The specimens were collected on two economically important and widely cultivated host plants, Cucumis melo var. callosus (Rottler) Cogn. (Cucurbitaceae), perhaps a synonym of Cucumis melo L. (John et al. 2012) (Fig. 2 a,b) and Indian Jujube/ber (Ziziphus mauritiana Lam., Rhamnaceae) (Fig. 2 c,d). Larvae and adults were collected on these host plants from Barmer District, Rajasthan, India, in September 2023 during routine surveillance for pest damage on various crops. The adult (Fig. 1) is yellowish-orange with black elytral spots characteristic in having distinct yellowish-orange halos and arranged in a 2-2-1-1 pattern on each elytron. The more common host, Cucumis melo var. callosus is known as mango melon, snap melon, small gourd and wild musk melon (Vernacular names: Kachri, Phoot Kakdi) and a non-desertic form of musk melon (Cucumis melo). It is a drought-hardy vegetable of the Indian Thar Desert widely consumed by the local people of the arid region of Rajasthan as a fresh fruit or as value-added products. Indian Jujube is also commonly cultivated as an arid zone fruit crop in Rajasthan and it is a new host record for C. elaterii. The nature of damage on these hosts is characteristic of phytophagous coccinellids with the larvae and adults feeding by scraping away the epidermis leading to skeletonizing and withering of the leaves. The host plants recorded from the Indian subcontinent until now include water melon from India (Kapur & Bhaumik, 1966), cucumber and bottle gourd from Pakistan (Rehman et al. 2015). 

Due to the near total absence of literature records of this species from India, we consider this a minor pest that does not require intensive surveillance. On the other hand, the major reason for the availability of very few specimens of C. elaterii in Indian repositories is most likely the lack of systematic collection surveys for the documentation of economically important insect fauna associated with crops, with particular reference to the arid, inhospitable deserts of northwestern India.