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.
The gibbera Group of the genus Bezzia Kieffer, subgenus Bezzia, is comprised in the Neotropical Region of at least 16 species, of which the following 11 species are described as new: araucana from Argentina; catarinensis from Brazil; globulosa from Puerto Rico; grogani from Colombia, Mexico and Panama; hondurensis from Mexico and Central America; jubata, leei and megatheca from Colombia; mesotibialis from Belize and Trinidad; pseudogibbera from Honduras and Panama; and setigera from Colombia and El Salvador. A key is presented for subgenera and species groups, and for the Neotropical species of the gibbera Group.
The Pantomorus viridisquamosus species group can be separated from other Pantomorus Schoenherr, because it has recumbent setae, slender antennae with funicular article 2 almost as long as 1, glabrous scutellum, indistinct humeri, and hind tibiae lacking corbel plate and with dorsal comb about as long as apical comb. It is composed of two species, P. viridisquamosus (Boheman) from central and northeastern Argentina, Uruguay, and southern Brazil, and P. obrieni Lanteri sp.nov. from northeastern Argentina and southern Brazil. Pantomorus obrieni differs from P. viridisquamosus because it is smaller and has carinate scales, shorter and wider setae, more conical rostrum, and more convex eyes, pronotum and elytra. The female of P. viridisquamosus is redescribed and the male described (males are very infrequent). Line drawings and SEM illustrations of the diagnostic structures, and a distributional map are included.