Cassida wanati, Borowiec & Świętojańska, 2022

Borowiec, Lech & Świętojańska, Jolanta, 2022, A monograph of the Afrotropical Cassidinae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Part 6. Revision of the tribe Cassidini 3, the genus Cassida L., Zootaxa 5171 (1), pp. 1-250 : 177-178

Cassida wanati sp. nov.

(figs. 31, 170–171)

http://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:CF7EB9E8-CFCC-4F13-ADC7-EF815DCA63B4

Etymology. Dedicated to our friend and eminent specialist in Curculionid beetles Prof. Marek Wanat who collected this species during expedition to South Africa.

Description. L: 5.40 mm, W: 4.60 mm, Lp: 1.90 mm, Wp: 3.50 mm, L/W: 1.17, Wp/Lp: 1.84. Body almost circular (fig. 170).

Pronotal disc mostly black except yellow area above head and transverse spot in front of scutellum. Explanate margin of pronotum yellow. Elytral disc mostly yellow surrounded by narrow black ring beginning from humeral impression then running in position of 7 th interval and on slope almost twice broader than on sides. Inside yellow central spot black pattern forms small, black spot at postscutellar elevation, few small black spots forming incomplete band in 2/3 length of disc and minute spot at ends of anterior branches of the postscutellar H–shaped elevation. Area between black ring and marginal row orange. Explanate margin of elytra yellow (figs. 170, 171). Clypeus yellow with black basal corners, thorax completely black and abdomen completely yellow. Anterior half of coxa black, posterior half yellow with diffused borders between black and yellow colour. Legs uniformly yellow.

Pronotum broadly elliptical, with maximum in the middle, sides rounded. Surface of disc microreticulate, fine and sparse punctures arranged slightly irregularly on disc in groups in front of scutellum and anterolateral parts, disc on sides bordered from explanate margin with distinct impression. Explanate margin of pronotum broad, smooth and shiny, semitransparent with honeycomb structure.

Base of elytra moderately wider than base of pronotum, humeral angles distinctly protruding anterad,subangulate. Disc moderately, almost regularly convex in profile (fig. 171), without hump, only with well marked H–shaped postscutellar elevation, hind branches of the elevation prolongate to slightly elevated third interval. Punctation coarse, completely regular, dense, distance between punctures in rows mostly narrower than puncture diameter, intervals narrow, linear, only marginal interval distinctly wider than rows, surface of elytral disc appears regular. Explanate margin broad, moderately declivous, lateral margins tend to be subhorizontal, in the widest part explanate margin approximately three times narrower than disc, with shallow and dense punctation but surface appears more or less regular, semitransparent with honeycomb structure.

Eyes very large, gena almost reduced. Clypeus moderately broad, approximately as long as wide as long, clypeal lines fine, converging in regular triangle, clypeal plate microreticulate, with apical impression and few small, setose punctures. Labrum shallowly emarginate to ¼ length. Antennae moderately slim, segments 9–10 slightly wider than long. Length ratio of antennal segments: 100:53:77:70:67:43:50:40:47:47:87. Segment 3 approximately 1.45 times longer than 2 and 1.2 times longer than segment 4.

Prosternum broad in the middle, with high prosternal collar, strongly expanded apically, area between coxae and expanded apex with distinct sculpture of longitudinal folds and setose punctures, appears irregular.

Claws with small basal tooth.

Distribution. South Africa: Eastern Cape (fig. 31).

Remarks. A distinct species, recognized by the elytral pattern with a narrow, black ring around the disc combined with large, trapezoidal, black spot at the base of the pronotum (fig. 170). Only two other African members of the genus Cassida have an elytral pattern forming a black ring around the elytral disc— C. rabaiensis and C. circumflexa . Cassida rabaiensis differs in the elytral black ring broad, as wide as four lateral intervals combined (fig. 174) while in C. wanati the black ring occupies at most two lateral intervals combined (fig. 170). Cassida circumflexa differs also in the elytral pattern and in addition to the black ring around the elytral disc also forms a transverse band slightly behind the middle of the disc and in the basal pronotal spot with two large yellow spots inside the black area (figs. 170, 171).

Type examined. Holotype: [ SOUTH AFRICA]: RSA (E) E Cape 20–80 m, – 31.6532S / 29.5068E, Silaka Nat. Res., nr. Port St. Johns , trail up chalet 11, beating, 13.11.2013 leg. M. Wanat ( MNHW).