Insecta Mundi, Volume 4 (1990)
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Anyone who has ever seen a Western will be familiar with the defensive tactics employed by the pioneers: The wagon train is formed into a ring, women and children on the inside, with the men firing out at the circling Indians. The larvae of some Coleoptera and Hymenoptera have long employed similar tactics, in defense against their predators (ants, bugs) and parasitoids (wasps, flies).
Eighteen species of Negastriinae (Coleoptera, Elateridae) from Eastern North America are keyed, with illustrations, diagnoses and maps for all species. Included are five new species: Negastrius arnetti, Paradonus beckeri, P. illinoiensis, P. jerseiensis and P. olivereae. One name, Negastrius exiguus (Randall) is restored from synonymy. Four species, Negastrius extricatus (Fall), Neohypdonus aestivus (Horn), Neohypdonus restrictulus (Mannerheim) and Paradonus obliquatulus (Melsheimer) represent new combinations. Illustrations of the male genitalia of all species and representative female genitalia of each genus are given.
Long series of some species of Tetrigidae from south Asia show that the wings regularly project beyond the pronotal shield by some 15- 35 percent of their length, depending on the species. There is little intraspecific variation and alary polymorphism is not normally detectable. The role of such exposed wings is discussed and one new species is described. Most such species probably owe their evident relationship to evolution prior to the disintegration of the Gondwanaland super-continent.
A new genus and species, Oaxacanthaxia viridis, is described from the Mexican state of Oaxaca. The genus is distinguished in a key to the related taxa from Mesoamerica and tabularly from the Old World Philanthaxia, its putative sister genus. A brief discussion is given towards placing this new genus within the tribe Anthaxiini sensu Holynski. Philanthaxina Holynski is reduced to junior synonymy of Thomassetiina Bellamy, stat. nov.
Distributional, biological and taxonomic data are provided for 64 species of Buprestidae belonging to the genera Acmaeodera, Acmaeoderoides, Actenodes, Agaeocera, Agrilus, Buprestis, Chrysophana, Descarpentriesina, Dicerca, Hippomelas, Melanophila, Pachyschelus, Polycesta, Ptosima, Spectralia, Taphrocerus, Trachykele and Tyndaris. Forty-six of these species are recorded for the first time from a state or province, and new larval host records are provided for 15 others. Taphrocerus sulcifrons Fisher is recorded from the U.S. for the first time. Evidence is given to eliminate the recorded occurrence of Agrilus arbuti Fisher in British Columbia and Ptosima walshii LeConte in California.
New Neotropical species of Desmopachria (Desmopachria s. str.) Babington (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae)
(1990)
New species of Desmopachria (s. str.) are described and male external genitalia figured to aid in identification. The new taxa are: D. majusculus (Guatemala); D. zelota (Brasil); D. nitidoides (Paraguay); D. balfour-brownei (Brasil); D. striga (Bolivia, Brasil); D. subfasciata (Bolivia); D. geijskesi (Surinam); and D. margarita from Pearl Islands, Panama (nomen nova) for D. glabricula Sharp, 1887, nec D. glabricula Sharp, 1882 from Mexico. Related species which may be confused with the newly described taxa are diagnosed and genitalia figured.
A new subgenus, Xixias (type species Apion herculanum Smith), is described for the Apion herculanum group and the Apion peculiare group formerly assigned to the Apion subgenus Ixias Sainte-Claire Deville. Unique features within Apionidae are the structure of the endophallus and the host plant families Caprifoliaceae and Rutaceae. A. nigrosparsum Suffrian formerly included in the peculiare group is excluded. Two new species described from Mexico, Apion clarki Kissinger and A. hahowdeni Kissinger, are the first North American Apion with tuberculate elytra. Supplemental descriptions and/or distribution records are given for Apion americanum Wagner, Apion basirostre Sharp, Apion lebasii Gyllenhal, Apion harpax Kissinger, Apion peculiare Wagner and Apion xanthoxyli Fall.