Synonyms
Sticholotis culleni Slipinski, 2004: 395
Diagnosis
This species is very distinctive due to the convex and entirely yellowish brown body, wings absent and the metaventrite shorter than abdominal ventrite 1.
Description
Length 3.8-3.9 mm; Wingless; form rounded, strongly convex; pronotal margins very narrow and hardly explanate, not clearly visible from above, the elytral margins narrow but entirely visible. Ground colour of dorsal and ventral surfaces golden yellow; antennal club slightly darker as are the 3-4 rows of darker points on each elytron. Surfaces between pronotal and elytral punctures highly polished, spaces between head punctures finely reticulate and less shiny; dorsal punctures irregular and on pronotum and elytra becoming more dense and somewhat coarser towards the lateral margins; Head flat at middle with short sparse setae near clypeus. Clypeus weakly arcuate anteriorly, faintly upturned at anterior edge. Eyes large, coarsely facetted, dorsally separated by about thrice width of an eye. Scutellum triangular and very small, brown. Elytral epipleuron yellowish, broad and weakly concave, without distinct foveae, descending externally, with maximum width at the level of metaventrite. Abdomen: postcoxal line of first ventrite curved posteriad and laterad closely paralleling posterior margin for most of length, incomplete apically; postcoxal disc impunctate inside.
Male
Male genitalia. Tegmen 1.2 times and median lobe 1.8 times as long as abdomen; each paramere with single moderately long seta at apex.
Female
Not externally different from male. Ovipositor heavily sclerotised, coxities fused in basal 2/3; spermatheca not sclerotised.
Variation
Not observed.
Distribution and Biology
This species is known from three specimens collected at Mount Finnigan about 30 km south of Cooktown. The larva and biology are unknown.
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Species References
Slipinski, A. 2004. Revision of the Australian Coccinellidae (Coleoptera). Part 2. Tribe Sticholotidini. Annales Zoologici, 54: 389-402.
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