Benedictus fuanensis Ruan & Konstantinov, 2023

Ruan, Yongying, Konstantinov, Alexander S., Damaska, Albert F., Zheng, Lihao, Chen, Jun & Meng, Ziye, 2023, Description of three new species of Benedictus (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Galerucinae, Alticini) from China, with comments on their biology and modified ethanol traps for collecting flea beetles, ZooKeys 1177, pp. 147-165 : 147

Benedictus fuanensis Ruan & Konstantinov sp. nov.

Figs 1 , 2 , 3

Type material.

Holotype: ♂ (SZPT), labels: 1) China, Fujian Prov., Fuan (福安), Shuyang (枢洋), 290 m, 27.1578°N, 119.6809°E, site1, 25.I-21.II.2021, Leg. Ruan, Ethanol-traps nr. moss; 2) HOLOTYPE Benedictus fuanensis sp. nov. Des. Ruan et al. 2022.

Paratypes (72 specimens): 21♂16♀ (SZPT; some would be transferred to IZCAS), labels: 1) China, Fujian Prov., Fuan (福安), Shuyang (枢洋), 290 m, 27.1578°N, 119.6809°E, site1, 25.I-21.II.2021, Leg. Ruan, Ethanol-traps nr. moss; 2) PARATYPE Benedictus fuanensis sp. nov. Des. Ruan et al. 2022. • 10♂7♀ (SZPT), labels: 1) China, Fujian Prov., Fuan (福安), Shuyang (枢洋), 300 m, 27.1573°N, 119.6812°E, site2, 25.I-21.II.2021, Leg. Ruan, Ethanol-traps nr. moss; 2) PARATYPE Benedictus fuanensis sp. nov. Des. Ruan et al. 2022. • 3♂2♀ (SZPT), labels: 1) China, Fujian Prov., Fuan (福安), Shuyang (枢洋), 320 m, 27.1599°N, 119.6774°E site3, 25.I-21.II.2021, Leg. Ruan, Ethanol-traps nr. moss; 2) PARATYPE Benedictus fuanensis sp. nov. Des. Ruan et al. 2022. • 2♂5♀ (SZPT), labels: China, Fujian Prov., Fuan (福安), Shuyang (枢洋), 290 m, 27.1611°N, 119.6763°E, 13-II-2020, Extracted from moss, Leg. Y. Ruan; 2) PARATYPE Benedictus fuanensis sp. nov. Des. Ruan et al. 2022. • 1♂ (SZPT), labels: China, Fujian Prov., Fuan, Shuyang, 16-VIII-2019, unknown moss, Leg. Y. Ruan; 2) PARATYPE Benedictus fuanensis sp. nov. Des. Ruan et al. 2022. • 4♂1♀ (SZPT), labels: Guangdong, Shaoguan, Chebaling nature reserve, Luzidong, V.30-VI.4.2021, 24.6979 °N, 114.1758°E, 600 m, Leg. Yongying Ruan; 2) PARATYPE Benedictus fuanensis sp. nov. Des. Ruan et al. 2022.

Diagnosis.

This new species may be distinguished from other known species of Benedictus by the following combination of characters: pronotum strongly convex; aedeagus widest at middle in ventral view; two longitudinal impressions present above supracallinal sulci; the facial part of the head strongly elongated; tormae of labrum (Fig. 2C ) extremely long, ~ 3.5 × as long as visible part of labrum.

Description.

Male body length 1.30-1.60 mm, width 0.80-0.90 mm; female body length 1.40-1.70 mm, width 0.90-1.00 mm (measured for all type specimens). Ratio of body length to body width: 1.55-1.78 (measured in one male and one female). Dorsum yellow-brown to chestnut-brown. Venter slightly paler than dorsum. Antennae and legs uniformly pale yellow-brown to yellow-brown. Legs and antennae covered with yellow setae.

Head. Head hypognathous. Vertex smooth, with very shallow reticulation; a few punctures bearing setae present above supraorbital sulci on each side; two short longitudinal impressions present at mesal side of punctures above supracallinal sulci. Antennal calli well delimited, triangular, with flattened surface. Supracallinal and supraorbital sulci deep, forming oblique straight line. Supra-antennal sulcus poorly developed. Facial part of head strongly elongated. Frontal ridge widest between antennal sockets, much narrowed and ridged towards clypeus; each side of frontal ridge concave and looks coarse being covered with minute longitudinal ridges. Fronto-genal ridge present. Labrum with two pairs of setae, deeply emarginate on anterior margin. Mandibles symmetrical, palmate; each mandible with five sharp teeth, mesal side with a membranous lobe bearing dense microtrichia. Tormae of labrum extremely long, ~ 3.5 × as long as visible part of labrum. Proportions of antennomere lengths: 100: 56: 45: 33: 47: 42: 54: 53: 56: 58: 87 (measured in one individual).

Thorax. Pronotum strongly convex, ratio of pronotum width (measured at posterior edge) to length: 1.37-1.42 (measured in two males and two females). Pronotum widest at posterior part of anterolateral callosity. Anterolateral callosity well-developed, elongate, and straight, with an anterolateral setiferous pore situated at posterior end. Procoxal cavities open posteriorly. Base of pronotum with deep and transverse antebasal groove, delimited by well-developed longitudinal grooves on each side.

Elytra strongly convex, humeral calli absent. Elytra with punctures arranged in regular lines. Hind wings absent.

Legs. First male protarsomere larger than that of female. Length of metatibia to first metatarsomere in male: 100: 31.

Male genitalia. Median lobe of aedeagus in ventral view: widest at middle, ventral surface smooth, sides narrowing from middle to apex; apex narrowly rounded, without denticle. Median lobe of aedeagus in lateral view: widest at base, strongly curved ventrad at basal half, apical half nearly straight, with apex very slightly bent ventrad.

Female genitalia. Spermathecal pump cylindrical, very slightly curved, apex broad and rounded; without clear border with receptacle; more or less perpendicular to receptacle. Receptacle of spermatheca cylindrical, gradually narrowed towards spermathecal duct, with sides slightly curved near middle. Spermathecal duct has coils.

Variation.

In the specimens collected from Fujian province, males have a paler colour than females; males vary slightly in body size; females have more or less invariable body size. In the specimens from Guangdong province, males have a deeper colour than females.

Etymology.

This species is named after the type locality, Fuan city; the name also indicates that the species is sympatric with Cangshanaltica fuanensis Ruan et al. (2022). The specific epithet is a noun in apposition.

Type locality.

Shuyang, Fuan, Fujian Prov., China.

Distribution.

China (Fujian, Guangdong).

Host plant.

Benedictus fuanensis sp. nov. primarily fed on Hypnum plumaeforme Wilson ( Hypnaceae ) in the laboratory environment. They were spotted on H. plumaeforme at night in the type locality. We found they also feed on Racopilum cf. aristatum when there is no H. plumaeforme present in the rearing container.

Biology.

Forty live individuals were collected by modified ethanol traps (Fig. 8D, E ) and reared in a plastic container in the laboratory. Rearing methods are the same as those used for Cangshanaltica fuanensis , follows Ruan et al. (2020). Copulation was observed frequently in the lab-reared individuals of B. fuanensis ; in some cases, a single copulation could last for more than 24 hours, with the male constantly staying on the back of the female. The rearing lasted for 46 days; however, no eggs or larvae were found. This means the biological habits of B. fuanensis may be slightly different from those of Cangshanaltica fuanensis .

Benedictus fuanensis sp. nov. and Cangshanaltica fuanensis were found on the same host plant in the same moss cushion in Fuan, Fujian Province. They are also quite similar in some biological characteristics. For instance, adults of both species were usually discovered on the surface of Hypnum plumaeforme Wilson at night with high humidity; they both like to feed on the top of the young shoots of the host plant, so that the ends of young shoots are usually chopped off by beetle feeding, which is destructive to the host plant; the faeces of their larvae and adults mainly consist of undigested fragments of host plant leaf (see Fig. 3G ). The interaction of the two species in nature is still unknown.

Benedictus fuanensis sp. nov. also has large eggs, small egg numbers, and fewer ovarioles. These features are similar to those of Cangshanaltica fuanensis . Based on the dissection of three female specimens, four to six eggs could be found inside a female abdomen. Egg length 0.60-0.62 mm; width 0.25-0.31 mm (measured on two eggs); egg length equals ~ 40% of female body length.

The jumping ability of two individuals was tested. The horizontal jumping distance ranged from 3.5 cm to 11.7 cm. Benedictus fuanensis sp. nov. has far less explosive jumps compared to Cangshanaltica fuanensis .

Figures

Figure 1. Adult morphology of Benedictus fuanensis sp. nov. A holotype, male, dorsal view B holotype, male, ventral view C median lobe of aedeagus (holotype), ventral and lateral views D female (paratype), dorsal view E last visible abdominal tergite of female F spermatheca G vaginal palpi H female (paratype), lateral view.

Figure 2. Adult morphology of Benedictus fuanensis sp. nov. A pronotum, female B head, female C labrum, showing the extremely long tormae D mandible E maxilla F labium G male reproductive system H female reproductive system, four eggs are visible I immature eggs in the ovary.

Figure 3. Biology of Benedictus fuanensis sp. nov. A male B female adult feeding on the top of a young shoot of the Hypnum plumaeforme Wilson C male and female in copula D habitat at the type locality, photographed at night E an individual discovered on the host plant at night at the type locality F an individual reared in the lab infected by fungi G faeces of individuals reared in the lab.

Figure 8. Ethanol traps used for collecting leaf litter and moss-inhabiting flea beetles A-C regular ethanol traps were placed close to moist moss, liverwort, or leaf litter to collect flea beetles D, E modified ethanol trap for collecting living individuals; diagram in inset E shows that ethanol-dipped sponge is used as bait, the upper opening of the bowl is sealed by plastic film leaving a narrowing opening for beetles to crawl in, the plastic film forms a slope; when the flea beetles try to escape, they usually crawl upwards and could be trapped by the slope.