Synonyms
Coccinella Linnaeus, 1758: 364. TS: Coccinella septempunctata Linnaeus, 1758.
Diagnosis
Coccinella is similar to Adalia sharing straight, non emarginate anterior margin of mesoventrite and female genital track with tube-like sclerotised infundibulum. Coccinella differs from Adalia having abdominal postcoxal line not recurved and with oblique dividing line.
Description
Length 4-8.5 mm. Elytra weakly convex; winged, glabrous. Elytral colour pattern, constant, uniformly orange with black spots or transverse markings. Head with anterior clypeal border straight between lateral projections. Antenna 11-segmented; slightly shorter than head capsule with compact 3-segmented club. Terminal maxillary palpomere strongly securiform. Pronotal disc evenly convex transversely; lateral margins narrowly margined within upturned external borders. Prothoracic hypomeron without fovea near anterior angles; prosternal process with distinct carinae extenfing forward. Anterior margin of mesoventrite straight and entirely bordered. Elytral margin with thickened margins; epipleuron not foveate. Tibial spurs formula 0-2-2. Abdominal postcoxal line not recurved and incomplete laterally with oblique additional line. Male terminalia. Parameres and phallobase symmetrical; penis guide symmetrical. Parameres articulated with phallobase. Penis stout, consisting of single sclerite; basal capsule distinct and T-shaped. Apodeme of male sternum 9 very narrow and rod-like. Female terminalia. Coxities club-handle like; styli terminal, well developed, with apical setae; infundibulum tube-like, enclosing the sperm duct; sperm duct simple, uniform in diameter. Spermatheca distinctly curved with cornu and basal ramus and nodulus; spermathecal accessory gland adjacent to sperm duct.
Distribution and Biology
This is a cosmopolitan genus with most of the 70 recognised species recorded from the Holarctic Region. Two species occur in Australia: C. undecimpunctata was introduced from Europe and is restricted to Western Australia and Tasmania, and C. transversalis is a widespread Oriental and Australian species, and is the most common ladybird species in Australia. All species are aphid predators supplementing diets with pollen and other small invertebrates.
Genus References
Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. Laurentii Salvii, Holmiae. 823 pp.
Iablokoff-Khnzorian, S.M. 1982. Les coccinelles. Coleoptères-Coccinellidae. Société nouvelle des editions Boubée, Paris. 568 pp
Gordon, R D. 1985. The Coccinellidae (Coleoptera) of America north of Mexico. Journal of the New York Entomological Society, 93(1): 1-912.
Pope, R. D. 1989. A revision of the Australian Coccinellidae (Coleoptera). Part 1. Subfamily Coccinellinae. Invertebrate Taxonomy, 2 (1988): 663-735.
Slipinski, S.A. 2007. Australian Ladybird Beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) their biology and classification. ABRS, Canberra. 286 pp.
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