Euphoria monticola Bates, 1889

Orozco, Jesús, 2012, Monographic Revision of the American Genus Euphoria Burmeister, 1842 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae), The Coleopterists Bulletin (mo 11) 66, pp. 1-182 : 45-46

Euphoria monticola Bates, 1889

(Appendix 4: Fig. 17 )

Euphoria monticola Bates 1889: 415 . Original combination.

Holotype at MNHN, examined.

Euphoria holochloris Fall 1905: 273 . New synonymy.

Lectotype at MCZ designated by Hardy (2001), examined. Other syntypes not found; no paralectotypes designated.

Euphoria hoffmannae Deloya and Nogueira 1996: 338 . New synonymy.

Holotype and allotype at IEXA; paratypes at RACC (6), DJCC (1), CCDX (7), Instituto de Biología , UNAM (Distrito Federal, Mexico) (2), Instituto Manantlán de Ecología, Universidad de Guadalajara (Autlán, Jalisco, Mexico) (1), Guillermo Nogueira Collection (Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico) (5), and M. A. Morón Collection (Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico) (1) (fide Deloya and Nogueira 1996). One paratype at MNHN, examined.

Description (n = 384). Length 12.1–17.3 mm; width 6.9–9.8 mm. Color: Body dark green, violaceous, or dark bluish. Elytra sometimes with small cretaceous markings. Pygidium rarely with 1 whitish, cretaceous marking at each side. Head: Frons densely punctate; punctures moderate in size, round; excavated; with 1 central depression, or 2 longitudinal depressions separated by weak ridge; glabrous to sparsely setose; setae short to moderate, yellowish. Clypeus subquadrate, densely punctate; punctures as on frons, sides moderately raised, weakly arcuate to subparallel, apex moderately reflexed in males, weakly to moderately reflexed in females, apex frequently sinuate in frontal view. Vertex flat to weakly protuberant. Antennal club as long as or longer than stem in males, shorter in females. Pronotum: Surface glabrous, sparsely to moderately densely punctate; punctures round and small in the middle, lunulate and moderate in size laterally, punctation denser towards sides. Base in front of scutellum weakly to strongly emarginate. Scutellum impunctate, longer than wide, as long as wide on occasion, apex variably rounded. Elytra: Surface glabrous, densely punctate; punctures lunulate, small in anterior half, irregular and coalescent in posterior half. Costae evident to subobsolete in posterior half, obsolete in anterior half. Posterior half of sutural costa raised in lateral view. Pygidium: Surface concentrically striate, glabrous to sparsely setose; setae minute to short, yellowish. Legs: Basal protibial tooth obsolete to subobsolete in males. Mesotibial carina frequently developed into 1–2 sharp teeth. Metatibiae not expanded apically. Sparsely to moderately densely setose; setae long, yellowish. Venter: Mesometasternal process well developed, extended beyond mesocoxae, glabrous, apex evenly rounded. Mesepimera, metasternum and metacoxae setose; setae as on procoxae. Metasternum rugose, setose laterally, glabrous, impunctate at middle; setae short to moderate, yellowish; median sulcus strongly impressed. Abdominal sternites frequently with lateral cretaceous markings, sides weakly ridged. Abdomen of males at middle with deep, longitudinal depression. Male genitalia: Parameres as in Fig. 17c .

Diagnosis. Euphoria monticola is separated from the other species in the group based on the dark coloration, antennal club as long as head in males, impunctate scutellum, strongly developed mesometasternal process, rounded to weakly ridged abdominal sternites, and the male genitalia. Specimens with a reflexed clypeus are rarely observed.

Taxonomic History. Bates (1889) described the species from a large female with an unusually moderately reflexed clypeus from Canelas, Durango, Mexico. He compared this specimen, probably because of the clypeal shape and the larger body size, with Euphoria lesueuri (Gory and Percheron) and Euphoria candezei Janson. To my knowledge, no additional specimens have been collected in the state since then.

Fall (1905) described E. holochloris based on two males and one female from Fort Huachuca, Arizona, USA. Even when he observed the differences between this species and E. fulgida and E. limbalis , the characters he listed are only moderately useful to separate them. The shape of the prothorax and scutellum, presence of punctures on the abdominal segments, and presence of cretaceous spots on the elytra, listed by Fall (1905) as ways to separate these three species, all vary intraspecifically. Hardy (2001), without justification, listed E. holochloris as a subspecies of E. fulgida .

Deloya and Nogueira (1996) described E. hoffmannae from specimens collected in Jalisco and Nayarit, Mexico. They separated E. hoffmannae from E. holochloris based on body size, coloration, and an observed difference in the number of teeth in the mesotibial carina. All three characters are not diagnostic and vary intraspecifically in E. monticola . No mention is given of E. monticola . Based on the character study and the examination of 384 specimens, including the types, I place E. holochloris and E. hoffmannae in synonymy with E. monticola .

Specimens of E. monticola are known in Mexico from the states of Chihuahua, Durango, Jalisco, and Nayarit and are expected to occur in Sonora and Sinaloa. The apparently allopatric distribution is probably due to the lack of collecting in these areas.

Natural History. Adult specimens have been collected on Quercus hypoleucoides Camus , Salix sp. , E. nauseosa , and feeding on oranges. Meyer et al. (1979) reported it as a frequent visitor of B. sarothroides . Adults are attracted to blacklights, red wine traps, and Lindgren funnel traps baited with a variety of lures. This species has been collected in desert, chaparral areas, and in pine, oak, mesophytic, and scrub forests between 400–2,300 m.

Deloya and Nogueira (1996) observed the species in a Pinus resinosa Aiton / Quercus oocarpa Liebm. forest in Jalisco, Mexico. Males were observed feeding on cow and human feces. Males and females were seen flying between 11:00–15:00 hours and having a different behavior. Males were observed flying fast at about 2 m over the soil to later dig into it to a depth of 20 cm. On one of three occasions, a male and female were found together in the leaf litter. Females fly more slowly at about 50 cm over the ground to also later dig into it; no couples were found in two observations.

Temporal Distribution. April (3), June (53), July (230), August (10), September (4) ( Fig. 17e ).

Geographic Distribution. Knownfrom Chihuahua, Durango, Jalisco, and Nayarit, Mexico and Arizona and New Mexico, USA ( Fig. 17f ).

Specimens Examined (384). Type material: Euphoria monticola Bates, 1889 ; holotype female at MNHN labeled “ Canelas / Durango // Euphoria / monticola/ Bates ♀// Museum Paris/ ex. Coll./ R. Oberthur// HOLOTYPE ♀// Euphoria / monticola Bates / G. Ruter det. 1972 [?]/ HOLOTYPE ♀”. Euphoria holochloris Fall, 1905 ; lectotype male at MCZ labeled “Ft. Huachuca/ Ariz// holochlo/ ris./ TYPE// H.C. FALL/ COLLECTION// M.C.Z. Type/ 24876// LECTOTYPE / Euphoria / holochloris Fall ”. Euphoria hoffmannae Deloya and Nogueira, 1996 ; paratype male at FSCA labeled “LA PRIMAVERA,/ JALISCO, MEXICO / 27-VI-95/ 1650 MSNM/ Col. G. Nogueira// PARATIPO/ EUPHORIA HOFFMANNAE / sp. nov. Deloya y/ Nogueira// 2”. Other material: MEXICO (5): CHIHUAHUA: Matachic (1); DURANGO: Canelas (1); JALISCO: Ajijíc (1), La Primavera (1); NAYARIT: Tepic (1). USA (371): ARIZONA. Apache Co. : McNary (1), Cochise Co. : Bisbee (2), Carr Canyon (1), Cave Creek Canyon (10), Charleston (1), Chiricahua Mountains (19), Coronado National Memorial (1), Dragoon Mountains (14), Fort Huachuca (1), Hereford (2), Huachuca Mountains (44), Miller Canyon (15), Paradise (6), Portal (128), Texas Canyon (4), Southwestern Research Station (5), no data (1); Gila Co. : Globe (2), Payson (7), Pinal Mountains (4), Salt River Canyon (1), Sierra Ancha Mountains (12), Camp. Geronimo (1); Graham Co.: Coronado National Forest (21); Pima Co. : Baboquivari Mountains (2), Catalina Mountains (3), Florida Canyon (1), Madera Canyon (22); Pinal Co.: Oracle (5); Santa Cruz Co.: Lochiel (3), Pajarito Mountains (1), Nogales (3), Santa Rita Mountains (22), no data (1); Yavapai Co.: Sedona (1); No data (2). NEW MEXICO. Hidalgo Co.: Peloncillo Mountains (2). NO DATA: (1).

Figures

Fig. 17. Euphoria monticola. a) Habitus, b) Head, c) Parameres, d) Color variation, e) Temporal distribution, f) Geographic distribution in Mexico and the United States.