Ergaula Walker, 1868

Qiu, Lu, Che, Yan-Li & Wang, Zong-Qing, 2018, Contributions to some Corydiinae genera (Blattodea: Corydioidea: Corydiidae) from China, Journal of Natural History (J. Nat. Hist.) 52 (21 - 22), pp. 1433-1461 : 1448-1449

Genus Ergaula Walker, 1868

Ergaula Walker, 1868: 19 ; Kirby 1904: 173; Chopard 1929: 242; Princis 1957: 89, synonymised Dyscologamia under Ergaula ; Princis 1963a: 78; Grandcolas 1994: 145; Roth 2003: 35; Anisyutkin et al., 2008: 207; Vršanský et al., 2013: 122.

Dyscologamia Saussure, 1893: 297 ; Kirby 1904: 173; Hanitsch 1915: 129; Chopard 1929: 240; Princis 1950b: 161, synonymised Parapolyphaga under Dyscologamia .

Parapolyphaga Chopard, 1929: 282 , male nymph.

Type species

Corydia carunculigera Gerstaecker, 1861 (= Ergaula scarabaeoides Walker, 1868 )

Generic description

Male. Large, body length about 17.0–23.0 mm, including tegmen about 26.0–35.0 mm. Body brown to brownish black, unicoloured or with transparent markings on tegmina. Head dark brown except anteclypeus and basal half of labrum, antennae dark brown, smaller towards the apex, eyes large, ocelli moderate. Vertex concealed. Pronotum in dorsal view: pubescent, finely punctate, unicoloured brown, flat, cephalic margin slightly convex, ventral surface smooth, sparsely with punctations. Tegmina dark brown to brownish black, unicoloured, or with small to large hyaline markings, Sc swelling present ( Figure 3f ). Wings hyaline, some species with basal portion dark, venation distinct, CuA circle always present ( Figure 10b ). Legs light brown to dark brown, pubescent, front femur type C 1, pulvilli absent, arolia present, short. Abdomen thin, yellowish brown to dark brown, pubescent, eversible glands present on the first two pleural membranes ( Figure 3o ). Supra-anal plate transverse, pubescent, median weakly concave. Cerci slender. Spheroid sense organs present ( Roth and Slifer 1973; Grandcolas 1994). Subgenital plate round, protruding, with spinous pubescence, styli slender, similar.

Female. Winged, beetle mimic, large, body thickened, round, pubescent, unicoloured brown to brownish black. Length of body about 25.0–36.0 mm. Head large, eyes slender, ocelli small but distinct. Pronotum sub-oval, tegmina short, thick, shorter than or protruding slightly beyond the end of abdomen, apex round or sharp, wings small, reduced. Legs robust. Supra-anal plate suboval, median emarginated, subgenital plate large, protruding, bulging.

Distribution

South-east Asia, China, India, and South Sahara in Africa.

Natural history

A genus that mainly inhabits tropical forests, Ergaula species can be found in tree holes or in termite nests at the bases of trees (e.g. E. capensis, Grandcolas 1997a ), or in cave entrances (e.g. E. pilosa, Hebard 1929 ). They also can be trapped by light (e.g. E. nepalensis from Hainan). For detailed life habits of E. capensis see Grandcolas (1997a).

Remarks

Assigned to the tribe Corydiini by female having tegmina and wings ( Rehn 1951). It is a poorly known genus within Corydiinae . Ergaula capucina and Ergaula pilosa are popular in the pet trade (the trade can be found on some Internet social media, e.g. Facebook, WeChat and QQ). All species of this genus are distributed in the Oriental Region except Ergaula capensis which is found only in Africa ( Princis 1963a).

Figures

Figure 3. Features of Corydiinae species. Polyphaga plancyi: (a) male pronotum; (b) male head; (c) male Sc swelling (absent); (j) setae on the margin of pronotum (male); (n) setae on the margin of pronotum (female);(p) tarsal claw (female); (r) tarsal claw (male).Polyphaga obscura: (m) pubescence on the margin of pronotum (female); (q) tarsal claw (female). Ergaula nepalensis: (d) male pronotum; (e) male head; (f) male Sc swelling; (k) pubescence on the margin of pronotum (male); (o) glands on the first two pleural membranes (male); (s) tarsal claw (male). Ctenoblatta impubis: (g) male pronotum; (h) male head; (i) male Sc swelling; (l) pubescence on the margin of pronotum (male);(t) tarsal claw (male).Scale bars:a, d, g = 3 mm; b–c, e–f, h–i = 2 mm; j–n, r–t = 0.3 mm; o = 1 mm; p–q = 0.5 mm.

Figure 10. Venation of tegmina (top) and hind wings (bottom): (a) Polyphaga plancyi; (b) Ergaula nepalensis; (c) Ctenoblatta impubis; (d) Homoeogamia mexicana (after Rehn 1951).