An illustrated guide to lady beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) of the Indian Subcontinent. Part 1. Tribe Coccinellini Author POORANI, J. text Zootaxa 2023 2023-08-18 5332 1 1 307 http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5332.1.1 journal article 264199 10.11646/zootaxa.5332.1.1 66e0ec51-d494-43d4-965e-a2cd1462ef54 1175-5326 8261502 424F7439-4095-46A5-93E3-C4130E3B6D9A Synonycha grandis (Thunberg) ( Figs 195 , 196 ) Coccinella grandis Thunberg, 1781: 12 ( Lectotype male, UUZM; Type locality: China ). Synonycha grandis : Mulsant, 1850: 230 ; 1866: 165 ; Crotch 1874: 171; Korschefsky 1932: 268 ; Poorani 2002a: 341 . Diagnosis. Length: 10.50–15.00 mm; width: 9.00– 11.50 mm . Form very large and round, dorsum strongly convex and glabrous. Ground colour bright red, orange or yellow, pronotum with a large trapezoidal median black marking on basal margin, elytra with 13 black spots-three common spots on suture, rest arranged in a 1-2-2 pattern on each elytron ( Fig. 196k–l ). Ventral side uniformly reddish or yellowish brown. Tarsal claw stout, double ( Fig. 195c ). Abdominal postcoxal line ( Fig. 195a, b ) incomplete without an associated line. Male genitalia ( Fig. 195d–g ) and spermatheca ( Fig. 195h, i ) as illustrated. Immature stages. Eggs yellow and spindle shaped, laid in large groups ( Fig. 196a ). Larva greyish black with yellow pattern ( Fig. 196b–e ). Pupa ( Fig. 196f ) yellowish orange to reddish with black maculation. Distribution. India : Widely distributed, more common in the southern and northeastern regions (Andamans, Karnataka , Manipur , Tamil Nadu , West Bengal , Sikkim ); Sri Lanka ; Nepal ; Malaysia ; Philippines ; New Guinea ; Japan ; China ; Taiwan . Widely distributed in the Oriental region. Prey/associated habitat. Found in large numbers on bamboo, and rarely in crop ecosystems. Collected in association with aphids infesting bhendi, lablab and Quercus serrata . The adults survive on aphids infesting cowpea, groundnut, cotton, pea, rose, jack, brinjal, cabbage, radish, mustard, citrus, sorghum, etc. in the laboratory, but apparently bamboo aphids are essential/preferred food ( Puttarudriah & Channabasavanna 1952 , 1953 ). Recorded hosts include the following: Hemiptera : Aphididae : Aphis craccivora Koch , Aphis gossypii Glover , Astegopteryx (as Oregma ) bambusae (Buckton) , Astegopteryx spp. , Pseudoregma alexanderi (Takahashi) , Pseudoregma bambusicola (Takahashi) , Pseudoregma bucktoni Ghosh et al . , sugarcane woolly aphid ( Ceratovacuna lanigera Zehntner ), Ceratovacuna silvestrii (Takahashi) , Tuberculatus indicus Ghosh. Seasonal occurrence. Collected round the year; particularly abundant during July–December in and around Bangalore ( Puttarudriah & Channabasavanna 1953 ); June–August in eastern region ( West Bengal ). Natural enemies. Tetrastichus sp. ( Puttarudriah & Channabasavanna 1953 ); Coccipolipus synonychae ( Ramaraju & Poorani 2012 ) . FIGURE 195 . Synonycha grandis (Thunberg) : a. abdomen; b. abdominal postcoxal line; c. tarsal claw; d–g. male genitalia: d. tegmen, ventral view; e. tegmen, lateral view; f. penis; g. penis apex; h. female genitalia; i. spermatheca. FIGURE 196 . Synonycha grandis (Thunberg) , life stages: a. eggs; b–e. larva on bamboo; f. pupa; g–l. adult (Image credit: a, b, d, e, l – H.M. Yeshwanth, NCBS). FIGURE 197. Calvia andrewesi (Weise) , life stages: a, b. larva; c. prepupa; d, e. pupa; f–i. live adult. FIGURE 198 . Coelophora lushuiensis (Jing) : a, adult, dorsal view; b. adult, lateral view; c. adult, frontal view; d–g. male genitalia: d. tegmen, lateral view; e. tegmen, ventral view; f. penis; g. penis apex. FIGURE 199 . Harmonia andamanensis sp. n. : a. adult female, dorsal view; b. adult male, dorsal view; c. apical abdominal ventrites, male; d. apical abdominal ventrites, female; e. spermatheca; f–i. male genitalia: f. tegmen, lateral view; g. tegmen, ventral view; h. penis; i. penis apex. Notes. This is one of the largest ladybirds of the world and India . It is commonly found on ornamental and wild bamboo in association with various bamboo aphids. Stebbing (1903) illustrated the adult with brief notes. Puttarudriah & Channabasavanna (1952 , 1953 ) and Puttarudriah & Maheswari (1966) studied its biology, hosts and feeding potential. Deng et al . (1987) studied its potential as an augmentative bioagent for controlling sugarcane woolly aphid ( Ceratovacuna lanigera ) in China . See Ren et al. (2009) and Yu (2010) for more illustrations.