FIGURES 7, 8, 15-17, 30, 33
This is the most widely distributed species of typical Methocha in Sri Lanka, where it occurs in
both the Dry Zone and Wet Zone and at altitudes up to some 2000 ft. It is not known to occur in India, but intensive collecting in South India may demonstrate its presence there. Putative host lar- vae include some 13 taxa of Cicindelidae as listed in the discussion under "Subfamily Metho- chinae."
The male is the most densely punctate of the species of typical Methocha and has a distinctive beaklike clypeal process. The female also is the most densely punctate of that sex, has dark ves- titure on the thoracic dorsum instead of white to cinereous, and has a comparatively narrower front.
ETYMOLOGY.—Its specific name is derived from the Latin ubique (everywhere), in allusion to its wide distribution in Sri Lanka.
HOLOTYPE.—d\ Sri Lanka, Eastern Province, Trincomalee District, Trincomalee, China Bay Ridge Bungalow, 0-100 ft, 16-17 May 1976, in Malaise trap, K.V. Krombein, P.B. and S. Ka- runaratne, D.W. Balasooriya (USNM Type
100286).
MALE (Figure 7).—Length 8.0 mm, forewing 5.2 mm. Black, apical half of mandible except teeth red; the following testaceous: narrow apical margin of pronotal disk, tegula except base, basal fourth of mid and hind tibiae, tarsi except apical segment. Vestiture glittering white, relatively dense and erect on head and thorax, sparser and subappressed on abdomen. Wings clear, stigma dark brown, veins light brown.
Head (Figure 30, drawn from paratype) width 1.5 times height from apex of clypeus to posterior ocelli, interocular distance at anterior ocellus 1.2 times least interocular distance; mandible more slender; malar space much narrower than width of flagellum; clypeal process narrow, sides con- verging toward rounded apex, in profile beaklike;
lateral hypostomal tooth blunt, median tubercle very weak; front with small confluent punctures;
ocellocular line 1.3 times postocellar line; second flagellar segment as long as third, 1.3 times as long as first.
Pronotal disk with anterior ridge, surface be- hind this with tiny punctures separated by half
the diameter of a puncture laterally and by the diameter of a puncture in middle area; scutum with small subconfluent punctures except lat- erally where they are more separated; scutellar disk damaged by pinhole, in paratypes with small punctures, separated on lateral third by half the diameter of a puncture, the middle very sparsely punctate; mesopleuron with small, mostly con- fluent punctures except posteriorly where they are separated by half or more the diameter of a puncture; propodeum with median ridge better developed on posterior surface than on dorsal, the latter with coarse rugulosoreticulations becoming finer toward side, posterior and lateral surfaces with rugulosoreticulations of fine mesh except lower half of lateral surface with oblique rugulae.
Abdomen with fine punctures, somewhat closer than in other species, apices of segments with a row of closer punctures; genitalia (Figure 33, of paratype).
ALLOTYPE.—9, Sri Lanka, Central Province, Kandy District, Thawalamtenne, 740-760 m, 18 Feb 1977, P.B. Karunaratne, code 21877 B (USNM).
FEMALE (Figure 8).—Length 5.3 mm. Black, the following red: mandible, antenna except last 2 segments, thorax and propodeum except me- sopleuron mostly black, first abdominal segment except narrowly at base and apex, and coxae, trochanters, and femora beneath. Erect vestiture on front, dorsum of thorax, propodeum and ab- domen black to dark brown, white elsewhere, longer and denser than in M. litoralis, new species.
Head width 2.0 times least interocular distance (Figure 16); convex swelling on middle of clypeus stronger than in M. litoralis; malar space absent, mandibular condyles touching lower edge of eye;
viewed from above, the front only slightly pro- tuberant above antennae (Figure 15); front with larger punctures than in M. litoralis, mostly sepa- rated by the diameter of a puncture or less and with scarcely any interspaces as wide as anterior ocellus; postocellar line 1.8 times lateral ocellar line and 0.8 times ocellocular distance.
Pronotum 0.6 times as wide as head and 1.2 times as wide as propodeum, the disk with a
median furrow and with small punctures mostly separated by half the diameter of a puncture;
disk of scutum as wide as long and with small subcontiguous punctures; scutellar disk 0.6 times as wide as long and with small punctures sepa- rated by half the diameter of a puncture except for a small smooth area anteriorly; posterior half of mesopleuron with coarser oblique rugulae than in M. litoralis; mesosternum with a pair of nar- rowly separated low ridges in front of mid coxae;
dorsal and posterior surfaces of propodeum with small punctures separated by distances varying from the diameter of a puncture to half that distance.
Abdominal terga with fine punctures which are denser than in M. heveli.
PARATYPES.—416*, 17$, all Sri Lanka and all (USNM) except where noted otherwise, NORTH-
ERN PROVINCE. Mannar District: 16* Cashew Corp., Ma Villu, 17-21 Feb 1979, in Malaise trap, K.V.
Krombein, T. Wijesinhe, S. Siriwardane, T. Gun- awardane; 26*, 0.5 mi NE of Kokmotte Bungalow, Wilpattu Natl. Park, 22-25 May 1976, in Malaise trap, K.V. Krombein, P.B. and S. Karunaratne, D.W. Balasooriya. NORTH CENTRAL PROVINCE. An- uradhapura District: 106*, Padaviya, irrigation bun- galow or tank, 180 ft, 26*, 27 Feb-9 Mar 1970, D.R. Davis, W.H. Rowe; 46*, 12-22 Mar 1976, in Malaise trap, P.B. and S. Karunaratne; 46*, 18 May 1976, in Malaise trap, K.V. Krombein, P.B.
and S. Karunaratne, D.W. Balasooriya. 26*, 19, Padaviya archeological site; 19, 20 May 1976, S.
Karunaratne; 16*, 21 May 1976, in Malaise trap, K.V. Krombein, P.B. and S. Karunaratne, D.W.
Balasooriya; 16*, l l - 1 4 O c t 1977, in Malaise trap, K.V. Krombein, P.B. Karunaratne, P. Fernando, T. Wijesinhe, M. Jayaweera. 16*, Occapu Kallu, Wilpattu Natl. Park, 150 ft, 18 Mar 1970, D.R.
Davis, W.H. Rowe. EASTERN PROVINCE. Trincomalee District: 1$, Tennamaravadi, 18 May 1976, K.V.
Krombein, P.B. and S. Karunaratne, D.W. Bal- asooriya. 246*, Trincomalee, China Bay Ridge Bungalow, in Malaise trap; 116*, 13-17 and 16-17 May 1976, 0-100 ft, same collectors as holotypes;
86*, 8-11 Nov 1977, 0-30 m, K.V. Krombein, P.B.
Karunaratne, P. Fernando, T. Wijesinhe, M. Jay-
aweera; 16*, 24-25 Jul 1978, in Malaise trap, K.V.
Krombein, T. Wijesinhe, V. Kulasekare, L. Jay- awickrema; 46*, 26 Feb 1979, 25-50 ft, in Malaise trap, K.V. Krombein, T. Wijesinhe, S. Siriwar- dane, L. Jayawickrema, T. Gunawardane. Am- parai District: 16*, 49, Ekgal Aru; 16* Reservoir Jungle, 10 Jun 1976, in Malaise trap, K.V. Krom- bein, P.B. and S. Karunaratne; 29, same jungle but 100 m, 19-22 Feb 1977, K.V. Krombein, P.B.
Karunaratne, P. Fernando, D.W. Balasooriya;
29, Ekgal Aru tank, 22-23 Feb 1977, same collec- tors, CENTRAL PROVINCE. Matale District: 16*, Ki- bissa, 0.5 mi W of Sigiriya, jungle, 28 Jun-4 Jul 1978, in Malaise trap, K.V. Krombein, P.B. Ka- runaratne, T. Wijesinhe, V. Kulasekare. Kandy District: 16*, Kandy, Udawattakele Sanctuary, 13 Oct 1980, K.V. Krombein, P.B. Karunaratne, T.
Wijesinhe, L. Jayawickrema, V. Gunawardane;
29, Thawalamtenne, 740-760 m, 21 Aug 77, K.V.
Krombein, D.W. Balasooriya. NORTH WESTERN PROVINCE. Puttalam District: 16*, Pannika Villu, 20 m, 31 Oct-2 Nov 1977, K.V. Krombein, P.B.
Karunaratne, T. Wijesinhe, M. Jayaweera. WEST-
ERN PROVINCE. Colombo District: 59, Colombo, 2 on 11 Sep 23, 2 on 1 Nov 26, 1 on 3 Dec 28, G.M.
Henry (Colombo), SABARAGAMUWA PROVINCE. Rat- napura District: 29, 16*, Gilimale, Induruwa Jungle,
19. on 17 Jun 76, K.V. Krombein, P.B. and S.
Karunaratne; 19 on 5 Feb 77, K.V. Krombein;
16* on 7-8 Mar 79, in Malaise trap, K.V. Krom- bein, P.B. Karunaratne, T. Wijesinhe, S. Siriwar- dane, L. Jayawickrema. 16*, Sinharaja forest, 600 ft, 5 Aug 73, in Malaise trap, G. Ekis. UVA PROV- INCE. Monaragala District: 16*, Wellawaya, Nov 11, O.S. Wickwar (London). 16*, Uda Walawe, 300 ft, in Malaise trap in thorn scrub forest, 1 Aug 73, G. Ekis. 129, 196*, Angunakolapelessa, 16 mi E of Uda Walawe; 9, 7 Feb 1975, K.V. Krombein, P.B. Karunaratne, P. Fernando, E.G. Dabrera;
16*, in Malaise trap, 17-19 Jun 78, K.V. Krom- bein, T. Wijesinhe, L. Jayawickrema, V. Kula- sekare; 176*, 21-23 Jan 79, in Malaise trap, K.V.
Krombein, P.B. Karunaratne, T. Wijesinhe, S.
Siriwardane, T. Gunawardane (USNM); 119, 16*, 8-9 Oct 80, 6* in Malaise trap, K.V. Krombein, P.B. Karunaratne, T. Wijesinhe, L. Jayawick-
rema, V. Gunawardane. SOUTHERN PROVINCE.
Galle District: 16\ Kanneliya section, Sinharaja Jungle, 13-16 Jul 1978, in Malaise trap, K.V.
Krombein, P.B. Karunaratne, T. Wijesinhe, L.
Jayawickrema, N. Karunaratne; 1(5, same locality but 2-5 Oct 1980, K.V. Krombein, P.B. Karu- naratne, T. Wijesinhe, L. Jayawickrema, V. Gun- awardane. Hambantota District: 19, Palatupana, 3-6 Feb 75, K.V. Krombein, P.B. Karunaratne, P. Fernando, E.G. Dabrera; 16*, Palatupana tank, 10-16 m, in Malaise trap, 6-7 Nov 1980, K.V.
Krombein, P.B. Karunaratne, T. Wijesinhe, L.
Jayawickrema, V. Gunawardane; 6$, same local- ity but 29 Mar-2 Apr 1981, K.V. Krombein, T.
Wijesinhe, L. Weeratunge. A pair of paratypes has been placed in the National Museums of Sri Lanka (Colombo) and British Museum (Natural History). A male from Northern Province, Jaffna Dist., Elephant Pass, 2 Jan 23, G.M. Henry (Col- ombo) is not included in the type series because it lacks an abdomen.
Male paratypes are 4.5-10.8 mm long. In some specimens the normally dark parts of tibiae may be light brown. The clypeal process is occasionally heavier, and the median ridge on propodeum may be lacking dorsally, posteriorly, or both. The smallest specimens are comparatively more deli- cately sculptured and more sparsely punctate.
Female paratypes are 4.0-6.0 mm long, and the coloration is rather uniform except that the pro- podeum rarely is brownish and there may be a reduced amount of red on the abdomen. Punc- tation and sculpture are also variable, smaller specimens being comparatively more sparsely punctate and with more delicate sculpture, and the largest specimen from Padaviya having sub- contiguous punctures on front, pronotum, and scutum. Three specimens (Gilimale, Padaviya, Thawalamtenne) have the mesopleural rugulae finer and closer than in the rest of the series.
42. Methocha (Dryinopsis) taprobane, new