Abstract
This note has the purpose to rectify the identification of Stethorus minutalus Gordon & Chapin as a predator of Bemisia tabaci Gennadius (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), for its correct name, Nephaspis cocois Gordon in a recent published paper. Similarities and differences between these two species are presented to avoid future misidentifications.
Identification; morphology; taxonomy
SCIENTIFIC NOTE
Name rectification and comparisons between Nephaspis cocois Gordon and Stethorus minutalus Gordon & Chapin (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)
Lúcia M Almeida; Cibele S Ribeiro-Costa
Lab de Sistemática e Bioecologia de Coleoptera (Insecta), Depto de Zoologia, Univ Federal do Paraná, CP 19020, 81531-980, Curitiba, PR, Brasil; CNPq fellowship holders; lalmeida@ufpr.br; stra@ufpr.br
ABSTRACT
This note has the purpose to rectify the identification of Stethorus minutalus Gordon & Chapin as a predator of Bemisia tabaci Gennadius (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), for its correct name, Nephaspis cocois Gordon in a recent published paper. Similarities and differences between these two species are presented to avoid future misidentifications.
Key words: Identification, morphology, taxonomy
The purpose of this note is to rectify a misidentification of a species published in Silva & Bonani (2008), which reported a new record of a coccinellid feeding on eggs and nymphs of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci Gennadius biotype B (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae). The name Stethorus minutalus Gordon & Chapin needs to be corrected to Nephaspis cocois Gordon. Also, in the title and abstract, the subgenus Stethorus was misspelled as "Stehtorus" and "Stethotrus" although, recently, the subgenus was considered at genus level (Ślipiński 2007).
After these corrections, the geographical distribution of N. cocois, which was only known to Recife, Pernambuco (Gordon 1972) was extended to Piracicaba, São Paulo. Nephaspis Casey belongs to Scymninae (Coccinellidae) and comprises 43 species (Gordon 1996) distributed in Neartic and Neotropical regions. Stethorus Weise belongs to the same subfamily and comprises 62 species (Gordon & Chapin 1983, Ślipiński 2007), but it has a worldwide distribution.
Nephaspis cocois is similar to Stethorus minutalus due to certain external characters and genitalia pattern. They have the same size (less than 2 mm); integument black colored with dense pubescence; antennae with 11 segments; abdomen with six sternites; male genitalia with median lobe shorter than parameres, which are slender and with a few setae on the apex.
These two species differ from each other mainly by the position of the head and mouthparts; shape of the antennae and postcoxal line. Nephaspis cocois has the head with mouthparts directed posteroventrally in a resting position, concealing the prosternum; antennae with enlarged basal segment and postcoxal line incomplete. Stethorus minutalus has the prosternum produced anteriorly to partly concealed mouthparts; basal antennal segment not strongly enlarged and postcoxal line complete.
In this way, it will be possible to separate these two species of Scymninae that share some similar characters, avoiding future misidentifications with species of potential economic importance.
Acknowledgments
We wish to thank the anonymous reviewers and the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for scholarships to the authors. Contribution no. 1779 of the Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Brasil.
Received 10/XI/08.
Accepted 16/X/09.
Edited by Marcelo Duarte - MZ/USP
- Gordon R D (1972) A review of the genus Nephaspis Casey and a comparison with the genus Clitostethus Weise (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae). Rev Agric 47: 3-4.
- Gordon R D (1996) South American Coccinellidae (Coleoptera). Part V: A taxonomic revision of the genus Nephaspis Casey. Frustula Entomol. 19: 1-50.
- Gordon R D, Chapin E A (1983) A revision of the New World species of Stethorus Weise (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae). Trans Am Entomol Soc 109: 229-276.
- Silva L D, Bonani J P (2008) Ocorrência de Stethorus ( Stethorus ) minutalus Gordon & Chapin (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) predando Bemisia tabaci biótipo B (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) em algodoeiro no Brasil. Neotrop Entomol 37: 86-88.
- Ślipiński A (2007) Australian Ladybird Beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) Their biology and classification. Advance Press Pty Ltd, 288p.
Publication Dates
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Publication in this collection
14 May 2010 -
Date of issue
Apr 2010
History
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Accepted
16 Oct 2009 -
Received
10 Nov 2008
