Overview of the lady beetle tribe Diomini (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) and description of a new phytophagous, silk-spinning genus from Costa Rica that induces food bodies on leaves of Piper (Piperaceae).

A new genus of lady beetle, Moiradiomus gen. nov. (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae Latreille, 1807: Diomini Gordon, 1999 ), and four new species are described from Costa Rica, representing the first known occurrences of obligate phytophagous lady beetle species outside of the tribe Epilachnini Mulsant, 1846 (sens. Slipinski 2007). The new species are described, illustrated and keyed, and their life histories discussed. Each species of Moiradiomus occurs on a separate species of Piper L., 1753 (Piperaceae Giseke, 1792), where the larva constructs a small silken tent between leaf veins and inside this shelter induces the production of food bodies, which are its exclusive source of food. Background information is provided on lady beetle trophic relations and other insect/Piper symbioses. The taxonomic history of Diomus Mulsant, 1850 and related species in the tribe Diomini is reviewed and existing errors in observation, interpretation, identification, and classification are corrected in order to provide a more meaningful context for understanding the new genus. The tribe Diomini is rediagnosed and recircumscribed to include Diomus, Decadiomus Chapin, 1933, Heterodiomus Brèthes, 1925, Dichaina Weise, 1923, Andrzej Slipinski, 2007, and Moiradiomus. Magnodiomus Gordon, 1999 and Erratodiomus Gordon, 1999 are removed from Diomini and transferred to Hyperaspidini Costa, 1849, subtribe Selvadiina Gordon, 1985 stat. nov. Mimoscymnus Gordon, 1994 and Planorbata Gordon, 1994, originally described in Coccidulini Mulsant, 1846 are also transfered to Hyperaspidini and placed in Mimoscymnina subtribe nov. (type genus Mimoscymnus). The main morphological characters distinguishing Diomini and Hyperaspidini are described and illustrated. A key to genera of Diomini sensu novo is provided. The identification of the Australian Diomus species illustrated in Gordon's publication on North American lady beetles is corrected from D. pumilio Weise, 1885 to D. tenebricosus (Boheman, 1859), however specimens recently collected in California do not match these genitalic illustrations and are identified as true D. pumilio. The following species of Diomus are transferred to Decadiomus as new combinations: D. balteatus (LeConte, 1878), D. floridanus (Mulsant, 1850), D. amabilis (LeConte, 1852), D. liebecki (Horn, 1895), D. myrmidon (Mulsant, 1850), D. humilis (Gordon, 1976), D. pseudotaedatus (Gordon, 1976), D. taedatus (Fall, 1901), D. bigemmeus (Horn, 1895), and D. austrinus (Gordon, 1976). Decadiomus seini Segarra, 2014 is placed as a junior synonym of D. austrinus. The following new species of Moiradiomus are described: M. clotho sp. nov., M. lachesis sp. nov., M. atopos sp. nov., M. nanita sp. nov.

A new monotypic genus and new species of lady beetle (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae: Coccinellini) from western South America.

A new monotypic genus Argosadalia gen. nov. and new species A. priscilla sp. nov. are described from the forests of Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru. The new taxon is placed in the tribe Coccinellini in a group informally designated as the "Neda-group," and comprising the genera Neda Mulsant; Mononeda Crotch; Neoharmonia Crotch and Argosadalia. Key morphological and anatomical characters of the new taxa are described and illustrated and the character states that define the Neda-group are reviewed.

A new species of myrmecophilous lady beetle in the genus Diomus (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae: Diomini) from Chiapas, Mexico that feeds on green coffee scale, Coccus viridis (Green) (Hemiptera: Coccidae).

A new species of myrmecophilous lady beetle, Diomus lupusapudoves, sp. nov. (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae: Diomini), is described from a coffee agroecosystem in Chiapas, Mexico. The new species was found preying on the green coffee scale pest, Coccus viridis (Green), tended primarily by Azteca sericeasur Longino and Pheidole synanthropica Longino ants. The larval, pupal, and adult stages of the new species are described and habitus illustrations or photos provided along with anatomical details of the adult male and female genitalia. The species is most similar to Diomus thoracicus Fabricius         (=type species of Diomus), another myrmecophile, which inhabits ant nests and feeds on ant brood. The new species has a peculiar onisciform larva that lacks dorsal setae, features that it shares with D. thoracicus. The new species is only the second species in the genus reported as a myrmecophile, although the life histories of most species have been poorly documented.

Barcode haplotype variation in north American agroecosystem lady beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae).

DNA barcodes have proven invaluable in identifying and distinguishing insect pests, most notably for determining the provenance of exotic invasives, but relatively few insect natural enemies have been barcoded. We used Folmer et al.'s (1994) universal invertebrate primers and Hebert et al.'s (2004) for Lepidoptera, to amplify 658 bp at the 5' end of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase c subunit I (COI) gene in five species of lady beetles from crop fields in six states in the US Mid-Atlantic, Plains and Midwest: three native species, Hippodamia convergens Guérin-Méneville, H. parenthesis (Say) and Coleomegilla maculata (De Geer); and two exotic species, Harmonia axyridis (Pallas) and Coccinella septempunctata Linnaeus. Sequence divergences within species were low, never exceeding 0.9% (Kimura 2-parameter distances). Sequence divergences between the two Hippodamia species ranged from 14.7 to 16.4%, mirroring the relationships found for other arthropod taxa. Among the exotic species, C. septempunctata sequences were as variable as those of the three native species, while H. axyridis populations comprised a single haplotype. Limited data on two Coleomegilla subspecies, C. m. lengi Timberlake and C. m. fuscilabris (Mulsant), are consistent with their belonging to the same species, although morphological and reproductive data indicate that they represent separate species. Our results support the general utility of COI barcodes for distinguishing and diagnosing coccinellid species, but point to possible limitations in the use of barcodes to resolve species assignments in recently divergent sibling species.