Harpasus aureus Almeida & Carvalho, 2006

Almeida, Lúcia Massutti De & Carvalho, Regina Célia Zonta De, 2006, A new Brazilian species of Harpasus Mulsant (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae, Chilocorinae), a predator of Tinocallis kahawaluokalani (Kirkaldy) (Hemiptera, Aphididae), Zootaxa 1195, pp. 31-37 : 33-37

Harpasus aureus Almeida & Carvalho sp. nov.

Figs. 1–10

Holotype. Male. Dorsum bright golden­brownish. Elytra with raised humeral callosity, lateral margin narrowed reflexed and yellowish ( Fig. 1, 2, 3 ). Thoracic and abdominal sterna dark brown, glabrous and with small punctures. The two last abdominal ventrites and legs light brown and epipleura bright golden­brownish ( Fig. 4 ). Abdomen with the fifth ventrite larger and with the posterior margin emarginated and the last one small ( Fig. 5 ). Length 3.32–3.60 mm. Width 3.00–3.48 mm.

Male genitalia. Median lobe broad at base, abruptly narrowing at apex, paramere with constriction at base and wider in the middle, with dense and long pubescence at lateral sides and apex ( Fig. 7 ). In lateral view the paramere with apex bended ( Fig. 8 ). Sipho strongly sclerotized, curved, with truncate apex ( Fig. 9 ).

Female. Abdomen with the last ventrites without emargination ( Fig. 6 ).

Female genitalia. Coxites subtriangular, slender, long, with long setae and small styli. Spermatheca C­shaped, stout, with a slender and long duct and elongated accessory gland; infundibulum cup shaped, bursa copulatrix rounded at base and thin at apex ( Fig. 10 ).

Type material

Holotype: BRAZIL. Curitiba, Paraná, ♂, 30/IV/2001, R.C.Z. Carvalho leg., deposited at the Coleção Entomológica Pe. J. S. Moure, Departamento de Zoologia , Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, ( DZUP).

Paratypes: BRAZIL. Curitiba, Paraná , 1♂, 16/III/2001; 3♀, 17/II/2001; 3♀, 16/III/ 2001; 1♂ and 2♀, 30/IV/2001, R.C.Z. Carvalho leg. ( DZUP) ; 1♀, 30/IV/2001, R.C.Z. Carvalho leg.; Barueri, São Paulo , 1♀, 24/IX/2001, K. Lenko leg. ( MZSP) .

Remarks

Harpasus aureus Almeida & Carvalho sp. nov. somewhat resembles H. zonatus , but it differs mainly by its single colour, which is bright golden­brownish, yellowish at the lateral margin of the elytra, whereas H. zonatus has a dark brown stripe along suture and margins of the elytra. In addition, H. aureus exhibits a marked difference on the male and female genitalia. The two other species of Harpasus ( H. pallidilabris and H. eversmanni ) are bright bluish­metallic; therefore we agree with Chapin (1965) that according to the original descriptions they may not be congeneric.

Etymology This species is named after its colour.

Biological aspects

Harpasus aureus Almeida & Carvalho sp. nov. was collected preying on the crapemyrtle aphid, T. kahawaluokalani . This aphid species was detected recently infesting Largerstroemia indica in Brazil ( Pérez Hidalgo et a l. 1998, Peronti & Sousa­Silva 2002), which is an exotic ornamental plant widely used for landscaping in southern Brazil, especially in Curitiba, Paraná State and several other Brazilian cities.

The crapemyrtle aphid is considered the most important insect pest of L. indica in the U.S. ( Egolf & Andrick 1978). This aphid can cause serious damage and excrete large amounts of honeydew on which sooty moulds grow, making the foliage and bark black ( Patti et al. 1984, Leclant & Renoust, 1986, Mier­Durante et al. 1995, La Rossa et al. 1997). The native and introduced generalist predators of this aphid in the U.S. are Coleomegilla maculata (DeGeer) , Coccinella septempunctata L., Cycloneda munda (Say) , Cycloneda sanguinea L., Diomus spp., Hippodamia convergens Guerin­Meneville , Olla vnigrum (Mulsant) and Scymus spp. ( Mizell & Schiffhauer 1987). However, Harmonia axyridis (Pallas) , the exotic multicolored Asian ladybird, is the one species capable of eliminating populations of this aphid on individual crape myrtle plants ( Mizell et al. 2002).

In southern Brazil Harpasus aureus Almeida & Carvalho sp. nov., Cycloneda sanguinea , Curinus coeruleus , Scymnus (Pullus) sp. and Stethorus sp. were associated with T. kahawaluokalani on L. indica in Curitiba forming an important complex of predators of this aphid.

Acknowledgment

Contribution number 1615 from the Department of Zoology, Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR), Brazil.

References

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Mier­Durante, M.P., Santiago­Merino, R., Suay Cano, Y. & Nieto­Nafría, J.M. (1995) Tinocallis kahawaluokalani (Kirkaldy) (Homoptera: Aphididae) en la Península Ibérica sobre el árbol de Júpiter, Lagerstroemia indica (L.). Boletim de Sanidade Vegetal­Plagas, 21, 349–355.

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Mizell, R.F., Bennett, F.D. & Reed, D.K. (2002) Unsuccessful search for parasites of the crapemyrtle aphid, Tinocallis kahawaluokalani (Kirkaldy) (Homoptera: Aphididae). Florida Entomologist, 85, 521–523.

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Patti, I., Spampinato, R.G. & Tornatore, M.G. (1984) Note morfologiche e bio­ecologiche sull´afide della Lagerstroemia, Tinocallis kahawaluokalani (Kirk.) (Rhynchota: Aphidoidea). Phytophaga, 2, 87–116.

Pérez Hidalgo, N., Bartholdy, L.M. & Nieto Nafría, J.M. (1998) Two new records for South America and a list of aphids from Rio Grande do Sul State and Brazil, p. 407–415. In Nieto Nafría, J.M. & A.F.G. Dixon (eds.), Aphids in natural and managed ecosystems. Universidad de León, León (Espanha).

Peronti, A.L.B.G. & Sousa­Silva, C.R. (2002). Aphids (Hemiptera: Aphidoidea) of ornamental plants from São Carlos, São Paulo state, Brazil. Revista de Biologia Tropical, 50, 137–144.

Figures

FIGURES 1–4. Habitus of Harpasus aureus Almeida & Carvalho sp.n.; 1, dorsal view; 2, frontal view; 3, lateral view; 4, ventral view.

FIGURES 5–10. Harpasus aureus Almeida & Carvalho sp. n.; 5, male ventrites; 6, female ventrites, [scale bar 1.0 mm]. Male genitalia: 7, tegmen (dorsal view); 8, tegmen (lateral view); 9, sipho. 10, Female genitalia, [scale bar 0.25 mm].