Taphrorychus betulae Schedl, 1974

Buhroo, Abdul Ahad, 2024, A taxonomic monograph of subfamily Scolytinae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in the Western Himalaya, Zootaxa 5533 (1), pp. 1-82 : 29

20. Taphrorychus betulae Schedl, 1974

( Figure 26 )

This species is diagnosed by the following morphological characters: ♂ body pitchy black, frons densely granulate punctate, with long sparse yellow hairs; flattened above epistoma; epistomal margin with a fringe of yellow hairs; eyes elongate, anteriorly emarginate; antennal club sub-circular, basal corneous portion on less than half of length, rest pubescent non-corneous portion with two recurved sutures; pronotum 1.11× longer than wide, postero-lateral angles moderately rounded, sides parallel up to more than the middle, narrowed anteriorly with rounded apex; anterior pronotum obliquely convex and densely covered with small asperities, basal area densely rather coarsely punctate, median line impunctate and feebly raised, pubescence rather long and erect; scutellum of medium size, shining; elytra slightly wider than pronotal base, 1.53× longer than pronotum and 1.64× as long as wide; lateral sides parallel up to basal three-fourth, converging posteriorly to moderately rounded apex; disc shining, very distinctly striate-punctate, the striae deeper towards the declivity, the strial punctures of moderate size and closely placed; interstriae much wider, in places finely transversely wrinkled and each with median row of widely spaced small punctures with rather long erect pale hair-like setae, the size of these punctures not quite as large as those on the main striae; declivity commencing from behind middle and obliquely convex; sutural interstriae elevated, with a row of setose granules; striae 1 deeply impressed, interstriae 2 somewhat similar to sutural one, some of its punctures and on rest of the interstriae replaced by minute setose granules; body length: 2.70–2.74 mm, 2.78× as long as wide.

Females with finely and very densely punctured frons and with tufts of long incurved hairs along margins; body length: 2.48 mm.

Material examined: New records: India: 2 ♂ ′s, 4 ♀ ′s. Kashmir , Bandipora, Barnoi Gurez (34° 36.543′ N, 074° 57.182′ E, 8360 ft.), A.A. Buhroo, 17.08.2018 ( KUIC). Kashmir, Ganderbal, Thajwas Sonamarg (34° 18.222′ N, 075° 16.388′ E, 9105 ft.), A.A. Buhroo, 03.09.2019 ( KUIC) .

Distribution: India: Kashmir (Barnoi, Sonamarg) (first country record). Pakistan

Hosts: Betula utilis ( Betulaceae )

Figures

FIGURE 26. Taphrorychus betulae. Male: dorsal view A, lateral view B; female: fronto-lateral view C.