Research Article |
Corresponding author: Yu-Long Su ( 15290837059@163.com ) Corresponding author: Xing-Min Wang ( 32457430@qq.com ) Academic editor: Alexander Kirejtshuk
© 2024 Chu-Yang Huang, Li-Ling Zeng, Wu-wei Fan, Ping Lin, Qi-Jin Dong, Yu-Long Su, Xing-Min Wang.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Huang C-Y, Zeng L-L, Fan W-wei, Lin P, Dong Q-J, Su Y-L, Wang X-M (2024) A new species of the genus Serangium Blackburn (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae) from China, with description of the immature stages. ZooKeys 1210: 197-206. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1210.129040
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A new species Serangium xinpingensis Huang & Wang, sp. nov. is described from Yunnan Province, China, as a newly discovered predator on Bemisia tabaci Gennadius (Hemiptera, Sternorrhyncha, Aleyrodidae). The new species is a valuable addition to the 14 species of this genus in China known before. A diagnosis, detailed description, including the structure of its immature stages, illustrations, and the distribution of the new species are provided.
Coccinelloidea, larva, Microweiseinae, pupa, taxonomy
Coccinellidae Latreille, 1807 is the largest family within the superfamily Coccinelloidea, comprises 6896 species recorded worldwide (
The genus Serangium was originally established by
Serangium is the largest genus of the tribe Serangiini, comprising 48 extant species, and mostly occurring in the Oriental and Australian regions (
The adult samples examined were collected from Yunnan Province, China. The larval specimens used for this work were obtained by rearing from eggs laid by females of S. xinpingensis. We observed this ladybird preying on Bemisia tabaci Gennadius infesting Tithonia diversifolia (Hemsl.) A. Gray (Fig.
The adult morphological terminology used in this paper follows
TL total length, from apical margin of clypeus to apex of elytra;
TW total width, across both elytra at widest part;
TH total height, through the highest point of elytra to metaventrite;
HW head width, including eyes;
PL pronotal length, from the middle of the anterior margin to the base of the pronotum;
PW pronotal width at widest part;
EL elytral length, along the suture, from the apex to the base including the scutellum;
EW = TW.
The examined specimens were stored in 75% ethanol. The specific structures of larvae including mouthparts, head, and tibiotarsus, as well as abdomen of adult, were detached and cleaned with 10% NaOH at 56 C for 1 h. Subsequently, these structures were dissected and rinsed with distilled water. Following processing, the genitalia of both males and females were transferred to neutral balsam, and the specific structures of larvae were transferred to glycerol. Photographs of these structures were taken with an Axiocam 506 color digital camera attached to a Zeiss Image M2 microscope using ZEN 2.3 software. The habitus photographs of larvae and adults were taken with a Canon EOS 5DSR digital camera and processed by using Helicon Focus 7. All photos were processed by using Adobe Photoshop 2023 and Adobe Illustrator 2020.
Serangium Blackburn, 1889: 187, 209. Type species, monotypy: Serangium mysticum Blackburn, 1889.
Serangium:
Semichnoodes
Weise, 1892: 15. Type species, monotypy: Semichnoodes kunowi Weise, 1892. Synonymized by
Catana
Chapin, 1940: 266. Type species, original designation, Catana clauseni Chapin, 1940. Synonymized by
Body minute, length ranging 1.0–2.5 mm, hemispherical, with head resting closely against prosternal anterior margin at rest; dorsum glossy, bearing sparse, long, thin setae. Mandible small, triangular, with single apical tooth and reduced mola (Fig.
Serangium xinpingensis sp. nov. a–c habitus photos: a dorsal view b lateral view c front view d prothorax, ventral view e maxilla, ventral view f labium, ventral view g mandible, dorsal view h antenna, dorsal view i posterior leg, ventral view. Scale bars: 0.2 mm (a–d, i); 0.1 mm (e, h); 0.05 mm (f, g).
Pronotum short, strongly transverse (Fig.
Abdomen with ventrites 1 and 5 notably longer than ventrites 2–4 together (Fig.
This species can be identified by its brown body, dark-brown pronotum with sparse setae and two subparallel longitudinal rows of punctures along the lateral elytral margin, and body integument covered with long, thin setae (Fig.
This species is very similar to Serangium clauseni (Chapin, 1940) and Serangium parcesetosum Sicard, 1929, but it differs from S. clauseni in its more arched penis, squarer bases of parameres, and abdominal ventrite 1 with more densely incised punctures (
TL: 2.04–2.35 mm, TW: 1.78–2.06 mm, TH: 1.28–1.34 mm, TL/TW: 1.14–1.15; PL/PW: 2.31–3.35; EL/EW: 1.84–1.87.
Body hemispherical; dorsum strongly convex (TH: 1.28–1.34 mm), glabrous (Figs
Head transverse and ventrally flattened, 0.41× elytral width (HW/EW = 2.45). Frons with long sparse setae. Eyes large and coarsely faceted, greatest interocular distance 0.36× of head width. Antenna with nine antennomeres, terminal antennomere large, and spatulately elongate (Fig.
Pronotum short and strongly transverse, 0.69× of elytral width (PW/EW = 1.96), sparsely covered with long setae. Prosternum with dense setae along anterior margin; prosternal process apically rounded.
Male genitalia. Penis strongly curved, arched, gradually narrowing, with blunt tip (Fig.
Female genitalia. Genital plate (coxites) subtriangular (Fig.
Length 2.98 mm; width 1.34 mm. Body fusiform, bright yellow overall, dorsal surface with two longitudinal rows of pigmented spots laterally, long setae concentrated on body sides and with sparse, short setae on dorsum.
Head subovoid. Mouthparts light brown; frontal arms U-shaped, distinct. Three bulging stemmata presented on each side at antennal insertions, arranged in triangle (Fig.
Thorax with parallel anterior and posterior margins of each segment, strongly convex on lateral margins; laterally with pigmented spots, bearing long setae. Prothorax narrower than meso- and metathorax, meso- and metathorax almost equal in length and width. Tibiotarsus light brown, elongate, and translucent, with sparse setae; tarsal claws sickle-shaped; basal teeth subtriangular, with one long seta at base (Fig.
Abdomen 9-segmented, each segment with lateral margin strongly convex, pigmented spots, bearing setae (Fig.
Description of pupa. Length 2.73 mm; width 2.11 mm. Body oval, light yellow, bearing flexible setae.
Holotype
: 1♂, China, Yunnan: Musha Township, Yuxi, 23.8507°N, 101.7782°E, ca 475 m elev., 22.v.2023, Huang CY leg (
China (Yunnan).
The species epithet “xinpingensis” refers to the Xinping County where the type series was collected.
This is the first time that individual variation in appearance was found in Serangium. Based on our examination of 16 specimens, the male genitalia are highly uniform. The species displays distinct intraspecific variations in the coloration of adults. The head and pronotum coloration frequently subuniform, while the elytra along suture and outer margins may vary from brown to blackish-brown among individuals (Fig.
The fourth instar larva and pupa of Serangium xinpingensis sp. nov. a fourth instar larva, dorsal view b fourth instar larva, lateral view c pupa, dorsal view d–j larval structures: d head capsule, dorsal view e antenna, dorsal view f labrum. dorsal view g mandible, dorsal view h tibiotarsus and claw. dorsal view i maxillary mala, ventral view j mouthparts, ventral view. Scale bars: 1 mm (a–c); 0.05 mm (d–f, h–j); 0.025 mm (g).
Larvae of the subfamily Microweiseinae have been given little attention, and only two species have been recorded so far, namely Scymnomorphus japonicus (Kamiya, 1960) and Serangium japonicus Chapin, 1940, belonging to the tribes Microweiseini and Serangiini, respectively. The larva of Scymnomorphus japonicus was described by
The authors sincerely thank Mr Feng Peng, Mr Quan Zhang, and Mr Zhendong Huang for neatening the specimens, and Ms Jiaming Zhuang for dissecting the larva.
The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
No ethical statement was reported.
The research was supported by the Key Science and Technology Projects of YNTC (2023530000241004), the Science and Technology Program of Guangzhou (202206010113), and the laboratory of Lingnan Modern Agriculture Project (NZ2021023).
Conceptualization: CYH, XMW. Investigation: QJD, PL, YLS, WF, CYH, LLZ. Writing - original draft: CYH, LLZ. Writing - review and editing: XMW.
Chu-Yang Huang https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5943-7088
Li-Ling Zeng https://orcid.org/0009-0007-9858-0638
All of the data that support the findings of this study are available in the main text or Supplementary Information.