Altica viridicyanea (Baly)

Hua, Yi, Ge, Si-Qin, Beutel, Rolf Georg, Zhang, Yong, Cui, Jun-Zhi & Yang, Xing-Ke, 2013, The larvae of Altica koreana (Ogloblin) and A. viridicyanea (Baly) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Galerucinae: Alticini), Zootaxa 3694 (5), pp. 461-470 : 463-468

Altica viridicyanea (Baly)

First instar larva. General body shape: eruciform; with capitate setae on dorsal and lateral sides.

Color: dark yellow in life, turns deep dark yellow following fixation in ethanol.

Body length: 1.5–2.0 mm.

Mature larva. General body shape: eruciform, slightly curved when preserved.

Color: dark yellow, with black sclerites in living larvae. Mostly brown after fixation in ethanol, with head, pronotum, legs and sclerites appearing black.

Body length: 4.1–4.5 mm.

Head: globular, hypognathous, heavily sclerotized. Epicranial suture Y-shaped; coronal suture short; frontal sutures reaching antennal sockets; median endocarina robust, extending from base of frontal sutures to clypeus; frons with three pairs of long setae and pair of frontal campaniform sensilla; vertex highly convex; three long setae and pair of sensilla present along frontal suture. Stemmata absent.

Clypeus: transverse, with laterally rounded edges, bearing pair of sensilla and three pairs of setae (one long, two short) at its base. Labrum: transverse, sclerotized, with lateral edges rounded and deep anteromedian notch; dorsal surface bearing two pairs of long setae. Antenna: articulation area prominent, strongly convex, membranous; located at ends of frontal sutures; antenna two-segmented; first antennomere partially membranous, with large conical sensory papilla; second antennomere conical, slightly sclerotized basally. Mandibles: symmetrical, palmate, with four teeth, mola absent. Penicillus on mesal side formed by group of three short, stout setae. Two longer setae inserted laterally on mandible. Maxilla: with large transverse cardo bearing seta; stipes elongate with two sclerotized areas; mala distinctly divided into two parts, apical part (“galea”) with eight setae arranged in circle around stout pedunculate seta (appearing two segmented); proximal part (“lacinia”) bearing straight longitudinal row of long stout setae; maxillary palp three segmented. Labium: large trapezoid submentum with light brown coloration; mentum not well defined; prementum, short, sclerotized, dark brown, with large membranous articulatory areas; labial palpi two segmented.

Prothorax narrower than other thoracic segments; pronotum with five pairs of setae anteriorly, three pairs posteriorly; prosternum with two pairs of short setae.

Meso- and metathorax subequal, wider than prothorax; both nota divided into several sclerotized plates; with pair of unisetose tubercles anteriorly, posteriorly with pair of unisetose tubercles and pair of large bisetose tubercles arranged in transverse row; lateral region with pair of large trisetose tubercles and two pairs of unisetose tubercles (mesothoracic spiracle situated on anterior tubercle); pair of nonsetose tubercles and pair of unisetose tubercles present on ventro-lateral pleural region very close to coxal articulation. Meso- and metasterna with antero-median bisetose tubercle and pair of postero-median unisetose tubercles. Mesothoracic spiracle annuliform, situated on anterior pleural region close to mesocoxal articulation.

Legs increasing in size from pro- to metathorax, five-segmented; coxa largely trapezoidal; two unisetose tubercles inserted on ventrolateral pleural region very close to coxal articulation; trochanter largely membranous distally; femur strongly sclerotised dorsally, membranous ventrally; tibia with four setae; tarsungulus bearing unpaired pulvillus, with long, setiform sensillum basiconicum at its base.

Abdomen: segments I-VII dorsally bearing well defined sclerites, arranged in two transverse rows; chaetotaxy similar; each row with bisetose sclerite in middle, and pair of sclerites with dorso-lateral unisetose tubercles; lateral region with one row of bisetose tubercles ( Fig. 19 ); ventro-lateral region with one row of bisetose tubercles; ventral side with large antero-median bisetose tubercle and transverse pair of posterior bisetose tubercles. Segment VIII similar to preceding abdominal segments, except for fusion of posterior bisetose and two unisetose tubercles, forming single tubercle with four setae. Segment IX dorsally forming undivided semicircular pygidium; with five pairs of pygidial setae. Ventral sclerites fused as narrow tranverse band with two pairs of filiform setae. Pygopod present on segment X. Segment X not visible in dorsal view. Spiracles present on segments I-VIII, similar to mesothoracic spiracles but smaller.

Material examined: About 13 larvae of various instars collected on buds of Geranium nepalense in June-July 2010, in Badaling, Beijing by Huai-Jun Xue, Shu-Yong Wang and Wen-Zhu Li. Nearly 15 larvae and 4 pupae obtained through laboratory rearing.

Figures

FIGURES 17 – 19. 17 – 18. Head of mature larva of A. koreana: 17. Lateral view; 18. Ventral view. Abbreviations: Ant: antenna; Cd: Cardo; Cl: clypeus; En: endocarina; Fs: frontal sulture; Gal: galea; Hyp: hypopharyx; Lac: lacinia; Lbp: labial palpi; Lr: labrum; Md: mandible; MoL: mesothoracic leg; MtL: metathoracic leg; Mx: maxilla; Mxp: maxillary palpi; PrM: prementum; Sen: sensillum; Sm: submentum; St: stipes. 19. Body of A. viridicyanea, left side, from middorsal line to midventral line. Abbreviations: AI – VII, AVIII, AIX, AX: abdominal segments I – VII, VIII, IX, X; MoL: mesothoracic leg; Ms: mesothorax; Mt: metathorax; MtL: metathoracic leg; PrL: proleg; Pt: prothorax; Sp: spiracle; mdl: middorsal line; mvl: midventral line.