Illeis cincta

Illeis cincta (Fabricius)

(Figs 114–116)

Coccinella cincta Fabricius, 1798: 77 (Type locality: India).

Psyllobora cincta: Mulsant 1850: 167; 1866: 127.

Thea cincta: Crotch 1874: 135.

Illeis cincta: Korschefsky 1932: 558; Poorani 2002a: 333; Poorani & Lalitha 2018: 113–114.

Illeis darbarii Sathe & Bhosale, 2002: 97; Poorani 2004: 186.

Diagnosis. Length: 4.00– 4.68 mm; width: 3.05–3.60 mm. Form (Fig. 114a–d) elongate oval, moderately convex. Head pale creamy yellow. Eyes more broadly separated than those of I. bielawskii. Pronotum with a pair of black median spots on posterior margin; anterior and lateral margins transparent, lateral margins slightly upturned. Elytra bright lemon yellow with transparent lateral margins, sometimes elytra appear to have greyish discal areas (Fig. 116g, h). Ventral side yellow. Male genitalia (Fig. 114e–h) and spermatheca (Fig. 114i) as illustrated.

Immature stages. Eggs (Figs 115a, 116a) white, spindle shaped, laid in groups. Larva (Fig. 115b–f) lemon yellow, with lateral black maculae on thoracic segments and four longitudinal rows of black spots on dorsal side, resembles and coexists with I. bielawskii. Pupa (Fig. 115g, h) pale greyish with yellow and black markings.

Distribution. India: Very common in peninsular and south India (Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu); Sri Lanka.

Prey/associated habitat. Occurs together with I. bielawskii in southern India. Commonly found feeding on various powdery mildews caused by Phyllactinia corylea, Podosphaera, Sphaerotheca, and Oidium spp., infesting sunflower, mulberry, Xanthium strumarium, cowpea, chillies, Pedulanthus sp., etc. Collected on sorghum, brinjal, pumpkin, cotton, and melon. Attracted to light (Ghorpade 1979a). Many aphids, coccids and mites have been erroneously reported in the literature as prey of I. cincta.

Seasonal occurrence. Present throughout the year, particularly active in post-rainy season.

Natural enemies. Dinocampus coccinellae (Schrank); Nothoserphus mirabilis Brues.

Notes. This is the most common species of Illeis in peninsular India and appears to be replaced by I. confusa and I. indica in the northern and eastern parts of India. Beeson (1941) described the life stages (as Thea cincta). Puttarudriah & Channabasavanna (1953) provided brief notes on its biology and hosts. Bielawski (1957, 1961) also treated it and illustrated the male genitalia.