Allotisis scitula (Pascoe)

Wang, Qiao, 2000, Taxonomy, phylogeny and distribution of the longicorn beetle genus Allotisis Pascoe (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Phoracanthini), Journal of Natural History 34 (8), pp. 1685-1712 : 1700-1701

Allotisis scitula (Pascoe)

(®gures 3, 8, 19, 20)

Phoracantha scitula Pascoe, 1863: 551 .

Allotisis scitula Pascoe, 1866: 99 ; Carter, 1929:132; McKeown, 1947: 32.

Diagnosis and recognition

Body length: male, 11.9±16 mm; female, 11.1±17.1 mm.

Eyes blackish brown, remaining parts parts reddish brown. Elytra with two slightly raised yellow ivory fasciae: one exactly in middle, more or less straight and complete, narrow at external margin and wide at suture, reaching neither margin nor suture, and one at sub-base, zigzag, much narrower than medial one, usually broken into three or two spots on each elytron; the fasciae covering between basal 1.5/10 and apical 4.5/10; a small suboval yellow spot on disc before apex (®gure 8).

Head narrower than prothorax; prothorax longer than wide. Two slightly raised carinae between antennal tubercles; distance between lower lobes of eyes much more than twice but less than three times distance between antennal socket and lateral angle of post clypeus, and more than 1.5 times but less than twice distance between upper lobes of eyes. Antennae much longer than body in male but slightly longer than body in female; segments 3±7 with very small apical spines; segment 3 much more than seven times its apical spine, and distinctly longer than scape, segments 4 or 5; scape not grooved above. Pronotum rugose and granulose with ®ve distinctly raised nodules on disc: one at centre, long-oval, smooth and nitid; anterior pair just before middle, oval or of irregular form, smooth and nitid, and posterior pair at sub-base, of irregular form, more or less rugose and usually un-nitid; the interspace of nodules granulose with farily dense punctures, each producing a long pale erect hair, and with dense pale depressed hairs; rounded tubercles at lateral sides. Elytra subparallel or slightly tapering, subnitid to subopaque, three times as long as or more than three times length of prothorax; apex truncate and in some specimens marginal angle slightly produced; basal half of disc with dense, large and deep punctures, about 1/5±1/6 of the punctures producing long yellowish brown erect hairs; apical half of disc with dense but very small and shallow punctures, producing dense, fairly long yellowish depressed hairs and sparse long yellowish brown erect hairs. Abdomen with fairly dense punctures, each producing a fairly long erect hair and with sparse depressed hairs.

Male terminalia. Apex of median lobe sharply pointed. Unspined region about 1.5 times as long as spined region; spined region divided into two sections: ®rst section absent; second section slightly wider than third section, with mixture of dense simple large and long spined and simple small and long spines; third section about four times as long as second section, with mixture of dense simple large and long spines and basally forked spines, and sparse multi-branched spines; a distinct area between second and third sections unspined (®gure 19). Eighth sternite obliquely truncate at terminal sides; setae absent in mid-terminal area; no microspines or processes on ventral surface. Apex of eighth tergite truncate.

Ovipositor. As in ®gure 20.

Variation

The yellow spot on disc before apex of the elytron may be very small or vague; the sub-basal fascia of the elytra may also be vague.

Biology

Hosts may be Eucalyptus spp. (Australian poles). Adults were collected during January, April, May, October, November and December.

Distribution Eastern New South Wales and eastern Queensland (®gure 3).

Comments

This species resembles A. unifasciate (Hope) but diOEers in having the pronotum rugose and granulose on disc; the elytron with a small suboval yellow spot on disc before apex.

Type and other material examined

HOLOTYPE, previously deposited in BMNH, was lost recently on its way to Australia. Only one specimen with name Phoracantha scitula in BMNH agrees with Pascoe’s original description of this species ( Pascoe, 1863).

Other material: 7 land 18 m, Queensland: 1 m, Caloundra , 30. October. 191 2 ( QM) ; 1 m, Mt. Spec, January. 1966, G. Brooks ( ANIC) ; 1 m, as above but December. 1972 ( ANIC) ; 1 m, as above but January. 196 7 ( ANIC) ; 1 land 1 m, Petersham ( Qld ?), May.1925, M. Fuller ( ANIC) ; New South Wales: 1, l Mt. Irvine , January. 1905, H. J. Carter ( NMV) ; 1, l Blue Mountains ( NMV) ; 1, l Greenwich , November. 192 4 ( AM) ; 1 m, Sydney ( SAM) ; 1 m, Narara, 30. November. 1946, C. Oke ( NMV) ; 1 m, Hornsby, January. 1911, C. Gibbous ( AM) ; 1 m, Mt. Keira, 21. December. 1970, V. J. Robinson ( ANIC) ; 1 m, Austinmer , February. 192 8 ( ANIC) ; 1 m, Ash ®eld, at light, 3. December. 1980, D. A. Doolan ( AM) ; 1 m, Fair ®eld, November. 1927, M. Fuller ( ANIC) ; 1 m, Wahroonga, January. 1952, RD ( ANIC) ; New Zealand (introduced): 2 land 1 m, emerged from Australian poles, Harbour Board , Auckland, December. 1944, D. Spiuer ( AM, ANIC) ; 1, l as above but terminalia slide No. Allotisis m-920521-2 ( ANIC) ; 1, l as above but terminalia slide No. Allotisis f-920521- 2 ( ANIC) ; South Africa (introduced): 1 m, Ac. P 682, D. Urban, 25. April. 1914 ( BMNH, Div. Ent. Union S. Africa Collection No. 1919-240); Unprovenanced : 2 m ( ANIC, NMV) .