Cassida sulphurea 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 : 159

Cassida sulphurea Boheman, 1854

( figs. 45 , 264–265)

Cassida sulphurea Boheman, 1854: 393, 1856: 129 , 1862: 307; Gemminger & Harold, 1876: 3659; Spaeth, 1939: 19; Borowiec, 1999 a: 287.

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

Description. L: 5.10, W: 4.30 mm, Lp: 1.90 mm, Wp: 3.10 mm, L/W: 1.19, Wp/Lp: 1.63. Body broadly–oval, regularly rounded on sides (fig. 264).

Body uniformly yellow, including head, ventrites, legs and antennae, or sides of elytral disc with diffused stripe of marble pattern (figs. 264, 265).

Pronotum elliptical, with maximum width behind the middle, anterior margin regularly convex, sides broadly rounded, no basal corners. Disc indistinctly bordered from explanate margin except short lateral impressions, lateral lobes indistinct. Surface of disc shiny, with fine and sparse punctation. Distance between punctures several times wider than puncture diameter, interspaces regular. Explanate margin broad, impunctate, transparent with well visible honeycomb structure its surface shiny.

Base of elytra much wider than base of pronotum, humeral angles distinctly protruding anterad, subangulate. Disc distinctly convex in profile (fig. 265), with shallow postscutellar and principal impressions and low and obtuse H–shaped elevation, sutural rows in posterior half lightly elevated but surface of disc appears regular. Punctation moderately coarse arranged in completely regular rows, only postscutellar impression with additional irregular punctures, third interval not widened, without additional punctures. Punctures in rows moderately dense, distance between punctures mostly twice to thrice wider than puncture diameter. Marginal row distinct, its punctures not or only slightly coarser than punctures in central rows. Intervals flat to slightly convex, mostly as wide as rows, marginal interval moderately broad, as wide as submarginal interval and submarginal row combined, humeral and lateral folds indistinct marked rather as impunctate area than fold. Explanate margin moderately broad, moderately declivous, in the widest part four times narrower than disc, shiny with very shallow punctation, shiny, regular, transparent with well visible honeycomb structure.

Eyes moderately large, gena as long as length of last palpomere. Clypeus very broad, approximately 1.5 times as wide as long. Clypeal grooves fine but well marked, converging in triangle with obtuse top, surface of clypeus flat, its surface shiny, impunctate. Labrum shallowly emarginate. Antennae moderately slim, segments 9–10 approximately 1.3 times as longs wide. Length ratio of antennal segments: 100:50:66:66:63:46:59:42:56:54:92. Segment 3 approximately 1.2 times as long as segment 2 and as long as segment 4.

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

Claws simple.

Distribution. South Africa: Cape Province ( fig. 45 ).

Remarks. A member of the Cassida sulphurago species–group. Cassida imitatrix differs in the pronotum widest in the middle with broadly rounded sides, elytral intervals with additional irregular punctures (fgs. 256, 257) and claws with a large basal tooth. Cassida sulphurago distinctly differs in its large size with length above 5.5 mm, base of the elytra moderately wider than the pronotum, and elytral punctation with additional irregular punctures on some intervals ( figs. 159 –261).

Type examined. Holotype: [ SOUTH AFRICA]: Caput Bonae Spei , ( NRS).

Other specimens examined. [ SOUTH AFRICA]: Limpopo Prov., Mphaphuli Cycad Reserve, Venda , 22°48’S, 30°41’E, 1 ( ARC); S Afr ., Cape Town area , 11 VI 1996, 1, W. G. Ullrich ( LS) .

Figures

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

FIGURES 158–161. Cassida guttipennis. 158, 160–161. Dorsal; 159. Lateral.