Correction: Szawaryn et al. A New Tribe of the Ladybird Beetle Subfamily Microweiseinae (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) Discovered on an Island in the North Atlantic Ocean. Insects 2020, 11, 367.

The recent paper by Szawaryn et al [...].

Early evolution of Anamorphidae (Coleoptera: Coccinelloidea): the oldest known anamorphid beetles from Upper Cretaceous amber of northern Myanmar and the first report of potential glandular pores in the family.

In order to place newly discovered fossil taxa (Palaeosymbius gen. nov. with P. groehni and P. mesozoicus spp. nov.) from the mid-Cretaceous amber from northern Myanmar, we investigated the relations of extant and extinct lineages of the coccinellid group of Coccinelloidea with emphasis on the family Anamorphidae. We assembled a taxonomic sampling of 34 taxa, including 15 genera and 19 species of Anamorphidae, the most comprehensive sampling of Anamorphidae at the generic level in a phylogenetic analysis. A morphological dataset of 47 characters was built as well as a molecular alignment of 7140 bp including fragments of eight genes (12S, 16S, 18S, 28S, COI, COII, H3 and CAD). Five anamorphid and one endomychid species were sequenced for the first time and added to the dataset. We performed parsimony-based analysis of the morphological dataset and Bayesian inference analysis of the combined matrix (morphological plus molecular data). Our results confirm that Palaeosymbius belongs to Anamorphidae and represents the oldest known member of this family so far. Among Anamorphidae, Symbiotes (with extant and known Eocene species) was recovered as the most probable closest relative of Palaeosymbius. Our morphological studies additionally revealed the presence of probable glandular openings in the anterolateral corners of the pronotal margins in Asymbius sp. and Anamorphus sp., representing the first report of secretory openings in the family Anamorphidae. Similar openings are found in other cucujiform beetles such as Cryptophagidae and Boganiidae with possible defensive purposes.

Revision of the Mexican ladybird genus Vedalia Mulsant (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae).

The ladybird genus Vedalia was established by Mulsant in 1850 to accommodate a single species Vedalia sieboldii Mulsant. Since its description the genus attracted little attention, and its systematic position in modern classification of the subfamily Coccinellinae remained unclear. Here we provide revisionary study based on the type and non-type material from various collections. Male and female genitalia are illustrated for the first time, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) illustrations of the key characters are also provided. Position of the genus within the tribe Chnoodini Mulsant is confirmed. Distribution and biology of Vedalia are also discussed.

The Ladybird Beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) of La Palma.

This paper provides new data on the ladybird beetles (Coccinellidae) of La Palma, one of the western islands of the Canarian archipelago. The field survey of 54 study sites resulted in recording 2494 ladybird individuals belonging to 26 species. Seven of the species recorded were new to La Palma, including two, Harmonia quadripunctata (Pontoppidan) and Nephus reunioni (Fürsch), which were not registered so far on any of the Canary Islands. Novius conicollis (Korschefsky) is synonymized with N. cruentatus (Mulsant). Taking our survey and literature reports into account, a total of at least 35 species of Coccinellidae have so far been recorded on La Palma. This richness in species is lower compared to that of the central islands of the Canarian archipelago, Gran Canaria (42 species) and Tenerife (41 species), but higher than that of the remaining four islands (between 22 and 27 species). The detection of two alien species new to La Palma, Nephaspis bicolor Gordon and Nephus reunioni (Fürsch), confirms earlier observations that colonization of the Canary Islands by ladybird species of exotic origins seems to be a frequent phenomenon.

Three new species of Merma Weise (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae: Epilachnini) from Madagascar.

The herbivorous ladybird genus Merma Weise was regarded as an African endemite, however, recent examination of the type material of the two Malagasy species Epilachna hovana Sicard,1908 [now Merma hovana (Sicard,1908)] and Peralda quadriguttata Sicard, 1909 [now Merma quadriguttata (Sicard, 1909)], revealed they also belong to that genus. Here further three new species of Merma from Madagascar, M. ankarana sp. nov., M. antakotako sp. nov. and M. fisheri sp. nov., are described, diagnosed and illustrated. An updated key to species of Merma from Madagascar is also provided.

First Member of 'Higher Endomychidae' (Coleoptera: Coccinelloidea) from the Mid-Cretaceous Amber of Myanmar and New Insights into the Time of Origin of the Handsome Fungus Beetles.

A new genus and species of the family Endomychidae (Coleoptera: Coccinelloidea): Cretostenotarsus striatus Tomaszewska, Szawaryn and Arriaga-Varela gen. et sp. nov. are described, diagnosed and illustrated from the mid-Cretaceous amber from northern Myanmar. To test the systematic placement of the new extinct genus and species within the family, a phylogenetic analysis was conducted. A dataset of 38 morphological characters scored for 29 species (including the new fossil taxon), members of Endomychidae sensu stricto and representatives of Coccinelloidea as outgroups were analyzed using maximum parsimony. The results of the analysis indicate unequivocally that Cretostenotarsus striatus is a member of the Stenotarsus clade within a monophyletic 'endomychine complex' sensu Robertson et al. (2015), which corresponds to 'Higher Endomychidae' sensu Tomaszewska (2005). The present discovery confirms at least the Jurassic origin of Coccinelloidea and indicates a much older origin of Endomychidae than previously hypothesized.

Revision of Malagasy species of the genus Merma Weise (Coccinellidae: Epilachnini).

Malagasy Epilachnini are one of the least studied groups of the herbivorous ladybird beetles. Most of the species were described in the 19th and 20th centuries and their position within the modern classification has never been examined. Here we provide results of detailed study of two species Epilachna hovana Sicard, 1907 and Peralda quadriguttata, Sicard, 1909 which are proposed to be transferred to the genus Merma Weise (comb. nov.). Detailed morphological analysis, photographs of male and female genitalia and a key to species are also provided.

Platycrus-a remarkable new genus of the tribe Platynaspini (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) from Laos.

A new remarkable ladybird beetle Platycrus laotanus gen. et sp. nov. is described from Laos. It is placed in the tribe Platynaspini, but it differs from the remaining members of the tribe by having unusually expanded legs, a peculiar pocket-like structure to accommodate the tarsi in repose, and the antennae consisting of 11 antennomeres. Detailed morphological description and illustrations are provided. Taxonomic placement of the newly described taxon is discussed, and a transfer of the genera Crypticolus Strohecker and Hornious Weise from Platynaspini to Coccinellinae as incerte sedis.

Revision of the genus Coccidula Kugelann (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae).

The genus Coccidula Kugelann includes five species distributed in the Holarctic, with one species in North America and four in Palearctic region. Coccidula belongs to the tribe Coccidulini which historically was treated as a separate subfamily within ladybird beetles, but recent studies confirmed its placement as a tribe within the broadly defined subfamily Coccinellinae. All species are revised and a new synonymy of Lithophilus naviauxi Duverger with C. litophiloides Reitter is proposed. Light and electron microscopy pictures support morphological descriptions. An identification key to all species is also provided.

Phylogenetic Relatedness within the Internally Brooding Sea Anemones from the Arctic-Boreal Region.

Phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial 16S rDNA, nuclear 28S rDNA, and morphological and ecological traits of Aulactinia, Urticina and Cribrinopsis sea anemones inhabiting the Arctic-boreal region indicate discordances between trees derived from molecular sequences and those based on morphological traits. Nuclear genes were more informative than mitochondrial and morphological datasets. Our findings indicate that 16S rDNA has limited applicability for phylogenetic analyses at lower taxonomic levels and can only be used for distinction of families. Although 28S rDNA allowed for the classification of distinct genera, it could not confirm that species of Urticina and Cribrinopsis, which appeared to be closely related, were correctly separated into two different genera. The nuclear tree revealed inconsistencies between specimens belonging to European Urticina crassicornis and Pacific U. crassicornis; the latter seems to be a different species. In contrast to Pacific U. crassicornis, the specimens collected from different localities in the Barents Sea are on the same tree branch. The same was observed for specimens of Aulactinia stella. Both species brood their young internally. The dispersal of sea anemones with brooding juveniles seems to be less limited than expected and might be sufficient to settle habitats more than a thousand kilometers away.

A new genus-level and two new species-level synonyms in the extinct genus Neolitochropus Lyubarsky Perkovsky (Coleoptera: Cyclaxyridae).

Gimmel et al. (2019) recently treated the two fossil taxa of the beetle family Cyclaxyridae (Cucujoidea), a family that is today represented only by two species in New Zealand (Gimmel et al. 2009). Gimmel et al. (2019) synonymized two species from European amber described within the family Phalacridae (Cucujoidea), Stilbus bedovoyi Lyubarsky Perkovsky, 2011 and Neolitochropus hoffeinsorum Lyubarsky Perkovsky, 2016, with Neolitochropus bedovoyi (Lyubarsky Perkovsky, 2011) becoming the valid combination. They treated a total of 13 specimens of this species from across Rovno, Bitterfeld, and Baltic amber deposits, implying a widespread and abundant species in Eocene Europe whose life history, like extant forms, was likely tied to sooty molds (Gimmel et al. 2019).

A new species of Horniolus Weise with remarks on the systematic position of the genus (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae).

Horniolus Weise is an Asian genus of ladybird beetles up to now comprising 15 species with the greatest diversity in China. A new species, H. minutus sp. nov., is described and illustrated. The position of the genus within the modern classification of Coccinellidae is discussed, and its transfer from the tribe Scymnini to Platynaspini is proposed.

Replacement name for Cleta Mulsant, 1850 (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae: Epilachnini).

Recently the classification of the ladybird beetles' tribe Epilachnini was revised based on morphological and molecular data (Szawaryn et al. 2015, Tomaszewska Szawaryn 2016). Based on these findings a new classification of the tribe was proposed. The genus Epilachna Chevrolat in Dejean, 1837 sensu lato was split into several clades, with Epilachna sensu stricto limited to New World fauna, and one of the Afrotropical clades, formerly defined as Epilachna sahlbergi-group (Fürsch 1963), has been named Chazeauiana Tomaszewska Szawaryn, 2015 (Szawaryn et al. 2015), with Epilachna sahlbergi Mulsant, 1850 as the type species. However, that taxon received an unnecessary replacement name, as Mulsant (1850) already described a subgenus of Epilachna named Cleta distributed in Afrotropics, with Epilachna eckloni Mulsant, 1850 as the type species, which also belongs to the E. sahlbergi-group. Consequently Cleta has been elevated to the genus level (Tomaszewska Szawaryn 2016) and Chazeuiana was synonymized with Cleta as a junior synonym. Nonetheless, authors (Tomaszewska Szawaryn 2016) were not aware that the name Cleta is preoccupied. It appeared that Duponchel (1845) established the genus Cleta in the family Geometridae (Lepidoptera) that makes Cleta Mulsant (1850) a junior homonym. Therefore, we propose here Afrocleta nom. nov. as a replacement name for Cleta Mulsant, 1850.

Endemics Versus Newcomers: The Ladybird Beetle (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) Fauna of Gran Canaria.

Research on the fauna of beetles (Coleoptera) of the Canary Islands has a long tradition, which enables tracking changes in their species composition and arrival of new species. In this paper, we provide new faunistic data on the ladybird beetles (Coccinellidae) recorded on Gran Canaria, one of the central islands of the archipelago, and then analyze available information on the Gran Canarian ladybird fauna from geographical and historical points of view. The field survey resulted in recording 1402 ladybird individuals belonging to 30 species. Ten of these species were new to Gran Canaria and three of them, Chilocorus bipustulatus (Linnaeus), Nephus bisignatus (Boheman), and Nephus ulbrichi Fürsch, had not previously been reported to be on any of the islands of the Canarian archipelago. Tetrabrachys tinerfensis (Hodgson) is synonymized with T. deserticola (Wollaston). Our survey and literature reports allowed us to recognize 42 species of Coccinellidae so far recorded on Gran Canaria. Seventeen of them (40%) belonged to the Canarian endemic and subendemic species, and 21 (50%) were newcomers and presumed newcomers. Colonization of Gran Canaria and other islands of the archipelago by ladybird species of various origins seems to be a frequent phenomenon that may pose a threat to the unique communities of the native Canarian species.

A New Tribe of the Ladybird Beetle Subfamily Microweiseinae (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) Discovered on an Island in the North Atlantic Ocean.

Microweiseinae is a quite recently established subfamily within ladybird beetles (Coccinellidae). According to recent analyses of morphological and molecular data, it has been divided into three tribes. Members of the subfamily are distributed mostly in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Despite several recent taxonomical studies of this group, its diversity and distribution is still not fully understood. Recent field collecting on Madeira Island resulted in the discovery of interesting specimens belonging to a yet unknown taxon, described here as Madeirodula atlantica gen. et sp. nov. Phylogenetic analysis of morphological characters indicate that the new taxon form a distinct branch within the subfamily Microweiseinae, for which we propose a new tribe Madeirodulini trib. nov. Evolutionary trends within the subfamily are discussed, and an updated key to the tribes of Microweiseinae is provided.

Mesozoic sooty mould beetles as living relicts in New Zealand.

New Zealand is an island continent that completed its split from the Gondwanan continent at 52 Ma, harbouring an iconic biota of tuatara, kiwi and weta. The sooty mould community is a distinctive trophic element of New Zealand forest ecosystems that is driven by plant-feeding sternorrhynchan Hemiptera. These produce honeydew, which supports fungal growth, which in turn supports numerous endemic invertebrates, including endemic New Zealand beetle families. Ancient New Zealand insect fossils are rare but a single fossil of a sooty mould cyclaxyrid was recently described from Cretaceous Burmese amber, a family that was previously known from two extant New Zealand species. Well-preserved fossils like this one are recasting Earth history, and, based on a wealth of additional specimens, we re-evaluate the taxonomy of Cretaceous cyclaxyrids and one Eocene species here transferred to Cyclaxyridae. Cyclaxyridae are highly tied to the sooty mould community and have now been discovered to occur in disparate biogeographic realms in deep time. Our discovery indicates that the family, and perhaps the sooty mould community in general, was widespread in Pangaea from at least the Cretaceous and survived as a relict in New Zealand. Persistence of a sooty mould ecosystem in New Zealand and fungal specialization may not necessarily be an evolutionary 'dead-end' for cyclaxyrids and other insects.

Unexpected diversity of whitefly predators in Eocene Baltic amber-new fossil Serangium species (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae).

Serangium is a tropical genus of minute ladybird beetles, which has been recently discovered in Baltic amber. Discovery of the third species, S. kalandyki sp. nov., demonstrates the surprising diversity of this group in the palaeoenvironment of Eocene 'amber forests'. The new species, together with two previously described, form a well defined morphological group which suggests they all belong to a single lineage. An updated key to the fossil species of Serangium is presented. The diversity of the genus and its ecological affinities are discussed.

The Coccinellidae (Coleoptera) from Fuerteventura, Canary Islands.

During this study, Coccinellidae were collected and observed at 25 sites located along the coast and inland of the island of Fuerteventura during 2016 and 2017. A total of 2825 Coccinellidae specimens belonging to 22 species was recorded, of which 11 species are newly recorded from Fuerteventura. In the case of three species taxonomical decisions are proposed. Scymnus incisus (Har. Lindberg, 1950) is transferred to the genus Nephus Mulsant and placed in the nominate subgenus as Nephus (Nephus) incisus (Har. Lindberg, 1950), comb. nov. Scymnus medanensis Eizaguirre, 2007, is redescribed and placed in the subgenus Pullus Mulsant. Coccinella algerica Kovár, 1977, is synonymized with Coccinella septempunctata Linnaeus, 1758, syn. nov. We propose retaining the taxonomic distinction of the North African and Canarian populations of this species as the subspecies Coccinella septempunctata algerica Kovár, stat. nov. Nephus peyerimhoffi (Sicard, 1923) is deleted from the list of ladybird beetles inhabiting the Canary Islands.

Taxonomic notes on Australian herbivorous ladybird beetles (Coccinellidae: Epilachnini).

The Australian fauna of ladybird beetles (Coccinellidae) is very diverse and estimated to include about 500 species with only 260 species currently described (Slipinski 2007). The tribe Epilachnini is poorly represented and consists of only ten species (Li 1993, Slipinski 2007). Most of them are widely distributed in Asia and Oceania except Epilachna dawkinsi Li, 1993. This species was originally described by Li (1993) from South Australia near Adelaide, from a single female specimen. There were efforts made to collect other specimens of this beetle but they were not successful. Li drew the female genitalia (precisely one female coxite) but they did not resemble the genitalia of any Australian or Asian members of Epilachnini.

Epiverta Dieke (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae: Epilachnini): A Complex of Species, Not a Monotypic Genus.

Rich sampling and modern research techniques, including SEM, revealed that rarely collected epilachnine species Epiverta chelonia is a complex of four closely related species: E. chelonia (Mader, 1933), E. albopilosa, E. angusta, and E. supinata spp. nov. All Epiverta species are described and illustrated, a key to the species and a distribution map are provided. Lectotype of Solanophila cheloniaMader, 1933 is designated and its type locality delimited to Yunnan Province, Deqin County (China).