Taeniapion atlanticum ( Uyttenboogaart, 1935 )

Morris, Michael G., Sw, London & Dt, Dorset, 2011, The Apionidae (Coleoptera) of the Canary Islands, with particular reference to the contribution of T. Vernon Wollaston, Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 51 (1), pp. 157-182 : 174-175

Taeniapion atlanticum ( Uyttenboogaart, 1935)

( Fig. 8 )

It is surprising that WOLLASTON (1864) should have confused this species with the common British and European T. urticarium (Herbst, 1784) (= vernale Fabricius, 1792 ) as they are clearly distinct, T. atlanticum being more delicate, with the rostrum, in particular, finer, longer and straighter than that of T. urticarium . In fact, T. atlanticum is closer to T. rufulum (Wencker, 1864) , though that species was probably not known to Wollaston as it was described only in 1864, and the similarity has not been remarked on by other workers. It is strange that UYTTENBOOGAART (1935) regarded the taxon as only a subspecies of T. urticarium . However, the genus Taeniapion is in need of revision and the status of Macaronesian species should be reassessed. Taeniapion atlanticum was reported to be ‘extremely local in the Canaries’ by WOLLASTON (1864, as vernale ) and ‘bastante rara’ by BRITO & OROMÍ (1986); few records are listed by GURREA & SANZ (2000), implying that the species is indeed rare. This is in general my experience; I have recorded the weevil only at S. Juan de la Rambla, Tenerife, in March 1993 and at Las Corrales, near Teror, Gran Canaria in January 2004. In both cases it occurred in company with T. delicatulum and at the latter site the host was identified as Urtica morifolia . Taeniapion atlanticum has been recorded from Hierro as well as Gran Canaria, and FRANZ (1995) found it to be frequent ‘in recent years’ in Hierro, where I have worked for it in vain (although T. delicatulum was often abundant). WOLLASTON (1864) recorded T. atlanticum (as Apion vernale ) from Urtica urens , but this is not the only urticaceous host. FRANZ (1995) found the weevil on Gesnouinia arborea , interesting in that this is also an adult host of the weevil Leiosoma apionides ( Wollaston, 1864) , which is also found on Urtica morifolia ( MORRIS 2004) .

Wollaston’s BMNH material consists of 1 male and 3 females from Tenerife and a male from El Hierro ; 2 males and 3 females from Tenerife and a male from El Hierro are in his OUMNH series, indicating an almost exact division of his material between London and Oxford. The specimens stand under the name Apion vernale F .

Figures

Figs. 5–8. Habitus of the Apionidae of Canary Islands. 5 – Ceratapion calcaratum (Wollaston, 1864), lectotype, Wollaston Coll. (BMNH); 6 – Diplapion westwoodi (Wollaston, 1864), paralectotype, Wollaston Coll. (BMNH); 7 – Lepidapion senex (Wollaston, 1864), lectotype, Wollaston Coll. (BMNH); 8 – Taeniapion atlanticum (Uyttenboogaart, 1935), author’s Coll.