Calophagus pekinensis Lesne, 1902

Liu, Lan-Yu, 2021, A review of the powderpost beetle genera Xylothrips Lesne, 1901 and Calophagus Lesne, 1902 (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae: Bostrichinae: Xyloperthini), European Journal of Taxonomy 746 (1), pp. 130-147 : 141-144

Calophagus pekinensis Lesne, 1902

Figs 1A–B , 4

Calophagus pekinensis Lesne, 1902: 109 .

Xylothrips cathaicus Reichardt, 1966: 81–83 .

Material examined

Syntypes of Calophagus pekinensis Lesne, 1902

CHINA • 5 syntypes; N China, Pekin; Abbe Armand David leg.; R. Oberthür Collection; MNHN .

Holotype of Xylothrips cathaicus Reichardt, 1966

CHINA • holotype; “11 // Peiping , Hopei , China, 193, G. Liu // M.C.Z. Type, 31194 // 659”; MCZ 31194.

The specific identity of more than 20 specimens was checked in several museums ( RBINS, MNHN, NMBS, NMPC (as Xylothrips cathaicus ) and SNSD) and private collections ( LYL, MAIC and PZP (as X. cathaicus )), but detailed locality data were not recorded.

Description

BODY. Stout, cylindrical, 6–8.5 mm long. Head deeply inserted in prothorax, not visible from above. Antennae, pronotum, elytral disc and profemur brown-red, other parts of body dark brown to black on ventral side.

HEAD. Eyes rather large, oval, detached from temples posteriorly. Clypeus finely and densely punctured, anterior margin forming two arcs with a tooth in middle, anteriorly with a tuft of erect hairs, a band of long, yellowish-red hairs on transverse middle line. Fronto-clypeal suture distinct, with a vertical furrow. Frons with punctures denser than on clypeus, slightly rough, covered by fairly long, fine pubescence directed upwards, a small shining callus in middle ( Fig. 4A ). First antennomere longer than wide, second antennomere shorter, total length of funicle shorter than first segment of club; first antennomere of antennal club subtriangular, second antennomere of antennal club rectangular, about 1.2 times as long as wide, last antennomere rather elongated, about 2.5 times as long as wide. Each antennomere of antennal club with longitudinal bands of golden hairs on each side of each face ( Figs 1A , 4A ). Labrum yellowish, with dense punctures, fringed with long hairs on anterior margin. Both mandibles pointed at tip.

PRONOTUM. Slightly wider than long, fairly strongly narrowed in anterior third, widest in basal part; a distinct upwardly-directed uncinate tooth on anterolateral angle and a series of upwardly-directed teeth behind form lateral border of rasp on anterior half of pronotum, teeth gradually smaller and less erect towards summit of pronotum; posterior margin of rasp formed by small tubercles or granules, bearing sparse, yellowish-red, short, recumbent pubescence between and on teeth ( Fig. 4A ); area above anterior margin between uncinate teeth finely and more or less roughly punctured; posterior half of pronotum very smooth, impunctate; sides evenly rounded behind rasp; lateral carina absent, posterolateral angles rectangular, with a few small granules on tip ( Figs 1B , 4B ); anterolateral part of pronotum with sparse punctures with dense, long, white, recumbent pubescence ( Figs 1B , 4A ).

ELYTRA. Punctures of elytra fairly fine, superficial, obsolete anteriorly and near margins of apical declivity; declivity shining and very smooth, very obscurely punctured, margined on each side by three subequal blunt tubercles and by an infero-apical callus in form of a fold, separated from elytral margin by marginal groove ( Fig. 4C–D ). Suture slightly projecting on declivity, weakly reflexed at apex.

ABDOMEN. Covered with grey, appressed pubescence, very dense and quite long, last ventrite with pleural pieces along lateral margins.

LEGS. Dense, short golden hairs on ventroposterior margins of metafemora. Anterior face of anterior tibiae uniformly pubescent, external face of posterior tibiae with numerous, long golden hairs. Segments 2 and 3 of anterior tarsi distinctly wider than others.

Male

HEAD. Frons transversely convex, densely and very finely punctured, a small shining callus in middle ( Fig. 4A ), yellow erect pubescence covers areas from callus to eyes and fronto-clypeal suture, short and recumbent toward middle and gradually longer closer to eyes, with a tuft of long, erect hairs next to inner margin of eyes. Clypeus with a transverse band of upwardly directed hairs towards base, with a narrow median line ( Fig. 4A ).

ABDOMEN. Last ventrite with pleural pieces, foveolate in middle behind apical margin.

Female

HEAD. Frontal crown of hairs very thick, forming arc of a circle or a very wide V, fairly distant laterally from eyes. Clypeus with a transverse band of upwardly directed, long hairs towards base, with a narrow median line.

ABDOMEN. Last ventrite with pleural pieces, impression in middle behind apical margin shallower than in male.

Remarks

The specimens from South Korea are more shining, particularly on the apical half of the elytra, which may be almost as shining as in Xylothrips flavipes . The specimens from China and Tsushima Island are rather matt. The lateral callus on the elytral declivity is more reduced in the male than in the female, and is almost lost in the male from Tsushima Island, with only a short carina remaining.

Biology

Iwata & Kusakabe (2002) recorded 8 males and 13 females of Xylothrips cathaicus from dead branches of Zelkova serrata (Thunb.) Makino (Ulmaceae) in April, 1990, on Tsushima Island, Japan. Chen (1990) recorded 4 males and 6 females of Xylothrips cathaicus collected from Styphnolobium japonicum (L.) Schott (Leguminosae) in April, 1987, in Beijing. Zhan (1984) studied the “common pest”, Calophagus pekinensis , of timber and the wood used in the construction of houses in Hubei, China, and found that the species has one generation per year. The developmental periods of the immature stages were: eggs 8–10 days; larvae about 110 days; pupa about 12 days. Adults lived for about 230 days in Hubei, China and bred in Pterocarya stenoptera C.DC. (Juglandaceae) . The clerid beetles Tarsostenus univittatus (Rossi, 1792) and Tillus notatus Klug, 1842 prey on larvae and pupae ( Zhan 1984). Doryctinae Forster, 1862 ( Hymenoptera : Braconidae Latreille, 1829 ) and Bethylidae Forster, 1856 (Hymenoptera) were observed to be parasitic on larvae and pupae during the study ( Zhan 1984). In 2008, the author received a series of specimens from Shandong, China collected from Rosa rugosa Thunb. (Rosaceae) in Aug. 2007. S. Park collected specimens of this species from the freshly cut wood of an apple tree ( Rosaceae : Malus domestica Borkh. ) in an orchard, together with Xylosandrus spp. (Scolytinae) . It is also known to attack Chionanthus retusus Lindl.&Paxton (Oleaceae) (S. Park, pers. comm.).

Distribution

South Korea, Japan (Tsushima Island), North China (Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Shandong).

Figures

Fig. 1. A–B. Calophagus pekinensis Lesne, 1902, ♀ (SNSD). A. Anterolateral view showing the antennae, with two strips of golden hairs on sides. B. Lateral view of head and pronotum showing absence of lateral carina on pronotum. C–D. Xylothrips flavipes (Illiger, 1801), ♂ (LYL). C. Frontal view showing the antennae, matt without sensory areas. D. Lateral view of head and pronotum showing clear lateral carina on pronotum. E–F. Xylothrips religiosus (Boisduval, 1835), ♂ (LYL). E. Frontal view showing the antennae, matt without sensory areas. F. Lateral view of head and pronotum showing clear lateral carina on pronotum. Scale bar = 1 mm.

Fig. 4. Calophagus pekinensis Lesne, 1902, ♀ (SNSD). A. Frontal view. B. Dorsal view. C. Declivity. D. Lateral view of declivity. E. Ventral view. Scale bars = 1 mm (upper scale for B, E; lower scale for A, C–D).