Swezeyella muscosa, Zimmerman, 1942

Zimmerman, Elwood C., 1942, Curculionidae of Guam, Insects of Guam I, Honolulu, Hawaii: Bernice P. Bishop Museum, pp. 73-146 : 100

14. Swezeyella muscosa , new species (pl. 6, E).

Denn reddish brown to black, for the most part densely clothed with rather short, coarse, somewhat matted hair, usually with a waxy exudation obscuring derm and vestiture; vestiture rather uniformly dirty gray above, or with elytra and pronotum with small patches of white; normally with a conspicuous basal patch of dense white hair from scutellum across first three intervals; setae white, and showing as white flecks even when encrustation is heavy.

Head with coarsely reticulate, minutely punctate derm hidden by dense pile, frons with a small median fovea, interocular area as broad as base of rostrum. Rostrmn as long as pronotum in male, one third longer in female, about as high as broad behind antennae, evenly and slightly expanded from base to apex on sides; densely punctate from base to apex, more coarsely so in male; densely setose to antennae in male, only near base in female. Antennae with scape rather evenly enlarged distally and not at all abruptly clavate; funicular segment 1 almost as long as 2 plus 3, 2 as long as 3 plus 4, 3-5 subequal in length and successively slightly broader; club as long as preceding four funicular segments, its apical part sharply pointed and about three fourths as long as basal segment. Prothorax two sevenths broader than long (3.5:2.5), broadest at basal third; strongly rounded on sides to basal third, thence strongly constricted, constriction continued broadly and deeply across dorsum and causing an angulation in longitudinal dorsal outline which is strongly convex from there to base; apex slightly arcuate dorsally, truncate laterally; median line impressed as a shallow sulcus on disk; puncturation obscure; vestiture dense, directed forward, normally with some subspatulate setae on either side of median line in basal third, others following a transverse line across basal third to side where they are more numerous, and with numerous similar setae in and beyond subapical constriction, forming a row near apex. Elytra but slightly longer than broad, broadest across prominent subrectangular humeri, rather strongly bisinuate at base; denser vestiture across first three intervals usually making scutellar area appear broadly V-shaped, almost straight and parallel-sided from behind humeri to apical third, thence broadly, roundly narrowing to apex; discal striae about one third as broad as intervals at middle, somewhat coarser toward base, punctures little evident except near base, first stria evidently deeper and coarser than others in the basal fourth, stria 10 not extending beyond apex of metepisternum, striae 7 and 8 not reaching base but ending at humeral calli; intervals slightly convex, vestiture dense, prostrate, each with a row of widely spaced, semi-erect, subspatulate setae, in fresh, non-encrusted specimens the pile around bases of setae also white. Legs with vestiture dense; tibiae appearing expanded toward apices and with scattered, inclined, stout setae; tarsi with first segment about as broad as long, somewhat longer than second, second almost twice as broad as long and about half as long as third which is slightly broader than long. Sternum with intercoxal process of mesosternum narrowing behind, its apex not quite half as broad as a mesocoxa; metasternum with dense vestiture. Venter hirsute; with first ventrite divided by a suture, running from its basal third on sides to intercoxal process, deep behind coxae, shallow across the intercoxal process, slightly depressed in middle in male, strongly tumid in female; ventrite 5 plain, but more coarsely sculptured than others. Pygidfrim narrowly exposed, gently arcuate. Length, 1.5-2.0 mm.; breadth, 0.8-1.2 mm.

Holotype male, Ritidian Point, June 2, 1936, Usinger; allotype female, Mt. Chachao , May 16, Usinger. The following paratypes collected by Swezey: one, Santa Rosa Peak, May 19; one, plateau at Talofofo, June 17; one, Piti, from Glochidion , Aug. 18; two, from same host and place, Sept. 21, and one with some data but taken Oct. 12.

No difficulty will be had in recognizing this distinct little member of Guam fauna because of its unique structural details.