Weiseispa, Sekerka, 2014

Sekerka, Lukáš, 2014, Review of Imatidiini genera (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 54 (1), pp. 257-314 : 290-291

Weiseispa gen. nov.

( Figs 13 , 32 )

Type species. Demotispa bimaculata Baly, 1858 , here designated.

Other species transferred. Demotispa angusticollis Weise, 1893 , D. cayenensis Pic, 1923 , D. melancholica Weise, 1910 , and D. peruana Weise, 1910 .

Description. Body broadly oval, 1.5–1.8 times longer than wide ( Fig. 13 ). Length 3.5–4.0 mm. Ventral parts amber-yellow to yellowish-brown, legs partly pitchy. Pronotum and head black. Elytra uniformly pitchy to black or with large central red macula. Apical margin sometimes pale coloured.

Mouthparts large, occupying almost whole ventral surface of head, hypognathous with all parts facing ventrally ( Fig. 32 ). Labrum small, semicircular, narrower than mouth cavity, micro-granulose. Maxillary palps as long as scapus. Labial palps as long as pedicel. Clypeus shortly triangular, present as narrow carina above labrum and projecting between antennal insertions. Antennal insertions deeply impressed. Interantennal carina sharp, reaching to frontal margin of vertex and then gradually disappearing towards base of vertex. Vertex micro-reticulate and eventually sparsely micro-punctate. Antennae 11-segmented, ¿rst two antennomeres strangulate, remaining tubular, twice longer than pronotal length, two basal antennomeres shiny and elongate. Length ratio of antennomeres: 100: 89: 81: 63: 70: 52: 65: 59: 57: 65: 105, second antennomere 1.1 times longer than third and ¿rst 1.1 times longer than second. Eyes large, covering approximately 0.75 of lateral length of head, gena well visible, micro-reticulate and sparsely pubescent. Head approximately as long as wide, not constricted.

Pronotum approximately 1.4 times wider than longer, subquadratic, subparallel-sided but distinctly narrowing anteriad, widest at base. Lateral margins serrate. Anterior margin smooth and weakly convex, tubercles possessing small seta situated internally next to anterior corner. Anterior corners angulate and moderately projecting. Basal corners angulate, not projecting. Lateral margins not explanate, distinctly separated from disc, gradually swollen from apex to base, and smooth. Basal margin convex, moderately projecting towards scutellum. Disc regularly convex, shiny, micro-punctate, sparsely but distinctly punctate, punctures gradually coarser and denser towards base. Anterior and central parts sparsely punctate to almost impunctate.

Scutellum subpentagonal, smooth, shiny, micro-punctate.

Elytra 1.2–1.4 times longer than wide, broadly oval, regularly convex, widest in basal third, apically weakly tapering, and with ten rows of punctures plus scutellar row. Base smooth, bisinuate, and distinctly wider than base of pronotum. Humeral angles broadly rounded, not projecting. Humeral calli distinctly convex, only micro-punctate. Punctation completely regular, ¿ne. Punctures small, shallow. Intervals 1.0–2.5 times wider than puncture diameter, smooth. Punctures arranged regularly in rows with interspaces approximately as wide as puncture diameter. Punctures ¿ner on dark coloured parts of elytra than of pale coloured. Marginal row distinct in whole length, regular. Elytral margin moderately explanate, broadest behind humeri and then narrowing apically. Its surface smooth and micro-reticulate. Outer edge slightly swollen, smooth, more or less distinctly minutely crenulate in widest part of explanate margin. Apex of elytra conjointly rounded. Surface of elytra smooth and shiny. Epipleura moderately broad, flat, micro-reticulate shiny and sparsely pubescent.

Prosternal process broad with truncate, apically widening and projecting apex. Its surface shiny, apex and intercoxal part rugose and irregularly coarsely punctate. Meso- and metathorax densely pubescent, shagreened, metathorax laterally punctate. Abdomen micro-reticulate and densely pubescent. Ventrites I and II fused, suture visible but gradually weaker towards middle; remaining ventrites well separated.

Legs normal, all pairs equal. Tarsal claws broadly divergent, simple.

Sexual dimorphism indistinct, females slightly stouter and bigger.

Differential diagnosis. Weiseispa gen. nov. species can be easily recognized by the general body shape, as they have a subquadratic pronotum and the elytra broadly oval with broadly explanate and smooth margins. The only other genus with similar characters is Spaethaspis but it differs in being of larger size of 7–8 mm (3–4 mm in Weiseispa ) and having the tarsal claws with a large basal tooth (simple in Weiseispa ). Some Demotispa species might be misidenti¿ed with Weiseispa because of the elytral shape, particularly D. pulchella , because of the similar colour pattern, but it differs in having a semicircular pronotum with broad explanate margins. Weiseispa is also one of the few Imatidiini genera with hypognathous mouthparts with all parts, including labrum, facing ventrally.

Etymology. This genus is dedicated to German leaf beetle specialist Julius Weise (1844–1925), who had a particular interest in Hispinae . The name is derived from his surname and generic name ‘ Hispa ’; gender is feminine.

Remarks. All species included in Weiseispa gen. nov. were originally described in Demotispa . STAINES (2009) transferred all of them to Stilpnaspis , probably because of the elytral shape. Weiseispa species have very different morphology from Stilpnaspis (= Demotispa ) as well as biology, as they are associated with Heliconia species , while Demotispa is associated only with Arecaceae .

Based on the species distribution, the genus seems to be restricted to the eastern foothills of the Andes. The type species, D. bimaculata , was described from Mexico, however, the specimen must have been mislabelled as the same population lives only in Colombia and no new specimens exist from Mexico.

Number of species. 5.

Key to species. UHMANN (1937b) covered four species in a key to Demotispa .

Biology. So far nothing has been published on the biology of these species. The genus is associated with various Heliconia species and the adults as well as larvae feed on open leaf surfaces (Windsor & Sekerka, unpubl. data).

Distribution. Colombia to Bolivia.

Figures

Figs 12–24. Dorsal habitus. 18 – Katkispa insignis (Pic, 1934), syntype, Venezuela: Colonia Tovar; 13 – Weiseispa angusticollis (Weise, 1893), Ecuador: Río Palenque; 14 – Demotispa pulchella Baly, 1858, lectotype, Peru; 15 – Demotispa rubiginosa (Boheman, 1862), Panama: Chiriquí; 16 – Parimatidium rubrum (Boheman, 1850), French Guyana:St. Laurent du Maroni;17 – Pseudostilpnaspis lata (Baly, 1885), Panama:Santa Clara; 18 – Pseudimatidium elaeicola Aslam, 1966, Colombia: Calima area; 19 – Windsorispa latifrons (Weise, 1910), Colombia: SantoAntonio; 20 – Cephaloleia Àavipennis Baly, 1869, Ecuador: Río Hollín; 21 – Melanispa sp., Guadeloupe; 22 – Parentispa formosa (Staines, 1996), Panama: La Fortuna; 23 – Stenispa attenuata Baly, 1875, Panama: Gamboa; 24 – Lechispa parallela (Pic, 1930), syntype, Argentina: Rosas. All scale bars = 2.5 mm.

Figs 29–34. Ventral aspects of head. 29 – Cyclantispa gracilis (Baly, 1885); 30 – Katkispa insignis (Pic, 1934); 31 – Windsorispa latifrons (Weise, 1910); 32 – Weiseispa angusticollis (Weise, 1893); 33 – Parentispa formosa (Staines, 1996); 34 – Lechispa parallela (Pic, 1930). Scale bars = 0.5 mm.