A review of the genus Beltia Jacoby (Chrysomelidae: Eumolpinae: Eumolpini), with descriptions of fourteen new species from Costa Rica, Panama, and northwestern South America
Author
Flowers, R. Wills
text
Insecta Mundi
2018
2018-11-30
672
1
43
journal article
10.5281/zenodo.3713503
145c534d-f4eb-4099-9779-02ff529be895
1942-1354
3713503
FD766FC7-F2E5-47D1-96CE-9FED2AF7F483
Beltia weyrauchi
Bechynĕ
,
new combination
Figures 40, 41
,
59
,
74
,
78
Colaspoides weyrauchi
Bechynĕ 1950b: 225
(original description);
Bechynĕ 1953: 280
.
Holotype
male at USNM, seen, labeled:
Valle Chanchamayo
(
Peru
)
800m
, 1939, leg.
Weyrauch
//WKW 5832//
Type
//
HOLOTYPE
USNM 66980
//TYPE
Colaspoides weyrauchi
m. det.
J. Bechyne
1950//USNMENT00911465.
Colaspoides chanchamayensis
Bechynĕ 1950b: 227
(original description);
Bechynĕ 1953: 378
.
Holotype
male at USNM, seen, labeled:
La Merced
,
Valle Chanchamayo
(
Peru
)
800m
, 1939, leg.
Weyrauch
//WKW 6253//
Type
//
HOLOTYPE
USNM 66978
//TYPE
Colaspoides chanchamayensis
m, det.
J Bechyne
1950//USNMENT 00911386,
new synonymy.
Bechynĕ (1950b)
described both species from
Peru
as typical
Colaspoides
without mentioning the toothed profemora. However, specimens of both species in the Frey Collection, as well as in the collection of the Fundación Miguel Lillo in
Argentina
, show this character. The descriptions below are based on three specimens from
Peru
, all collected in the vicinity of the
type
localities listed by Bechynĕ.
Redescription. Male.
Body ovate, length
5.8 mm
. Body cobalt blue, legs and antennae yellowish tan (
Fig. 40
).
Head.
Clypeus densely punctate, punctures separated by distance subequal to their diameters; frontoclypeal suture indistinct. Frons strongly punctate, punctures aciculate laterally; frons and vertex with impressed median line; antennal calli indistinct.
Thorax.
Pronotum wider than long (L/W = 0.6). Prosternum sparsely punctate, with short whitish setae; posterior margin of intercoxal process weakly concave, width of intercoxal process subequal to diameter of procoxa. Metasternum transversely wrinkled, metepisternum finely alutaceous. Profemur with a hooked ventral tooth in apical third.
Elytra.
Evenly punctate, punctures separated by distance several times their diameters; elytra at humeri 1.3× width of pronotum; postbasal depression weak.
Abdomen.
Sterna with seta-bearing punctures in longitudinal bands on either side of midline; surface of segments smooth.
Genitalia.
Median lobe in lateral view curved downward, apex bent upward (
Fig. 59a
). In en-face view apex narrowed to a somewhat asymmetrical projection; postorifical area relatively broad (
Fig. 59c
). Tip of endophallus with a small apical sclerite and a patch of spicules (
Fig. 59b
).
Female.
Body ovate, length
7.2 mm
. Head and pronotum glossy green with coppery reflexion, elytra shining reddish purple with green reflexion laterally, thoracic sterna glossy dark blue, legs and abdomen dark piceous with a blue reflexion; antennomeres piceous (
Fig. 41
).
Head.
Punctation as in male.
Thorax.
Prothorax wider than long, L/W = 0.52; shape and punctation of pronotum and elytra as in male. Prosternum as in male. Width across humeri 1.2× width across pronotum; basal calli developed; postbasal depression shallow.
Abdomen.
Surface of sterna and setae as in male, sternum VII with a small, transverse, subapical tubercle.
Genitalia.
Abdominal segments VIII–X forming an elongate (L/W = 5.18) ovipositor (
Fig. 74a
). Sternum VIII with a long, needle-shaped basal apodeme, divided at midline in central third; segment IX covered with minute spicules; hemisternites with elongate basal rods; baculum distinct, elongate; gonocoxae slightly longer than wide. Spermatheca (
Fig. 74b
) with receptacle bulbous, slightly narrower than pump.
Specimens examined.
(
1♂
,
2♀
).
(
1♂
)
PERU
:
Junin
,
Sani Beni valley
,
Saitipo
840m
,
14 Dec. 1935
,
Felix Woytkowski
;
(
1♀
) same locality and collector,
9-10-1935
;
(
1♀
) same department and collector,
8 km
E
Saitipo
,
10 Oct. 1935
(all deposited in
SEMC
)
.
Diagnosis.
Beltia weyrauchi
is most similar to
B. tisingalita
in that both species have acute teeth on the profemora. In
B. tisingalita
the pronotum is more strongly convergent anteriorly and the body is more elongate than in
B. weyrauchi
.
Remarks.
Bechynĕ described both forms in a key to Peruvian
Colaspoides
, giving leg color as a distinguishing character:
C. weyrauchi
was described as having testaceous legs, whereas the legs are metallic in
C. chanchamayensis
. In the three specimens studied here, the legs are yellowish brown in the male, dark reddish brown with metallic bluish green femora in one female, and dark metallic bluish green in a second female. As already seen in several species, leg color by itself is not a useful character for delineating species in
Beltia
. Since
C. weyrauchi
has page priority in
Bechynĕ’s (1950b)
publication, I chose that name for the new combination. Bechynĕ’s description of the locality of
C. chanchamayensis
includes a note: “type, Mus. Javier Prado á
Lima
”, which appears to be contradicted by the labeled
holotype
in the USNM. This species is known only from a small area in the eastern Peruvian Andes (
Fig. 78
).