Aulacobaris lepidii (Germar, 1823)

Tamutis, Vytautas, Balalaikins, Maksims, Alekseev, Vitalii, Pūtys, Žilvinas & Telnov, Dmitry, 2024, An annotated checklist of supertribe Bariditae Schoenherr, 1836 (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Conoderinae) in southeastern Baltic region, Ecologica Montenegrina 71, pp. 144-164 : 151-153

Aulacobaris lepidii (Germar, 1823)

Materials examined. LATVIA – Augšdaugavas • Bebrene , 56°4'10"N, 026°7'54"E; alt. 125 m ; 22.V.1997; leg. I.G.; 1 spec.; DUBC • Daugavpils, Stropi , 55°55'14"N, 026°34'56"E; alt. 117 m ;

23. VI .2009 ; leg. A.Bu.; 1 spec.; DUBC • Šedere , “Straumēni”, 55°55'54"N, 026°10'16"E; alt. 123 m ; 10-26.IV.2009; leg. M.J.; 1 spec.; DUBC – Dienvidkurzemes • Pape , 56°9'11"N, 021°2'13"E; alt. 0 m ; 21. VI .1996 ; leg. N.S.; 1 spec.; DUBC – Jēkabpils • Gārsene , 56°6'13"N, 025°48'51"E; alt. 119 m ; 20. VII .2001 ; leg. I.L.; 1 spec.; DUBC – Līvāni • Jersika , “Kurpnieki”, 56°15'3"N, 026°12'59"E; alt. 96 m ; 02-05. V .2010 ; leg. K.Ba.; 1 spec.; DUBC – Ogre • Ogre, bank of Ogre River , 56°48'47"N, 024°36'21"E; alt. 24 m ; 04. VII .1969 ; leg S.L.; 1 spec.; DUBC – Rēzekne • Gaiduļi , 56°26'8"N, 027°18'16"E; alt. 172 m ; 29. V .2005 ; leg. Ch.F.; 5 spec.; FPC – Rīga • “Piejūras” nature park, Daugavgrīva Island , 57°1'22"N, 023°58'54"E; alt. 1 m; 30. V .2003 ; leg. A.N.; 1 spec.; NPC • Mežaparks , 57°0'27"N, 024°9'56"E; alt. 13 m ; 10. V .2021 ; leg. A.N.; 1 spec.; NPC – Smiltene • Mežole , 57°19'28"N, 025°58'56"E; alt. 176 m ; 17. VI .2007 ; leg. J.D.; 1 spec.; DUBC. LITHUANIA – Kaunas • Akademija , 54°53'37"N, 023°50'18"E; alt. 70 m ; 15. VI.1993; leg. V. T.; from Rorippa sp. , ruderal habitat; 2 spec.; KZM, IC-71496-1, IC-71496-2 • Braziūkai , 54°54'6"N, 023°29'2"E; alt. 72 m ; 21. V.2005; leg. V. T.; from Armoracia rusticana , xerothermic, sandy habitat; 1 spec.; KZM, IC-71497 • ibid , 06. VI.2006; leg. V. T.; from Armoracia rusticana ; 1♂, 1♀; KZM, IC-71499, IC-71500 • Ežerėlis , 54°52'50"N, 023°37'20"E; alt. 72 m. ; 30. V.2023; leg. V. T.; from Armoracia rusticana , xerothermic, sandy habitat; 1 spec.; KZM, IC-71711 • ibid ; 01. VI.2023; leg. V. T.; 2 spec., KZM, IC-71712 (1-2) • Marvelė , 54°54'3"N, 023°51'22"E; alt. 25 m. ; 18. V.1994; leg. V. T.; from Armoracia rusticana , xerothermic, sandy habitat; 1 spec.; KZM • Noreikiškės , 54°52'53"N, 023°50'11"E; alt. 75 m. ; 06. VI.1996; leg. V. T.; pitfall trap in rapeseed crop; 1 spec.; KZM, IC-71498.

Identification. Like in other congeners, the body of A. lepidii has a typical greenish or bluish hue and metallic lustre ( Zaslavskij 1956). One of the main morphological features that distinguish this species from congeners is the dorsal outline of pronotum and elytra ( Zaslavskij 1956; Smreczyński 1974; Lohse 1983). Pronotum is relatively narrow, its width-length ratio not exceed 1.15, elytra are distinctly ovate, widen laterally in basal one-third the length and further tapering evenly to apex ( Figure 3 : A). Also, it can be distinguished by the shape of the male aedeagus ( Smreczyński 1974; Lohse 1983) ( Figure 3 : C, D).

Published local records. Detailed faunistic information was provided on the occurrence of this species in Liepāja (Dienvidkurzemes municipality) ( Lackschewitz & Mikutowicz 1939), and Varnaviči (Krāslava municipality) ( Mikutowicz 1905). The species was considered very rare by previous authors and thought distributed only in the central part of Lithuania ( Pileckis & Monsevičius 1997). In the northern part of the former Eastern Prussia ( Bercio & Folwaczny 1979) it was reported under the name Baris lepidii from Königsberg and Neuhäuser.

General distribution. This species is widely distributed in Europe and north-eastern part of Caucasus (Izmailova et al. 2007; Alonso-Zarazaga et al. 2023). Also known from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan ( Alonso-Zarazaga et al. 2023), introduced to Canada and the USA ( Bouseman et al. 1978a, b; Thurston et al. 2022). Its distribution range northwards extends to the southern provinces of Sweden (Lundberg and Gustafsson 1995), Estonia ( Roosileht 2015), Leningrad, Yaroslavl and Izhevsk regions of the European Russia ( Arnoldi et al. 1974; Dedyuhin 2012).

Notes on biology. This species appears oligophagous on various Brassicaceae , mostly prefer Armoracia rusticana , Barbaraea vulgaris , Lepidium latifolium , Rorippa spp. ( Burakowski et al. 1995). Females lay eggs on-by-one in feeding punctures on stems and roots; larvae tunnell roots along their exterior surface and pupate within the feeding tunnels or in the soil ( Bouseman et al. 1978a; Sherrod et al. 1982).

Local occurrence and phenology. This species is supposed to be locally distributed in the study region and has been detected just in ten administrative territories ( Figure 4 : A). The adults were collected mainly in non-natural (disturbed) or costal habitats on Armoracia rusticana and Rorippa spp. Maximum number of adults recorded in May, the earliest record: April 26, and the latest: July 20.

Figures

Figure 3. Bariditae species (Lithuania, KZM): A – dorsal habitus of Aulacobaris lepidii, B – dorsal habitus of Melanobaris laticollis, C, D – aedeagus of A. lepidii, E, F – aedeagus of M. laticollis. Scale bar - 1 mm.

Figure 4. Maps of southeastern Baltic region with a grid of administrative units and shaded units area with available records of Bariditae species. A – Aulacobaris lepidii, B – Melanobaris laticollis.