Lophalia cyanicollis ( Dupont, 1838 )

Lophalia cyanicollis ( Dupont, 1838) View in CoL

( Fig. 69–78 View Figures 69–78 )

Lophalia cyanicollis Casey 1912: 335 View in CoL ; Blackwelder 1946: 590 (cat.); Linsley 1962: 96 (biol.); Hovore et al. 1987: 297 (dist.); Chemsak et al. 1992: 84 (cat.); Monné 1994: 34 (cat.); Monné and Giesbert 1994: 146 (cat.); Noguera and Chemsak 1996: 402 (dist.); Toledo-Hernández et al. 2002: 529 (dist., biol.); MacRae et al. 2012: 180 (biol.); Morales-Morales et al. 2012: 38, 44 (dist., biol.); Garcia Morales et al. 2014: 106 (dist.); Santos-Silva et al. 2018: 203 View Cited Treatment (dist.)

Sphaenothecus cyanicollis Dupont 1838: 59 View in CoL ; White 1853: 86; Lacordaire 1869: 184; Aurivillius 1912: 472 (cat.)

Sphenothecus cyanicollis LeConte 1858: 40 View in CoL (dist.); Gemminger and Harold 1872: 2973 (cat.); Bates 1880: 85; Bates 1885: 329 (dist.).

Sphaenothecus (Lophalia) cyanicollis Linsley 1935: 100 View in CoL (dist.)

Entomosterna cyanicollis LeConte 1873: 314 View in CoL ; LeConte and Horn 1883: 300; Leng 1886b: 83

Redescription. Male: Length 11–14 mm. Form small, stout; integument polished, head and pronotum metallic dark bluish-black or black tinted with blue, antennae, elytra, and legs black, underneath black, or black tinted with blue; each elytron with a single glabrous, slightly elevated, longitudinal, yellowish vittae. Head small; vertex shallowly convex, coarsely, irregularly punctate, middle between eyes vaguely carinate; front finely, irregularly punctate, mid-cranial sulcus narrow or vague extending from postclypeus over to posterior margin of antennal tubercles, each side of front below antennal insertion with a small, deep pit; postclypeus irregularly punctate, integument above vaguely to non-excavate; genae with anterior margins of lower eye lobes narrowly separated from base of mandible, glabrous to sparsely punctate, beneath densely contiguously punctate; pubescence moderately dense, short, dark, erect; mandibles with outer edge impressed striate-punctate, sparsely covered with depressed setae; antennae slender, exceeding elytral apices by one to two antennomeres; scape densely, coarsely punctate with short, suberect setae above and longer depressed setae underneath; antennomeres II–VI minutely, densely punctate, densely clothed with dark, depressed setae, remaining antennomeres finely, densely punctate, densely covered with short, appressed pubescence with a few depressed setae at apices; antennomeres from V vaguely carinate on outside, inside uncarinated; antennomere III longer than I; IV shorter than III; V longer than IV; VI, VII, VIII and IX subequal to V; X shorter than IX; XI longest, apical third vaguely appendiculate. Pronotum wider than long (L/W: 0.88 ×), sides broadly, shallowly rounded from base to apex; disc convex, nitid, basal two-third slightly flattened in middle, dorsum sparsely, irregularly punctate, sides more coarsely, irregularly punctate, setae arising from each puncture, short, golden, erect; apical margin with sides vaguely elevated and narrowly impressed behind, basal margin vaguely elevated, lobed at middle; proepisternal area sparsely, discretely punctate; prosternum not impressed, apical half transversely striate-punctate, basal half coarsely punctate with vaguely impressed, transverse subrectangular area on each side above coxae, pubescence obscure, dense, erect; mesosternum impressed in middle, minutely, densely punctate, densely pubescent with fine, depressed setae; metasternum nitid, punctures coarse, shallow and sparse with depressed, golden setae arising from each puncture, area adjacent to mesocoxae with fine punctures densely interspersed between coarser ones and densely pubescent with golden setae; metepisterna densely pubescent with golden, appressed setae. Scutellum triangular, longer than wide, black, or dark bluish-black, glabrous, nitid, occasionally minutely, sparsely punctate near base. Elytra 2.6 times as long as broad; each elytron with a broad glabrous, subsutural, longitudinal, yellowish vitta narrowing apically and not attaining apex; basal punctures on sutural intervals moderately coarse, discrete, becoming finer apically; pubescence short, suberect, and dark; apices bi-emarginate to sinuate with sutural and outer angles strongly dentate. Legs slender; femora slightly clavate, coarsely, densely punctate, dorsum sparsely clothed with short, depressed setae, inner surface sparsely clothed with suberect, golden setae; metafemora arcuate near base, falling far short of elytral apices; tibiae coarsely, deeply, contiguously punctate clothed with short, depressed setae; protibiae with inner surface densely clothed with short depressed, golden pubescence. Abdomen nitid, finely, sparsely punctate and clothed with suberect golden setae, sides very finely punctate and clothed with appressed golden pubescent; last sternite with apex truncate to vaguely emarginate at middle.

Female: Length 10–14 mm. Form slightly more robust than male. Prosternum lacking the delimited punctate area before coxae, apical half transversely striate-punctate, basal half sparsely punctate in middle, transversely striate-punctate on sides. Antennae shorter or exceeding elytra by a half of antennomere. Abdomen with apex of last sternite broadly truncate.

Materials examined. MEXICO: Tamaulipas: 2–5 km SW Ciudad Victoria, Hwy 10, 24 Oct. 2004, B.K. Eya (13 males, 11 females, BKEC), 25 Oct. 2004, B.K. Eya (6 males, 9 females, BKEC) ; 33 km NE Jaumave, Hwy 101, 23 Oct. 2004, B.K. Eya (males, 1 female, BKEC). Nuevo Leon: 19 km W Linares, Hwy 58, 22 Oct. 2004, B.K. Eya (1 males, 4 females, BKEC) ; Carretera Linares-Iturbide , km 10–15, 4 Nov. 1982, J. Flores (2 females, EMEC). Oaxaca: 18 km N. Jct. Hwy 175/200 (3 km S Comala), 20 Oct. 2005, B.K. Eya (1 male, BKEC) ; Los Morales, 1600 m. 3 Oct. 2005, D. Curoe. Yucatán: Piste 15 Sept 1967, E.C. Welling (1 female, BKEC), 22 Sept. 1967, E.C. Welling (1 male, BKEC). Quintana Roo: km 8 Tilaco-Santa Inez Rd. , 13 Oct. 1998, Chemsak, Barrera (3 males, 1 female, EMEC) ; 23 km W Felipe, Carrillo Puerto , 12 Oct. 1988, C.D. Michener (1 male, EMEC) ; Lk. Coba Ruins, 11/ 14 Nov. 1965, J.G. Edwards (1 female, EMEC). Veracruz: Veracruz, 24 Sept. 1961, R&K Dreisbach (1 female). Chiapas: San Jerónimo, Volcán Tacaná , 1 Oct. 1970 (1 male, BKEC), 24 Oct. 1970 (1 female, BKEC) .

Discussion. The single ivory vitta on each elytron will differentiate this species from L. quadrivittata (Bates) and L. nigricollis Eya new species with two ivory vittae. The smaller overall size, stout body form, and denser, coarser punctures on the head, pronotum, elytra and the underside will separate this species from L. prolata Chemsak and Linsley with finer punctures and more elongated form.

The type species of the genus Lophalia “was originally assigned to Sphaenothecus ” as S. cyanicollis Dupont (1838: 59) ( Linsley 1962: 96). Dupont (1838: 59) and Lacordaire (1869: 184) described S. cyanicollis as a species with dark blue integument, and a single longitudinal, calloused and eburneous costa on each elytron that is much smaller and subparallel in form compared to Sphaenothecus trilineatus Dupont and S. bilineatus ( Gory, 1831) . Lacordaire further noted that S. cyanicollis was similar in facies to Entomosterna but differing by the shorter metatarsi, and mesosternum that is protuberant and truncated anteriorly. Lacordaire footnoted in his manuscript “Histoire Naturelle des Insectes” that a new genus based on S. cyanicollis should be established immediately following Galissus Dupont but did not follow through with his proposal. Thereafter, LeConte and Horn (1883: 300) placed S. cyanicollis into Entomosterna noting that “variations in the proportions of the joints of the hind tarsi are not unusual in Cerambycidae .” Subsequently, Linsley (1962: 96) “adopted the name Lophalia ” for S. cyanicollis as proposed by Casey (1912: 333) noting that the assignment of S. cyanicollis to Entomosterna did “not agree well with that genus as defined by Chevrolat (1862: 752).”

Lophalia consist of species with either single or paired longitudinally raised ivory-like vitta(e) on each elytron. Linsley (1962: 96) describes the genus Lophalia as having only one vitta on each elytron based on L. cyanicollis represented in the United States. However, Linsley’s characterization of Lophalia did not conform to this genus based on Casey’s description. Casey (1912: 333) designated S. cyanicollis as the genotype of Lophalia , and in the first couplet of his key to trachyderine genera he quoted, “ Elytra each with two pale costae.” This characterization does not agree with S. cyanicollis . Apparently, the first couplet of Casey’s key should have been “ Elytra each with a pale costa ” based on the opposing first couplet, “ Elytra without costae.” The subsequent fourth couplet ends with two species Lophalia (i.e., S. cyanicollis ), with single ivory costa, and Zalophia with paired ivory costae on each elytron.