Sennius bondari (Pic)

Caron, Edilson, Ribeiro-Costa, Cibele S. & Linzmeier, Adelita M., 2004, The egg morphology of some species of Sennius Bridwell (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Bruchinae) based on scanning electron micrographs, Zootaxa 556, pp. 1-10 : 4-5

Sennius bondari (Pic)

Eggs laid singly, ovoid, 0.68 mm in length and 0.42 mm in width (n=10) ( Fig. 5 ), covered by an ornamented membranous flange that forms a continuous pattern of hexagonal rings ( Fig. 6 ). This membranous flange is larger than and surrounds the egg, then becomes smooth and on lateral areas forms an undulate flange that attaches the egg on the surface ( Figs. 5, 7 ). The size of egg and flange together are 0.85 mm in length and 0.64 mm in width (n=10).

The egg of S. bondari has already been described by Ribeiro­Costa (1998), however not based on scanning electron micrographs. For this author, the ornamented areas of the membrane are restricted to the lateral borders. Moreover, the eggs were smaller than recorded in the present paper, which is possible because egg size is highly plastic and very subject to maternal effects ( Credland 1992; Fox 2000; Fox et al. 1997a, b; Fox et al. 2001).

An ornamented membrane has been reported on the eggs of other species of Bruchinae, like Acanthoscelides argillaceus (Sharp) , Bruchidius atrolineatus (Pic) , Caryedon serratus (Olivier) and some species of Amblycerus Thunberg ( Bondar 1937; Terán & L’Argentier 1979; Pfaffenberger 1979; Wightman & Southgate 1982; Biémont et al. 1982; Ribeiro­Costa 1998).

The characteristic of the membranous flange that surrounds the egg, is not unique to S. bondari , appearing, for example, in Caryedon serratus , Gibbobruchus mimus , Neltumius texanus (Schaeffer) , Pectinibruchus longiscutus Kingsolver , Pygiopachymerus lineola , Zabrotes subfasciatus (Boheman) , some species of Amblycerus , some species of Callosobruchus Pic , some species of Megacerus and some species of Stator Bridwell ( Johnson & Kingsolver 1975; Johnson 1978; Pfaffenberger 1979, 1981, 1986; Terán & L’Argentier 1979; Wightman & Southgate 1982, Pfaffenberger et al. 1984; L’Argentier 1990; Ribeiro­ Costa 1998; Johnson et al. 2001; Ribeiro­Costa & Costa 2002). Nevertheless, in those species, the flange is irregular, except in Stator vachelliae Bottimer , on which the flange is serratulate; in Sennius bondari the flange is undulate.

Figures

FIGURES 5 – 7. Scanning electron micrographs of Sennius bondari (Pic) egg: (5) general view; (6) membrane covering the egg; (7) undulate flange.