Isthmiade ichneumoniformis Bates, 1870

Clarke 1, Robin O. S., 2009, Bolivian Rhinotragini II: ISTHMIADE Thomson, 1864 (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae), with two new species Robin O. S. Clarke, Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia 49 (44), pp. 577-591 : 584-586

Isthmiade ichneumoniformis Bates, 1870

( Figs. 3A, 3B )

Isthmiade ichneumoniformis Bates, 1870: 326 ; 1873: 122; Gounelle, 1911 a: 51; Lima, 1955: 105 (biol.); Zajciw, 1972b: 578; Tavakilian & Peñaherrera-Leiva, 2005: 43, figs. 15, 28a-c (lect.); Monné, 2006: 482 (cat.).

Diagnosis: I. ichneumoniformis is readily separated from other Bolivian species by its relatively large size, uniform black head, pale, elongate elytra and orange-red abdomen.

Original description: Black, shining, elytra testaceousgold, abdomen red (except apex); legs testaceous red, hind leg femora broadly ringed dusky, tibia and tarsus dusky; wings yellow, apical band black. Length 5-7 lines male, female.

Redescription. Male g eneral colour: Head, pro- and mesosternum, scutellum, urosternites IV and V, black. Pronotum usually translucent orange-red across middle, broadly black at front margin and less so at hind margin, but pigmentation of hind margin often protrudes on to disc, or extends along midline to front margin, or, less commonly, black colour reduced to narrow band at front margin (among the material examined pronotum never entirely black, nor entirely orange-red); extreme sides of pronotum black. Elytra translucent orange-yellow (almost vitreous) except area around scutellum, epipleuron from behind humeri to apex, and extreme apices rufous. Broad fascia across apical third of wings translucent yellow to orange-yellow. Metasternum and metepisternum orange-red, urosternites I-III usually so, but most of abdomen may be black. Legs translucent orange-yellow except coxae, apical half of metatibia, and all of metatarsus black; apical two-thirds of metafemoral club dusky.

General pubescence: Head almost glabrous, genae with short, recumbent pubescence. Submentum and gula glabrous with group of 2-3 long setae at each side. Sides of pronotum towards base with round patch of dense, long, recumbent pubescence. Prothorax anterior to prosternal process and apical half of metasternum densely hirsute, mesepimeron and base of metasternum clothed with glistening, recumbent, golden pubescence; metepisternum and urosternites I-III almost glabrous, IV and V with rows of long, erect hairs, denser at sides.

Surface ornamentation: Labrum with row of six large punctures interspersed with smaller ones, clypeus impunctate, frons with mix of large and small, confluent punctures in depressed area, otherwise impunctate; vertex between antennal tubercles with single row of confluent punctures, these extending around inner and hind margins of superior lobes in two irregular rows (which may be invested by short, narrow carinas), leaving vertex largely impunctate; submentum with large, rectangular patch of anastomosed punctures, gula impunctate; prothorax anterior to prosternal process with irregular, contiguous punctures, interstices micro-punctate; sides of pronotum under pubescence coarsely and closely punctured (representing the sexual puncturation), the interstices reticulate; elytra with uniform, sparse, small punctures at midline; centre of metasternum with moderately dense, uniform, small punctures; metepisternum and urosternites almost impunctate, some sparse punctures at sides of IV and V.

Structure: Head. Rostrum distinctly short; frons separated from clypeus by strong, transverse declivity; lengths of gena/inferior lobe 0.7/1.0; inferior lobes subcontiguous, interocular distance/width of lobe 0.2/ 1.1 mm; frontal suture represented by deep V-shaped depression extending to hind margin of superior lobes; superior lobes relatively proximate, interocular distance/width of lobe 0.50/ 0.25 mm. Area of submentum depressed with evanescent arced carinas, not separated from gula by distinct declivity. Antennae slender, somewhat short, reaching base of urosternite III; scape (length 1.0 mm) more than three times longer than pedicel, two-thirds length of antennomere III (1.6 mm); IV (0.9 mm), V and VI equal (1.5 mm), remaining antennomeres gradually shortening to X (1.1 mm), X1 longer (1.2 mm).

Thorax. Prothorax distinctly longer (2.4 mm) than width of front and hind margins (both 2.1 mm), deeply constricted at base and apex, the sides strongly rounded and wide (2.4 mm); disc of pronotum with five distinct calli, those to either side of centre subcircular, central one elongate; base of prosternal process slightly arched, elongate and very narrow (ca. 12 times narrower than width of coxal cavity), apex triangular, large and declivous across apex, the margins narrow and slightly raised, but not explanate.

Mesothorax abruptly declivous before mesosternal process, the latter moderately broad at base at base (1/4 width of coxal cavity), apex weakly cordiform with well elevated sides. Scutellum large, elongate, subtriangular, apex broadly rounded, not bifid; elytral surface adjacent to scutellum elevated and dusky in colour. Elytra elongate (2.6 times width of humeri), reaching middle of urosternite II, strongly acuminate from humerus to apex; dehiscent for apical two-thirds; humero-apical costa weak for middle third, only slightly salient to apex; apices with smooth, blunt, truncate lobe at tip.

Metasternum tumid and convex (planar with pro- and mesocoxae), longitudinal suture not deeply impressed, occupying apical four-fifths.

Legs robust; profemur short (3.0 mm), peduncle almost absent, clave large, widest at middle; mesocoxae flattened, mesofemur longer (4.0 mm), peduncle moderately long (1.2 mm), clave large, attenuate to apex; metafemur subcylindrical without distinct clave, long (7.5 mm), reaching middle of urosternite IV. Tarsi robust; protarsomeres I and II subequal, both shorter and much narrower than III (0.45 x 0.50 mm), mesotarsomere I and III of equal length (0.5 mm), I subcylindrical, slightly longer than II, both I and II much narrower than III; metatarsomeres I and II cylindrical, I longer (1.5 mm) than II (0.7 mm) and III (0.5 mm) together.

Abdomen. Moderately robust and elongate, subparallel, urosternite I longest (2.9 mm), trapezoidal and constricted at middle; II (2.2 mm), rectangular, subparallel and weakly constricted at basal third; III (2.1 mm) quadrate; IV subquadrate (1.6 mm); V (1.1 mm) trapezoidal, slightly depressed from apex to middle, apical margin slightly sinuate; abdominal process long and narrow, whitish.

Female: Rostrum hardly longer than male, length of genae equal to length of inferior lobe (0.7 mm), distance between inferior lobes (0.7 mm), width of lobe (0.8 mm); frons multi carinate from antennal tubercles to apical declivity, each side (between outer margin and frontal suture) with three very narrow carinas and three slightly broader sulci, this arrangement sometimes subdivided by further short carinas in an asymmetrical manner. Patch of pubescence at sides of pronotum in males much reduced in extent and density, and size of punctures minute. Metasternum more convex behind and more salient than mesocoxa (even though these are more salient than in male), the latter not flattened. Abdomen robust, fusiform; urosternite IV elongate (0.1.6 mm) and trapezoidal; V elongate (2.0 mm), conical (apex rounded, not angular), narrow (basal margin 1.2 mm, apical margin 0.7 mm) and regularly convex; abdominal process same colour as abdomen.

Measurements (mm): 24 males / 4 females respectively: total length 15.3-18.5/17.4-18.3; length of pronotum 2.1-2.6/2.3-2.4;widthofpronotum2.0-2.6/2.4;lengthof elytra 6.4-7.9/7.2-7.4; width of humeri 2.1-2.8/2.7-2.9. Material examined (in the RCSZ collection): BOLIVIA, Santa Cruz, 17°29’96”S/ 63° 39’13”W, 420 m, Hotel Flora & Fauna, 5 km SSE Buena Vista, R. Clarke/S. Zamalloa col. The following on/flying to flowers of “Bejuco hoja lanuda”: 11 males 21. IV.2005, 1 male 6. V.2005, 1 male 10. V.2005, 1 male 11. V.2005, 2 females 12. V.2005. The following on/flying to flowers of “Barbasquillo” vine: 1 male 3.VIII.2005, 2 males 30.VIII.2005. The following on/flying to flowers of “Sapamoisi”: 3 males 21.XII.2005, 1 male 24.XII.2005, 1 male 27.XII.2005. The following on/flying to flowers of “Tutumillo espinoso”: 1 male 20.X.2006. The following on/flying to flowers of “Sama blanca”: 1 female 11.XI.2006. The following from different locality and host flower: BOLIVIA, Santa Cruz, road to San Javier, 12 km ENE Buena Vista, R. Clarke/S. Zamalloa col., on/flying to flowers of “Esquiziton”: 1 female 14.XII.2005.

Discussion: Maybe I. ichneumoniformis is more than one species, or a superspecies, but the Bolivian specimens look very like the illustration of the Lectotype given by Tavakilian & Peñahererra-Leiva (2005) except this specimen has entirely black pronotum and dark fascia on pro- and mesofemora. Since Bates’ description, four lines of Latin, is inadequate for comparative purposes, only evaluation of specimens from all parts of its geographical distribution will determine its status.

Figures

FIGURAS 1‑5: Bolivian species of Isthmiade Thomson, 1864. 1. Isthmiade laevicollis Tippmann, 1953, 1A female 1B male; 2. Isthmiade zamalloae sp. nov., 2A male holotype, 2B female; 3. Isthmiade ichneumoniformis Bates, 1870, 3A male, 3B female; 4. Isthmiade martinsi sp. nov., 4A male holotype; 5. Isthmiade planifrons Zajciw, 1972, 5A male, 5B female.