Cassida sulphurago Boheman, 1854

Borowiec, Lech & Świętojańska, Jolanta, 2022, A monograph of the Afrotropical Cassidinae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Part 6. Revision of the tribe Cassidini 3, the genus Cassida L., Zootaxa 5171 (1), pp. 1-250 : 157-158

Cassida sulphurago Boheman, 1854

( figs. 45 , 259–261)

Cassida sulphurago Boheman, 1854: 414, 1856: 133 , 1862: 329; Gemminger & Harold, 1876: 3659; Shaw, 1956: 270; Borowiec, 1999 a: 287, 2005 a: 127.

Cassida (Cassida) sulfurago [sic]: Spaeth, 1914 b: 119.

Description. L: 5.90–7.50 mm, W: 4.50–5.55 mm, Lp: 2.25–2.60 mm, Wp: 3.50–4.00 mm, L/W: 1.28–1.38, Wp/ Lp: 1.50–1.56. Body oval, males stouter than females (figs. 259, 260).

Entire body yellow, including head, ventrites, legs and antennae (figs. 259–261).

Pronotum trapezoidal, with maximum width at anterior 1/3 length, anterior margin slightly convex, sides narrowly rounded, with anterior corners, no basal corners. Disc convex, slightly bordered from explanate margin, without lateral lobes, with well marked area above head. Surface of disc shiny, top of disc and sides with fine and sparse punctation, area above head impunctate. Distance between punctures three to five times wider than puncture diameter, interspaces regular. Explanate margin broad, impunctate, shiny, transparent with well visible honeycomb structure.

Base of elytra moderately wider than base of pronotum, humeral angles distinctly protruding anterad,subangulate. Disc strongly convex in profile, with moderately deep postscutellar and principal impressions, sometimes with shallow posterolateral impressions, distinctly elevated in postscutellar area but without H–shaped elevation but often impunctate intervals form H–shaped figure (fig. 261). Punctation moderately coarse and moderately dense, along suture and along sides forms more or less regular rows, in impressions and in central parts of disc appears mostly irregular, distance between punctures mostly twice to thrice wider than puncture diameter. Marginal row distinct, its punctures small, often forms short, transverse grooves. Intervals mostly not marked only two sutural intervals, fourth intervals and two submarginal intervals more or less visible, marginal interval distinct, broad, in humeral part as wide as submarginal interval and two rows combined, no humeral or lateral folds. Explanate margin narrow, strongly declivous, only extreme margin tends to be subhorizontal, in the widest part six times narrower than disc, surface shiny, with fine, sparse and shallow punctation, appears regular, transparent with well visible honeycomb structure.

Eyes very large, gena obsolete. Clypeus broad, approximately 1.2 times as wide as long. Clypeal grooves fine but well marked, runs close to margin to eye then converging in triangle with obtuse top, surface of clypeus, flat or slightly convex, sometimes with short impressed median line, shiny with several small setose punctures. Labrum shallowly and broadly emarginate. Antennae moderately slim, segments 9–10 slightly longer than wide. Length ratio of antennal segments: 100:43:59:54:52:45:52:43:45:50:91. Segment 3 approximately 1.4 times as long as segment 2 and approximately 1.1 times as long as segment 4.

Prosternum moderately broad in the middle, strongly expanded apically, area between coxa flat or slightly convex, shiny, without special sculpture except several very small, setose punctures, expanded apex moderately convex, shiny, without special sculpture except several small, setose punctures.

Claws simple.

Host plant. Asteraceae : Sonchus asper (Linnaeus) Hill. , Tarchonanthus obovatus DC. (label data, H. Heron pers. comm.).

Distribution. Botswana, Nambia, and South Africa ( fig. 45 ).

Remarks. A member of the Cassida sulphurago species–group similar only to C. imitatrix . Both species have moderately large to large body, length 5.0–7.5 mm, the dorsum and ventrites are always uniformly yellow, the base of the elytra is moderately to distinctly wider than the pronotum, rows of punctures are completely regular but often with some intervals with additional irregular punctures, and the elytral sculpture is absent or indistinct, limited to a slightly elevated intervals on top of the disc. Cassida imitatrix differs in the pronotum widest in the middle with broadly rounded sides (fgs. 256, 257) and claws with a large basal tooth. Cassida sulphurea , the third species of the C. sulphurago species–group, distinctly differs in a smaller size with length below 5.5 mm, base of the elytra distinctly wider than the pronotum, and elytral punctation completely regular without additional irregular punctures on some intervals and simple claws (fig. 264).

Type examined. Holotype: [ SOUTH AFRICA]: Natal, Pt. Natal, Vahlberg ( NRS).

Other specimens examined. BOTSWANA: 20 km SSW Gaberone , 21 II 1988, 1, R.D. Ward ( CMNH) .

NAMIBIA: Damara , 1, De Vylder ( NRS) ; Otjiwarongo Dist. , Abachaus, III 1950, 9 ( TM, MNHW) ; Regenstein , SSW of Windhoek, II 1972, 2 ( LS) ; Swakopmund , XI 1958, 1, G. Hobohm ( MNHW) .

SOUTH AFRICA: Cap, Cap. B. Spei, 1, Drege ( NRS) ; Limpopo Prov., Pienaarsrivier , 25°16’S, 28°16’E, 1 ( ARC) ; North West Prov., Vryburg , 26°48’S, 24°44’E, 1 ( ARC) ; Oranje F. State, Boshof, Kromrant , II 1985, 2 ( BM) ; Transvaal, Pienaarsrivier , 1898, 3, v. Jutrzencka ( TM) ; Transvaal , 8.5 km S Pienaarsrivier, 11 I 1987, 1, C.L. Bellamy ( ER) ; Transvaal, Pretoria, Hennops Riv. , 12 IV 1950, 1, A.L. Capener ( MM) ; Western Cape Prov., 5 km W of Camfer, Outeniqua Mountains , near George, 33°50’S, 22°27’E, 1 ( ARC) .

Figures

FIGURE 45. Distribution of Cassida sulphurago (black circles) and Cassida sulphurea (black diamonds).