Paropsisterna tais, Reid, 2024

Reid, Chris A. M., 2024, The chrysomeline leaf beetles of Timor, Wallacea (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Chrysomelinae), Zootaxa 5523 (5), pp. 501-518 : 503-508

Paropsisterna tais , new species

( Figs 1 , 3–15 )

Material examined. Types. Holotype: ♂ / TIMOR LESTE Ramelau 8°54’45”S 125°29’58”E stunted eucs/ Vaccinium /open grass 2450–2550m 28.v.2012 C Reid TL2012/091/576 E urophylla / K414865/ Paropsisterna tais Reid Holotype ♂ 2024/ ( AMS); Paratypes (46, each labelled “ Paropsisterna tais Reid Paratype 2024”): 1♂ (teneral), same data as holotype / K414866/ ( AMS); 4♂ (3 teneral), 3♀ (2 teneral)/ Hato Builico, 0–500m SW hostel 8°53’54”S 125°31’05”E on E urophylla in woodland/gardens/stream 1920m 26.v.2012 C Reid TL2012/089/532/ numbered from K414834 to K414840/ ( AMS); 8♂ (3 teneral), 10♀ (4 teneral)/ Hato Builico @ hostel 8°53’54”S 125°31’05”E on E urophylla /pasture/gardens 1920m 26.v.2012 C Reid TL2012/089/747/ K376203, K414848 to K414855, K639140, K643361–K643363/ ( AMS); 4♂ (all teneral), 9♀ (6 teneral)/ Hato Builico, ridge above hostel 8°53’54”S 125°31’05”E E urophylla / Themeda / Diuris 2050m 29.v.2012 C Reid TL2012/089/747/ individually numbered from K414842 to K414847, or K41456 to K41462/ ( AMS); 1♀ (teneral), 1 dried larva mounted on same pin/ TIMOR LESTE Ramelau 8°54’28”S 125°30’10”E stunted eucs/ Vaccinium /gully 2300–2400m 28.v.2012 C Reid TL2012/092/582 E urophylla / K414864/ ( AMS); 1♂ / TIMOR LESTE Ramelau sum’t plat. 8°54’51”S 125°29’31”E stunted eucs/ Vaccinium /moss/grass 2750m 28.v.2012 C Reid TL2012/090/575 E urophylla / K414841/ ( AMS); 1♂ / TIMOR LESTE Hatobuilico Rd, 11.5km W t’off h’way 8°53’12”S 125°32’49”E E urophylla / Vacc. pasture/gully 2050m 29.v.2012 C Reid TL2012/080/762/ K414863/ ( AMS); 1♀ / TIMOR LESTE nr Desa Liurai, Hatobuilico Rd, 2.5km W t’off highwy 8°52’41”S 125°34’36”E on labiate bush by rd 1885m 24.v.2012 C Reid TL2012/079/512/ K414833/ ( AMS); 3♂ (1 teneral)/ Timor Leste Eucalyptus urophylla -8.901156 125.520756 [Hato Builico] 9.vi.[20]18/ ( NAQSC). Non-types: 10 larvae, K643364–K643373, associated with K414848 to K414855.

Description

Adult. Length: ♂, 5–6 mm (holotype 5.5 mm); ♀, 5–6 mm; body broadly ovate (length about 1.3x width) and moderately convex (length about 2.25x height), with highest point at about half body length; head slightly wider than half pronotal width; elytra at anterior angles 1.3x pronotal width.

Live mature adult ( Fig. 1 ) with distinctive but variable colour pattern: anterior of head, most of pronotum, scutellum, outer margins of elytra, most of venter, antennae, palpi and legs yellowish-brown; posterior of head usually with a black patch posterior to each eye (often completely covered by pronotal margin), pronotal disc usually with a pair of small dark brown lateral spots, elytral disc metallic bluish-black, with scattered metallic spots or streaks (gold to orange, with green edges) arranged as follows: large irregularly shaped spot at basal 1/3 of intervals 2–4, elongate postmedian streak on intervals 3–4, small spot posterior to this at apex of elytral disc, small spot at base of 6th interval inside humerus, small elongate spot near elytral base posterior to this, small elongate spot on apex of interval 6, two small elongate spots at middle of interval 7; outer margin of disc narrowly bordered golden green with gap at middle, not reaching suture at elytral apex; suture brown at base, apical 2/3 greenish-brown; lateral margins of metaventrite and most of metanepisterna usually stained dark brown. Teneral adult less intensely coloured and their elytral background colour pink not bluish-black. Dead mature adult entirely pale yellowish-brown except black spots at base of head, surfaces slightly translucent; vaguely outlined patches often present on elytra, replacing metallic spots of living animal; pronotal disc sometimes with vague slightly darker M-shape. Pubescence: frons with narrow depressed area adjacent to eyes with one erect seta and a few short curved setae, one long seta projecting anteriorly from sides of apical margin of clypeus; rest of head, all of pronotum (including hypomera) and elytra (including epipleura) glabrous; prosternum minutely sparsely setose; mesepimera, mesoventrite and metanepisterna glabrous; metaventrite glabrous; abdominal ventrites I–IV glabrous except lateral margins, disc of ventrite V minutely sparsely setose, apical margin with long dense setae; antennomeres 5–11 with smooth impunctate midline and erect setae either side; femora almost glabrous; tibiae setose, densely towards apices; male with ovate pads of spatulate setae on venter of pro- and mesobasitarsomeres; female without glabrous midline on venter of first tarsomeres.

Head ( Fig. 5 ): eyes small, separated by about 4x greatest widths; frontoclypeus irregularly, densely and partly confluently punctured, with mixed large (slightly larger than eye facets) and small (slightly smaller than eye facets) punctures, densely and finely punctured in depressed areas adjacent to eyes, more evenly sized at base of head; interspaces shallowly microreticulate; antennae about half body length, all antennomeres elongate, 2 shortest, 1 longest; 3, 4 and 11 almost as long as 1, 5–11 distinctly flattened, 5–10 slightly asymmetric; labrum microreticulate, finely and sparsely punctured, apex shallowly concave; securiform apical maxillary palpomere transversely triangular.

Thorax ( Figs 3–6 ): pronotum strongly transverse, width about 2.7x median length, posterior angles hidden by elytral bases, broadly rounded, anterior angles strongly anteriorly produced; pronotal anterior and lateral margins finely beaded, posterior margin without beading; disc of pronotum (area behind vertex) more strongly punctured than head, rarely coalescent, interspaces larger, punctures slightly larger towards sides of pronotum, but generally not confluent; pronotal surface shiny but finely microreticulate; prosternal midline elevated as smooth ridge, posteriorly bifurcating to follow lateral margins of process (middle of process depressed); prosternal process elongate spatulate, reaching well beyond posterior margins of procoxae; scutellum semi-ovate, strongly microreticulate, impunctate; elytra broadest at about middle of body length, with laterally prominent obtuse anterior angles (about 120°); humeri small, at about 0.4x width from suture to lateral margin; elytra with distinctly punctured scutellary striole and 9 regular (linear) striae, strial punctures as large as on pronotal disc except larger in 9th stria; striae 4 & 5 anastomosed before apex, striae 3, 6–9 ending in area of scattered large punctures at elytral apex; intervals 1–9 and strip outside stria 9 with scattered punctures, mostly finer than strial punctures; curvature of outer margins of elytra continuous with disc, with broad strongly punctate area, punctures evenly spread and mostly larger than on stria 9; mesoventrite deeply hollowed anteriorly to accommodate prosternal process, large circular tubercle at apex of ridge either side of hollow; mesoventrite process strongly elevated, anterior and posterior faces shallowly concave (excluding lateral lobes); metaventrite smooth, process flat and thickly margined; inner margins of protibiae slightly concave before apex; apical third of meso- and metatibiae with dorsal seta-fringed excavation to accommodate tarsi; male pro- and mesobasitarsomeres ovate, female elongate-triangular; claws with 90° tooth on middle of ventral surface.

Abdomen ( Figs 7–11 ): ventrites I–IV shiny not microreticulate, impunctate, slightly wrinkled at sides; v entrite V shiny, feebly microreticulate, without lateral wrinkles and sparsely but distinctly punctured, with subapical transverse setose groove in both sexes; apex of male ventrite V narrowly truncate with slight median depression, apex of female broadly convex; penis in lateral view parallel-sided for basal half, contracting apically to sharply reflexed thin tip, with thickened preapical dorsal margins; penis in apical view short and broadly triangular, with sharp ventrally reflexed lateral margins; penis spathulate in dorsal view, with apical third slightly expanded, short 100° mucron and approximately circular ostium; female tergite VIII and sternite VIII membranous except lightly sclerotised apices; differentiated spermatheca absent, but a U-shaped lobe present with blunt apex; spermathecal gland absent; vaginal palp one-segmented, flat, triangular, with blunt setose apex, one seta much longer than others.

Larva. First instar ( Figs 12–13 ): length 2.7–3.0 mm, head capsule 0.85–0.90 mm wide; preserved specimens entirely pale and almost unpigmented, live specimens pale green; surface of head capsule distinctly and densely microgranular to anterior of frons, with scattered short setae (each about diameter of stemma); appendages pale, almost unpigmented; body elongate-cylindrical without conspicuous setae, sclerites or spiracles; nine pairs of annular spiracles present but not distinctly sclerotised; frontal ecdysial lines indistinct; stemmata arranged 5+1, the anterior stemma only slightly displaced and not adjacent to antenna; antennae placed on short symmetrical flange (inner margin same length as outer), apical antennomere about as long as broad; three pairs of minute and difficult to discern acute eggbursters present, on meso- and metathorax, and abdominal segment I; pair of large eversible dorsal glands present between abdominal segments VII and VIII, when fully everted apical lobe densely micropapillate, narrower and shorter than basal lobe; venters of segments I–VII with paired expanded membranous extensions (ambulatory ampullae), which may not be everted; integument without conspicuous microspicules; legs almost unpigmented, tarsungulus strongly hooked, with one seta.

Chaetotaxy. Head: anterior of vertex (4 pairs), posterior of frons (1 minute pair), anterior of frons (4 pairs), clypeus (3 pairs), labrum (2 pairs on disc); about 5 pairs around stemmata. Body without distinct sclerites or setae except dorsal (posterior margin) and ventral of abdominal segment IX.

Second to fourth instars structurally similar to the first instar, but lacking eggbursters and usually with darkened spiracles.

Etymology. Named from the word tais , meaning woven cloth in Timor ( Hamilton & Barrkman 2014), as a noun in apposition. The name is considered appropriate as the bright colours of the living beetle are reminiscent of the bright colours favoured in contemporary tais clothing.

Notes. Many of the specimens collected were teneral, indicated in their dried state by almost white coloration, shrivelling of the elytra and abdomen, and weakly developed surface sculpture. The bright colours of Paropsisterna tais faded rapidly after death.

Paropsisterna tais belongs to the P. nobilitata group of species in Paropsisterna ( Reid 2006; Reid & de Little 2013; Nahrung et al. 2020; de Little et al. 2022) and is particularly similar to a group of species with well-defined gold spots or lateral gold streaks, including P. annularis ( Blackburn, 1899) , P. debilis (Chapuis, 1877) , P. gloriosa ( Blackburn, 1899) , P. nobilitata (Erichson, 1842) and P. selmani Reid & de Little, 2013 . All have the penis with a pair of sharply recurved apical flanges as well as a distinct recurved mucron, like P. tais . At least two species of this group have similar first instar larvae, micropapillate on head capsule and lacking distinctly sclerotised sclerites on thorax and abdomen ( Reid 1983 and pers. obs.). These similar Australian species are all restricted to the southern half of the country, far from Timor. The presence of P. tais on Timor suggests that additional species of this group may be found in northern Australia and perhaps New Guinea.

The large number of tenerals (collected in both 2012 and 2018) indicates that adult emergence had recently occurred in May, during the dry season. However, adults were pairing and laying eggs, and mature larvae were present, suggesting there is no defined generational turnover in this species. The pale yellow eggs were laid in small batches, in parallel ( Fig. 14 ). Paropsisterna tais was abundant around the town of Hatobuilico, causing considerable damage as both adults and larvae to leaves of young Eucalyptus urophylla saplings ( Fig. 15 ). It also occurred on the same host along the Hatobuilico Road, from the main north-south highway south of Maubisse, and at high elevation on Mount Ramelau. The most distant sites (Ramelau summit plateau northeastward to Desa Liurai) were separated by 11 km and all were on the Ramelau Massif, within 1885–2750 m elevation.

Figures

FIGURES 1–2. 1, Paropsisterna tais new species, living adult. 2, P. tatamailau new species, freshly killed adult. Photos by Jacqui Recsei (AMS).

FIGURES 3–4. Paropsisterna tais new species, holotype male: 3, dorsal; 4, lateral.

FIGURES 5–6. Paropsisterna tais new species, holotype male: 5, anterior; 6, venter of thorax.

FIGURES 7–9. Paropsisterna tais new species, penis: 7, dorsal; 8, lateral; 9, apical.

FIGURES 10–11. Paropsisterna tais new species, female genitalia: 10, dorsal, excluding ovarioles; 11, vaginal palp.

FIGURES 12–13. Paropsisterna tais new species, first instar larva: 12, lateral, with gland everted; 13, head capsule (small portion of micosculpture indicated).

FIGURES 14–15. Paropsisterna tais new species: 14, egg batch on Eucalyptus leaf; 15, typical damage to Eucalyptus urophylla by adults and larvae at Hatobuilico. Fig. 14 by Jacqui Recsei (AMS).