Acrepidopterum giesberti Lingafelter, 2024

Acrepidopterum giesberti Lingafelter , new species

( Fig. 25 View Figure 24–25 )

Diagnosis. This species is similar to A. fuscum in lacking erect elytral setae. It differs in having the third antennomere distinctly shorter than the scape and the elytra and pronotum are covered in mostly white, appressed setae giving it a very pale coloration. The elytra each have a large, rounded dark brown spot at the middle, extending onto lateral edge, but otherwise have no defined maculae. The femora are mostly dark brown and the tibiae are mostly pale brown. Unlike A. fuscum , the first ventrite is densely punctate.

Description. Holotype female. 3.8 mm long; 1.3 mm wide at humeri. Paratypes (females): 3.5–3.6 mm long; 1.2–1.3 mm wide at humeri. Color: Integument of head, pronotum, elytra, and venter light brown and completely covered with vestiture of mostly white or gray, appressed pubescence. Elytra with dark brown, rounded spot at middle extending to outer edge, slightly darker around scutellum behind basal swelling, and with a diffuse, darker spot near apex, otherwise light brown to gray in color on head, pronotum, and elytra.

Head. Broad, not protuberant, flat anteriorly, with weakly elevated and widely separated antennal tubercles; impunctate, covered with short vestiture of light brown and gray or white pubescence. Eyes small, with lower lobe occupying about half the height of head below the antennal tubercle; with large, coarse ommatidia. Upper eye lobes connected to lower lobe by 3 ommatidia. Upper eye lobes separated by a little more than width of scape. Antennae extending beyond elytral apices by 2–3 antennomeres. Antennomeres filiform, unexpanded at apices, and covered with vestiture of mostly light brown and gray pubescence. Antennomeres 3–11 with pale yellow annulations at approximately basal half and darker at apical half. Darker portions of antennomeres and scape mottled with lighter pubescence. Antennomeres with sparse, longer setae ventrally. Scape extending to between basal fourth and third of pronotum, slightly longer than antennomere 3; antennomere 4 longest, about 1.88 × longer than the antennomere 3 and 1.42 × longer than the scape; 5–11 successively shorter.

Thorax. Pronotum broader than long; broadly rounded at middle; lacking lateral or dorsal tubercles. Evenly spaced, well-defined ovoid, singly-setigerous punctures present. Prosternal process nearly half as broad as procoxal width between procoxae with apex expanded to over two-thirds coxal width, closing procoxal cavities posteriorly. Thoracic sclerites with dense, round punctures. Elytra elevated at base behind scutellum, depressed at basal third, and gradually elevated at apical two-thirds; covered with evenly spaced, ovoid, singly-setigerous punctures. Erect setae absent. Elytral apices narrowly tapering, subtruncate. Scutellum narrowly rounded posteriorly. Femora clavate, short; hind femur extending to third abdominal ventrite. Femora dark brown with mottled pale pubescence. Tibiae light brown with diffuse, darker mottling and darker setae at apices. Mesocoxae separated by relatively narrow mesosternal process that is less than half the width of mesocoxa.

Abdomen. With vestiture of dense, appressed, golden-brown setae; densely punctate on first ventrite; impunctate on remaining ventrites. First ventrite longer than ventrites 2–4 combined. Apex of ventrite 5 broadly rounded.

Type material. Holotype (female): DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: San Pedro de Macorís Province, 12 km W. San Pedro de Macorís, 5–19 May 1985, E. Giesbert ( FSCA) . Paratypes (same data as holotype) (2 females, FSCA) ; San Pedro de Macorís Province, 13 km E. Boca Chica, 14 May 1992, R. Turnbow (female, RHTC) .

Etymology. This species is named after the late Edmund Giesbert who collected most of the type series.

Remarks. Only four specimens of this endemic Hispaniolan species are known, all collected in south central Dominican Republic during May. Nothing is known of the host plants.

DESMIPHORINI Thomson, 1861 Estola Fairmaire and Germain, 1859