Insecta Mundi, Volume 3 (1989)
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All Seychelles and Mascarene taxa are discussed. Two subfamilies, eight tribes, and 28 genera are keyed. Xenoderes, new genus, is proposed for Homoeodera snelli Jordan, 1924. New generic synonyms are: Achoragus Jordan, 1914 (=Gomphides Jordan, 1936); Corynaecia Jordan, 1914 (=Megatermis Jordan, 1937). New specific synonym is: Phloeobius longicornis (Fabricius) (=Anthribus cervinus Klug). Additional keys are provided for six genera.
Treatment is provided for 224 species and subspecies in the genera Acherusia, Acmaeodera, Actenodes, Agaeocera, Agrilus, Anthaxia, Brachys, Buprestis, Chalcangium, Chrysobothris, Colobogaster, Cyphothorax, Dicerca, Dismorpha, Euchroma, Hiperantha, Hylaeogena, Leiopleura, Lius, Mixochlorus, Omochyseus, Pachyschelus, Polycesta, Psiloptera, Spectralia, Taphrocerus, Tetragonoschema, Thrincopyge, Trypantius and Tyndaris. Of these, 44 are recorded for the first time from Mexico and 175 represent new state records. Adult host and/or habitat information is provided, usually from the label data, for 93 of the taxa. Larval host records are indicated for Chrysobothris analis LeConte, C. capitata Gory and Laporte, C. multistigmosa (Mannerheim) and C. sallei Waterhouse. Acmaeodera sinaloensis Duges has been discovered to breed in bamboo. A major taxonomic character of C. multistigmosa is discussed.
This is a remarkable new book which is certainly well above all that has been done up to now in this field. Moreover, it deals with a fauna on which we have very few biological data. One hundred nine beetle families are reviewed, from the curious Micromalthidae to the Curculionidae. Mrs. Costa showed me the proofs of the book in 1987 in Sao Paulo, and I had the opportunity then to admire the good quality and even perfection of the drawings.
Tergissima Johnson and Femniterga Johnson, originally described from four sympatric south-central Andean species, are revised to include, respectively, four and nine South American species (of which six are previously undescribed). New combinations include Femniterga cissusa (Hewitson), F. cinniana (Hewitson) and F. plumans (Druce), all transferred from Thecla; new species include Tergissima montanensis and T. shargeli, and Femniterga itaituba, F. megana, F. splendida and F. strobilata. A lectotype is designated for Thecla cissusa. Femniterga and Tergissima are part of a largely undescribed eumaeine assemblage also including Calycopis Scudder and Calystryma Field.
Phylogenetic analysis of structural features of adults shows that the tribe Peleciini comprises eight genera, grouped in two subtribes: the southeastern Australian Agonicina (new status), including Pseudagonica Moore, 1960 (type species P. nitida Moore, 1960) and Agonica Sloane, 1920 (type species A. simsoni Sloane, 1920); and the Inabresian Peleciina (new status, with Peleciini and Disphaericini of authors), including the Neotropical Eripus Dejean, 1829 (type species E. scydmaenoides Dejean, 1829), Pelecium Kirby, 1817 (type species P. cyanipes Kirby, 1817), and Stricteripus, new genus (type species Pelecium peruvianum Straneo, 1953), the Oriental Ardistomopsis, new genus (type species Disphaericus myrmex, Andrewes, 1923), and the Afrotropical Dyschiridium Chaudoir, 1861 (type species D. ebeninum Chaudoir, 1861) and Disphaericus Waterhouse, 1842 (type species D. gambianus Waterhouse, 1842). A key is provided to distinguish among these genera, and the structural features of each genus are described and illustrated, with habitus and SEM photographs. For the genera Eripus, Pelecium, Stricteripus, and Ardistomopsis, the species are keyed and characterized in terms of structural features and geographical distribution, and illustrations of habitus and range maps are provided. Application of names is based on study of type material.
This entirely new book is the first on the biology of beetles since Crowson's book, published in 1981 by Academic Press. This new work in some ways completes Crowson's, but in no way is it a useless repetition. The two books together give a good idea of the biology of this enormous order, here comprising more than 200 families. Paulian's classification is slightly, but not fundamentally, different from Crowson's. There are excellent chapters on endogeous, caverniculous, aquatic, coprophagous, termitophilous, and myrmecophilous beetles. Termitophilous beetles have already been treated well in Termitologia by Grasse (1986, Masson, Paris). Paulian is a well-known specialist on Scarabaeidae and those beetles are extensively reviewed, including the American species, from data published in the United States and Mexico. The larvae of beetles are also well covered. The book was printed in Hungary and we regret several misspellings, and the misuse of French accents here and there.
Mansell (1983) described two new species and genera of Crocinae from Peru and Bolivia bringing the total number of South American species of this subfamily to five species. However, all five species occur well south of the equator. Recently the authors discovered a sixth species in northern Venezuela greatly extending the northern range of the family in South America. This new species belongs to the genus Moranida Mansell. Both adults and larvae were found and are described here with a key to the species of Crocinae of South America. We also found and reared Moranida peruviensis Mansell from Lambayeque, Peru, and provide this new record. This paper represents contribution No. 645 of the Bureau of Entomology.