Beltia awapita Flowers, 2018

Flowers, R. Wills, 2018, A review of the genus Beltia Jacoby (Chrysomelidae: Eumolpinae: Eumolpini), with descriptions of fourteen new species from Costa Rica, Panama, and northwestern South America, Insecta Mundi 672, pp. 1-43 : 7-8

Beltia awapita Flowers , new species

Figures 19 , 43 , 79

Description of male holotype. ( Fig. 19 ). Body ovate, length 5.5 mm. Head, pronotum, elytra, and underside dark metallic green with golden reflexion; antennae testaceous, apical three antennomeres missing; legs dark reddish brown, femora metallic green in apical two-thirds.

Head. Clypeus densely punctate, punctures separated by less than their diameters. Frontoclypeal suture indistinct. Frons strongly aciculate-punctate, surface between punctures weakly alutaceous, punctures separated by distance subequal to their diameters; vertex less densely punctate than frons, with a distinct median impressed line, surface between punctures smooth.

Thorax. Prothorax distinctly wider than long, L/W = 0.55, lateral margins strongly convergent, only slightly convex; disc regularly, finely punctate, punctures separated by distance greater than their diam- eters; surface between punctures shining, with numerous punctulae. Prosternum sparsely punctate, with short whitish setae, posterior margin of intercoxal process straight, width of intercoxal process equal to diameter of procoxa. Metasternum with shallow transverse wrinkles, metepisternum finely alutaceous.

Elytra. Evenly punctate, punctures separated by distance greater than their diameters, surface between punctures with scattered small punctulae; width across humeri 1.26× width across pronotum. Basal calli moderately developed, postbasal depression shallow.

Abdomen. Sterna with numerous short setae and a transverse band of long white setae along middle third at rear margin of sterna III–VI, surface of segments alutaceous. Spicules on terga II–IV small.

Genitalia. Median lobe in lateral view abruptly bent downward, with a deep crease in its lower margin ( Fig. 43a ); in en-face view with apicolateral margins rounded, very narrow in middle, with a small

median nodule ( Fig. 43c ). Apex of endophallus with a long, twisted, rod-like sclerite and two patches of spicules ( Fig. 43b ).

Female. Unknown.

Specimens examined. ECUADOR: Esmeraldas Prov. (1♂) Male holotype labeled: ECUADOR ESMERALDAS, PLAYA DE ORO, R. SANTIAGO, 00°53′N 78°48′W 200m 28JUL–4AGO98 T Enriquez. Deposited in QCAZ .

Etymology. Awapita, from Awa Pit, one of the indigenous languages spoken in the Chocó region of northwestern Ecuador–southwestern Colombia ( Wikipedia 2016).

Diagnosis. This species appears to be most closely related to Beltia ledesmae n. sp., but can be distinguished by its smaller size and less curved lateral margins of the pronotum. It differs from other small metallic green Beltia (e.g. B. confusa , B. herreri , B. sanchezae , B. talaga ) in having the pronotal lateral margins straighter and the apical angles more prominent.

Remarks. Both B. awapita and B. ledesmae have a large twisted subapical sclerite in the endophallus, unlike any other known species of Beltia . Their genitalia differ somewhat in the size of the spicule patches of the endophalli, and in the lack of a distinct crease on the side of the median lobe in B. ledesmae . Beltia awapita is known from a single specimen in northwestern Ecuador ( Fig. 79 ).

Figures

Figures 18–26. Beltia, dorsal habitus. 18) Beltia angustomarginata, male. 19) Beltia awapita, male. 20) Beltia chiriquensis, female. 21) Beltia confusa, male. 22) Beltia gorgona, female. 23) Beltia herreri, male. 24–26) Beltia ledesmae, females. 24) Monochrome specimen. 25) Bicolored specimen. 26) Same female as (25) photographed with diffuser.

Figures 42–49. Beltia, male genitalia: a) lateral view of median lobe; b) endophallic apical sclerites; c) en-face view of median lobe. 42) Beltia angustomarginata. 43) Beltia awapita. 44) Beltia chiriquensis. 45) Beltia confusa. 46) Beltia gorgona. 47) Beltia herreri. 48) Beltia ledesmae. 49) Beltia nicaraguensis.

Figures 78–79. Distribution maps for Beltia spp. 78) Northwestern South America: B. confusa (star), B. gorgona (inverted triangles), B. placidula (blue circles), B. rugosa (red circle), B. weyrauchi (square). 79) Ecuador: B. awapita (hexagon), B. ledesmae (squares), B. napoensis (triangles), B. talaga (circle), B. tsachila (star).