Synonyms
Serangiini Pope, 1962: 627.
Diagnosis
Body minute, 0.8-3.5 mm, hemispherical with head in repose withdrawn into prothorax and closely fitting ventrally against prominent prosternal lobe. Clypeus deeply emarginate around exposed antennal insertions; ventral side with antennal groove accommodating scape and pedicel along inner margin of eye. Maxillary palps with terminal palpomere always longer than wide, conical or barrel shaped; labial palps slender, narrowly separated at base and inserted on distal end of prementum. Antenna 8- or 9-segmented with large, flattened, 1-segmented club. Pronotum without distinct line separating anterior corners from the pronotal disc. Prosternum strongly prominent medially forming a broad lobe concealing mouthparts from below, deeply notched laterally to accommodate antennal club; prosternal process rounded apically, triangular, broadly and completely separating procoxae. Elytral epipleuron with clearly delimited cavities to accommodate apices of mid and hind femora. Abdomen with 5 ventrites; ventrite 1 and 5 much longer than 2-4; hind margin of terminal ventrite sometimes finely crenulated. Postcoxal line at abdominal ventrite 1 incomplete, reaching lateral margin of the ventrite, without associated pits or pores. Tarsus 3- or 4-segmented. Male genitalia: tegmen strongly asymmetrical, parameres distinctly reduced with sparse setae apically. Female genitalia: ovipositor triangular elongate, lightly sclerotised usually bearing short styli; spermatheca small and well sclerotised.
Distribution and Biology
Pantropical, with greatest diversity in the Oriental and Neotropical regions; only 1 genus occur in Australia. Members of Serangiini are known predators of whiteflies (Aleyrodidae) and several species are used as biological control agents against whiteflies in greenhouses and in orchards. There are also records of Serangium feeding on scale insects and psyllids.
Tribe References
Miyatake, M. 1994. Revisional studies on Asian genera of the subfamily Sticholotidinae (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae). Memoirs of the College of Agriculture, Ehime University, 38: 223-292
Pope, R D. 1962. A review of the Pharini (Coleoptra: Coccinellidae). Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Series 13, 4: 627-640
Slipinski, S.A. 2007. Australian Ladybird Beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) their biology and classification. ABRS, Canberra. 286 pp.
Slipinski, A, and D Burckhardt. 2006. Revision of the Australian Coccinellidae (Coccinellidae). Part 5. Tribe Serangiini. Annales Zoologici (Warszawa), 56, (1): 37-58.
[ Top ]