Estoloides fulvitarsis ( Bates, 1885 )

Santos-Silva, Antonio, Wappes, James E. & Galileo, Maria Helena M., 2018, Descriptions and synonymies in American Desmiphorini (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Lamiinae), Zootaxa 4375 (4), pp. 451-501 : 455

On Estoloides fulvitarsis ( Bates, 1885)

Bates (1885) described E. fulvitarsis and reported: “Of the same form as E. perforata , and of the same uniform grayish-black colour beneath, but the upper surface of a lighter yellowish brown hue, and the elytra sprinkled with large blackish-brown punctures, in the centre of each of which is a puncture larger than the other punctures. In this latter peculiarity it resembles Esthlogena porosa , but with the difference that the elytra are faintly punctate-striate, with many small punctures besides the larger black ones. Some examples of the typical E. perforata from Chontales have nearly the same elytral sculpture, and these are only to be distinguished from E. fulvitarsis by the black tarsi.”

These comments indicate that the elytral sculpture in E. perforata is somewhat variable. This is easily observed in the large series of specimens examined. The “distinguishing” character of tarsal color mentioned by Bates (1885) has been found to be an unreliable character as is the color of the dorsal surface. Specimens were examined with color combinations of entirely light tarsi and dorsal pubescence from orange to distinctly paler yellow brown, as well as specimens with entirely dark tarsi and varying dorsal color. Others were also examined with the distal tarsomeres light and the basal ones dark. It is likely that E. fulvitarsis is a synonym of E. perforata . However, until a lectotype can be designated for E. perforata the synonymy cannot be established.