, punctures bearing mostly white or yellowish simple setae. Clypeus arcuate anteriorly, with prominent, rounded anterior angles. Eyes large, coarsely facetted, dorsally separated by about 2.5 times width of an eye. Pronotum sparsely punctate, the punctures bearing dark brown or black setae; the pronotal base with 5 tufts of apparent, white, dense groups of inclined setae at each corner, at middle of the base and between corner and the middle but slightly closer to the lateral corner. Elytra with arcuate and incomplete row or two of coarse punctures along the suture, otherwise irregularly punctuate; the coarse punctures devoid of setae, the secondary small punctures always setigerous bearing dark setae dorsally and more often whitish setae near the lateral margins. Abdomen: postcoxal line of first ventrite curved posteriad and laterad closely paralleling posterior margin for most of length, fading well before attaining lateral margin; postcoxal disc coarsely punctured inside.
Male
Male genitalia: tegmen 1.1 times and median lobe 0.9 times as long as abdomen; each paramere with several long setae at apex.
Female
Not externally different from male. Ovipositor moderately sclerotised, coxities entirely separated; spermatheca very lightly sclerotised, simple.
Variation
Not observed.
Distribution and Biology
Known only from rainforest areas of northern New South Wales and southern Queensland. The adults have been collected at lights and at night on lichen-alga-moss covered rocks. Click on map for larger version (use the bowser 'back arrow' to return to this page).
Species References
Slipinski, A, 2004. Revision of the Australian Coccinellidae (Coleoptera). Part 2. Tribe Sticholotidini. Annales Zoologici, 54: 389-402.
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