Taxonomic study of subfamily Scymninae (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)with one new record from Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan

Abstract

IntroductionCoccinellid beetles (Coccinellidae: Coleoptera), commonly known as ladybirds, lady beetles, or ladybugs, are among the best-known beneficial predatory insects. Many works recognize 6 subfamilies within this family, including Chilocorinae, Coccinellinae, Coccidulinae, Scymninae, Sticholotidinae, and Epilachininae. Of these, only one subfamily (Epilachininae) is phytophagous; the rest are predacious in nature. Vandenberg (2000) provided a list of 6000 species in 370 genera of Coccinellidae worldwide, while Ślipiński (2007) reported 6000 species in 490 genera. They are of economic importance due to their predatory activity against soft-bodied insects like aphids, jassids, psyllids, whiteflies, scale insects, and mealy bugs. They also prey on small larvae, insect eggs, and phytophagous mites, which are injurious to agricultural and forest plantations. Predation by adults and larvae of the coccinellid beetles can have a major impact on populations of immature stages of these insects (Rafi et al., 2005).Although subfamilies of the Coccinellidae are more or less worldwide in distribution, many species within these subfamilies are restricted to particular biogeographical regions. The Indo-Pakistan subcontinent is known to have over 300 species of Coccinellidae (Rahatullah et al., 2011).Initial documentation of predatory coccinellids of Pakistan was done by Irshad (2001Irshad ( , 2003 and Irshad and Khan (2005). Details regarding predatory coccinellid species from Pakistan and current knowledge on the predatory coccinellid beetles of Gilgit-Baltistan are mainly based on the work of Rafi et al. (2005). In this compilation, only 9 species of predatory coccinellids belonging to 3 subfamilies were listed from this area. Some members of the subfamily Scymninae are predacious on tetranychid mites and are known as acriphages, while others feed on scale insects and are known as coccidophages. The subfamily is distributed worldwide. Fürsch (1996) reported 53 genera and 25 subgenera in 10 tribes, while Kuznetsov (1997) reported 72 genera in 9 tribes. Irshad (2001) reported 71 species of coccinellids from Pakistan, but Irshad (2003) reduced this list to 61 species by removing the doubtful species. Similarly, Rafi et al. (2005) listed 75 species of predatory ladybird beetles from Pakistan. All of these compilations are based on external morphology of the adult specimens, which might result in identification mistakes at the species level.Gilgit-Baltistan lies between 72°N and 75°N and between 35°E and 37°E; biogeographically, the area is in the Palearctic region and belongs to the dry mountain subecological zone of Pakistan. The area is highly diverse and climatic conditions vary from extreme cold to extreme hot spots, with diverse flora and fauna. The area has many apple and grape plantations, which have mite and scale insect infestations. As already stated, Scymnus