Telsimiini

Telsimia leucoceps, from CSIRO.

Belongs within: Coccinellidae.

The Telsimiini are a group of small ladybird beetles bearing very short antennae with the insertions covered by a clypeal shelf (Ślipiński 2007).

Characters (from Ślipiński 2007): Small (1.0–2.5 mm long). Body convex; short, oval; almost always with apparent dorsal vestiture. Head strongly transverse; clypeus short, extending laterally to form a projection covering antennal insertion from above. Eyes large, finely facetted, entirely or almost entirely divided by a shelf. Mandible with a subapical tooth set at some distance from apex, mola and molar teeth well developed and sclerotised. Labrum entirely hidden under clypeus. Maxillary cardo strongly expanded laterally, forming narrow process; lacinia reduced and much shorter than galea; apical palpomere slightly narrowed to obliquely truncate at apex. Labium with prementum heavily sclerotised, bearing central pit and forked projection anteriorly. Antenna very short, six- or seven-segmented located in shallow cavity under shelf adjacent to eye and hardly visible from above. Prosternum with intercoxal process about as broad as transverse coxal diameter; pronotal hypomeron not distinctly foveate. Mesoventrite broad. Abdomen with five visible ventrites in both sexes. Tarsi three-segmented, claws bifid, appendiculate or simple. Female genitalia with elongate coxites; spermatheca not sclerotised. Larva: Body fusiform with wax covering of varying extent; dorsum and particularly lateral projections distinctly setose, setae simple; dorsal plates present but weak and often indistinct. Head subquadrate; frontal arms lyriform but weakly marked; epicranial stem present or absent. Antenna relatively long, three-segmented. Mandible unidentate apically; molar part reduced with narrow and curved lobe. Maxillary palp three-segmented; mala narrowly rounded apically; stylus absent. Labial palps two-segmented. Legs moderately long; tibiotarsus with two clavate setae apically; claw with weak basal tooth. Abdominal segments without gland openings.

<==Telsimiini S07
    |--Hypocyrema Blackburn 1889 S07
    |    `--*H. pauxillum Blackburn 1892 S07
    `--Telsimia Casey 1899 [incl. Lipernes Blackburn 1889 (preoc.), Notolipernes Blackburn 1900] S07
         |--*T. tetrasticta Casey 1899 S07
         |--T. abdita Ślipiński, Pang & Pope 2005 S07
         |--T. acaciae Ślipiński, Pang & Pope 2005 S07
         |--T. angulata (Blackburn 1889) [=*Lipernes angulatus, *Notolipernes angulatus] S07
         |--T. cassicula Ślipiński, Pang & Pope 2005 S07
         |--T. crebra (Blackburn 1895) [=Lipernes creber, Notolipernes creber] S07
         |--T. elainae Chazeau 1984 S07
         |--T. gibbosa (Blackburn 1895) [=Lipernes gibbosus, Notolipernes gibbosus] S07
         |--T. glorious Ślipiński, Pang & Pope 2005 S07
         |--T. leucoceps Ślipiński, Pang & Pope 2005 S07
         |--T. longanimis Chazeau 1984 S07
         |--T. obscuripes (Lea 1902) [=Serangium obscuripes] S07
         |--T. occidua Ślipiński, Pang & Pope 2005 S07
         |--T. palitans Ślipiński, Pang & Pope 2005 S07
         |--T. rossi Ślipiński, Pang & Pope 2005 S07
         |--T. rotunda Ślipiński, Pang & Pope 2005 S07
         `--T. subviridis (Blakcburn 1892) [=Lipernes subviridis, Notolipernes subviridis] S07

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[S07] Ślipiński, A. 2007. Australian Ladybird Beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae): Their biology and classification. Australian Biological Resources Study: Canberra.