Lamiogethes hastipenis Liu, Yang, Huang, Cline, Sabatelli & Audisio, 2020

Liu, Meike, Wang, Xinyue, Sabatelli, Simone & Audisio, Paolo, 2025, First description of the female of Lamiogethes hastipenis Liu et al., 2020 (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae, Meligethinae), Fragmenta entomologica 57 (1), pp. 121-124 : 121-124

Lamiogethes hastipenis Liu, Yang, Huang, Cline, Sabatelli & Audisio, 2020

Lamiogethes hastipenis Liu, Yang, Huang, Cline, Sabatelli & Audisio, 2020: 63–76 .

Description

Male. The male specimens collected in this study are fully consistent with the holotype in color and overall body morphology (Figs 1–2); the male genitalia are defined by an elongate tegmen with subparallel lateral margins in their posterior half and a deep medial incision (Fig. 3); the median lobe of the aedeagus exhibits a characteristic pre-distal enlargement, terminating in a sword-tip-shaped apical structure (Fig. 4), typical of all species of the complex including Lamiogethes ancestor (Kirejtshuk, 1980) and allied taxa ( Liu et al. 2020).

Female. Size: body length 2.19 mm, width (maximum elytral width) 1.23 mm.

Body color and pubescence. Dorsal and ventral (Figs 5–6) surfaces of the body entirely black, with shiny tegument. Antennae pale brown to dark brown, with the first antennomere dark brown, second and third antennomeres pale brown. Legs brownish black. Pubescence golden, short, fine, uniformly developed, not covering the tegument. The length of each seta ca. 0.46× that of the second antennomere.

Dorsal habitus. Clypeus with truncate anterior margin. Dorsal punctures on pronotum rather fine and deep, each about 1.2–1.6 diameters apart; space between punctures smooth and shiny. Dorsal punctures on elytra slightly larg-er, about 1.2–1.7 diameters apart; space between punctures smooth and shining, with no traces of transverse strigosity (Fig. 5). Ratio LPR1/LELY = 0.44; ratio WPR1/LPR1 = 1.92; ratio WPR2/LPR1 = 1.83; ratio WPR2/WPR1 = 0.95; ratio LELY/WELY = 1.06; ratio WPR1/WPRA = 1.30; ratio WPR1/WELY = 0.89; ratio WPR2/WELY = 0.85.

Ventral habitus. Combined outer edges of antennal grooves almost straight, parallel-sided along most of length. Prosternal process nearly as wide as length of antennal club, punctation fine and sparse. The female metaventrite differs from the male metaventrite in having only an indistinct shallow impression. Last visible ventrite simple (Fig. 6), without tubercles or ridges.

Appendages. Antennae rather short (Fig. 6), ratio ANLE/HWEA = 0.71; ratio CLLE/W10J = 1.51; ratio L03J/W03J = 2.27; ratio L03J/L02J = 0.68; ratio L03J/ L04J = 1.81. Protibiae with a group of 3–4 asymmetrical predistal teeth, the second and third distinctly pointed, and the other 1–2 only moderately pointed. Front tarsi rather widened, ratio WFTA/LFTA = 0.29; ratio LETI/ WITI ≈ 2.67. Metatibiae simple, not arcuately curved nor sinuate along their inner side (Fig. 6), ratio LPTI/ WPTI ≈ 3.28.

Ovipositor. Peculiarly elongated, gonostyloids’ apices markedly rounded and non-bifurcated, styli small and hardly visible, placed at the apex (Fig. 7), ratio STLE/ DSIA ≈ 0.87; ratio STLE/CGOW ≈ 0.04; ratio GONL/ CGOW ≈ 1.82. Combined basal portions of gonocoxites transverse, linear-shaped, apices laterally directed and bluntly pointed (Fig. 7). Ratio OVPL/GONL ≈ 2.90; ratio OVPL/body length ≈ 0.40.

Taxonomic remarks. As reported in introduction, this species was originally described based on two male specimens only, collected from Shennongjia National Forest Park , Hubei Province, central China ( Liu et al. 2020). Recent supplementary collections at the type locality have enabled us to compare a series of Lamiogethes hastipenis specimens of both sexes (Figs 1–7).

Liu et al. (2020) placed Lamiogethes hastipenis in the L. difficilis species group due to its external body shape and color, markedly recalling those of a rare European member of this group, L. buyssoni (C.Brisout de Barneville, 1882) . In this study, it was found that the ovipositor of L. hastipenis exhibits a blunt apex vaguely similar (Fig. 7) to that of L. difficilis (Heer, 1841) (see Audisio 1993). This provides additional evidence for the placement of L. hastipenis within the L. difficilis species group.

Examined materials

China: Hubei, Shennongjia National Forest Park , Shennong peak Scenic Area , sparsely forested and bushy area below the trail gate ( 31°16′12″N 110°10′12″E), 2500 m, 16.vi.2017, Audisio & Liu lgt, beating flowering bush-es of Rubus rosifolius Sm. ( Rosaceae ), 2 ♂♂ ( NWAFU, CAR-MZUR) . China: Hubei, Shennongjia, Muyu Town ( 31°26′54″N 110°14′19″E), 2722 m, 5.vi.2024, Xinyue Wang & Bowen Tian lgt, on flowering Fragaria sp. ( Rosaceae ), 10 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀ ( YZU) ; China: Hubei, Shennongjia, Shennong Valley ( 31°27′8″N 110°16′57″E), 2693 m, 6.vi.2022, Longyan Chen & Qiuhong Li lgt, on flowering Cardamine sp. ( Brassicaceae ), 2 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀ ( YZU) .

Distribution. Central China, Hubei Province (Shennongjia; Liu et al. 2020; this study) ( Fig. 8 ).

Bionomical notes. Adults of this species have been thus far collected only from flowers of Rubus ( Rosaceae ), Fragaria ( Rosaceae ), and Cardamine ( Brassicaceae ) ( Liu et al. 2020; this study), which evidently all represent only occasional food plants. The larval host plant, almost certainly to be found among the Lamiaceae , therefore remains unknown for now. Further research is then needed to clarify the relationships between the larvae of Lamiogethes hastipenis and their actual host plants.

Figures

Fig. 8 – Distribution map of Lamiogethes hastipenis (The red dot represents the data from Liu et al. 2020; the yellow dots represent the recently collected records, all of them being from the Shennongjia, Hubei, China).