Mesites (s. str.) pallidipennis Boheman, 1838

Nazarenko, V. Yu. & Gontarenko, A. V., 2017, New Records Of Mesites (Coleoptera, Curculionidae) In Ukraine, Vestnik Zoologii 51 (1), pp. 75-78 : 76-78

Mesites (s. str.) pallidipennis Boheman, 1838 ( fig. 1 , c–d, f, i–j, l, n)

Boheman, 1838: 1045; Folwaczny, 1973: 129.

Material. Odesa Reg.: Kyliia Distr., Vylkove env., E part of Kubanu isl. , on Salix , 13.07.1997, 1 Ơ; idem, middle part, floodland forest with Eleagnus and Hippophae , 17.07.1997, 1 Ơ ( Ermolenko ); Illichivsk env., Sanzhiika , sea coast, 1.02.2001, 1 Ơ ( Trach ) ( SIZK); Tatarbunary Distr. , recreation center Raseika , sea coast, 27.06.2003, 1 spec. (N. Gontarenko), 28.06.2003, 1 spec., 3.07.2009, 1 spec. (A. Gontarenko) (cGon); Kyliia Distr. , Vylkove env., Kubanu isl. , SE coast, adults under bark, larvae in rotten wood of? Populus sp. , in the sea and on coast to ~ 20–50 m from water, 28.08.2010, 2 Ơ, 1 ♀; idem, 30.08.2010, 9 Ơ, 7 ♀, 20 larvae (Nazarenko) ( SIZK) .

D i s t r i b u t i o n. Europe: Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, Romania, Spain, S European Russia, Ukraine; North Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia; Asia: Cyprus, Lebanon, introduced in Turkey ( Hlaváč, Maughan, 2013). Most western record from Ukraine. Confirmed record from Odesa ( fig. 2 , triangles).

Biology. Develops in old driftwood of willows and poplars, coniferous trees (Lukjanovich, Arnoldi, 1951; Folwaczny, 1973).

D i a g n o s i s. This species can be recognized from superficially similar Cossonus (s. str.) linearis (Fabricius, 1775) and C. (Caenocossonus) parallelepipedus (Herbst, 1795) as foregoing species. From M. cunipes it differs by usually bicolor dark body with pale elytra, shining pronotum with indistinct microreticulation, elytral interspaces so wide or wider then striae with dense markedly enlargered on declivity interstrial punctures; aedeagus median lobe almost parallelsided with semicircular apex; narrowly divergent from the base and inner distinctly arcuate arms of sternite VIII in female; feeding in driftwood.

Figures

Fig. 1. Morphological details of adult Mesites: a — M. cunipes, Ơ; b — M. cunipes, ♀; c — M. pallidipennis, Ơ; d — M. pallidipennis, ♀; e — pronotal disc microreticulation of M. cunipes; f — the same of M. pallidipennis; g — left elytron apex of M. cunipes; h — medial part of elytral disk of M. cunipes; i — the same of M. pallidipennis; j — left elytron apex of M. pallidipennis; k — female sternite VIII of M. cunipes; l — the same of M. pallidipennis; m — aedeagus median lobe of M. cunipes; n — the same of M. pallidipennis.

Fig. 2. Findings of Mesites cunipes (circles) and M. pallidipennis (triangles: gray for examined material and white for cited) in Ukraine. Black dots — exact position.