Asydates kumeyaay Mayor and Gimmel

Mayor, Adriean J. & Gimmel, Matthew L., 2019, Revision of the Soft-Winged Flower Beetles of the Genus Asydates Casey, 1895 (Coleoptera: Melyridae: Dasytinae: Listrini), The Coleopterists Bulletin (mo 17) 73, pp. 1-71 : 10-11

2. Asydates kumeyaay Mayor and Gimmel , new species

Zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:D72DF2FD-DC13-4669-8E13-DB7CD3E41110 ( Figs. 1C–D , 7C–D , 10C–D , 14C–D , 19A , 21B , 24C–D , 28B , 36C , 39 )

Type Material. Holotype ♂ deposited in CAS (holotype #19841), labeled “CA: San Diego Co. \ Otay Reservoirs on Otay \ Lakes Rd.; elev. 160 m. \ N32° 38.836’, W116° 55.866’ \ 16 June 2015; A. J. Mayor [white printed label] //Collected beating \flowers of \ Eriogonum fasciculatum [white printed label] // HOLOTYPE \ Asydates \ kumeyaay \Mayor and Gimmel 2019 [red printed label]” . Paratypes: 43 specimens listed in the Material Examined section, with the additional label “ PARATYPE \ Asydates \ kumeyaay \Mayor and Gimmel 2019 [yellow printed label]” .

Diagnosis. The small size (body length ≤ 2.5 mm), short, erect, black setae on the elytra, and black dorsal color distinguish A. kumeyaay from all other species of Asydates .

Description. Body small, elongate, moderately graciliform, shiny ( Figs. 1C–D , 7C–D ); head, pronotum, and elytra with sparse, inconspicuous microsculpture. Length 2.2 mm (2.0– 2.5 mm, n = 20); width 0.9 mm (0.8–0.9 mm, n = 20). Head, pronotum, elytra, and venter black, mouthparts and legs often slightly tinged with reddish brown; female abdominal ventrites usually completely black, rarely completely orange. Pubescence conspicuous, dual, reclining whitish setae intermixed with reclining black setae on head, pronotum, and elytra, long, erect, black setae on margins of head and pronotum, shorter, erect, black setae on elytra. Punctation with punctures fine, indistinct on head and pronotum, coarser and more conspicuous on elytra. Head: Large, short, typically narrower than pronotum in both sexes, eyes bulging ( Fig. 10C–D ); male head 1.49 (1.43–1.57, n = 10), female head 1.60 (1.46–1.82, n = 10) times wider than interocular distance. Antennomeres 5–11 weakly serrate; male antennae short, not reaching base of pronotum posteriorly; female antennae shorter. Thorax: Pronotum 0.84 (0.78–0.88, n = 20) times as long as wide ( Fig. 14C–D ); widest behind middle, lateral edges converging to anterior margin, anterior and posterior angles obsolete, broadly rounded. Elytra elongate, elytron 4.06 (3.57–4.33, n = 20) times as long as wide, at humeri slightly wider than pronotum; elytral epipleuron distinct at base, becoming obsolete near apex of abdominal ventrite 4 in both sexes; elytral apices broadly rounded to sutural angle that is nearly obliterated, entire, not serrulate. All tibiae lacking long, fine, black setae along external margin, pro- and mesotibiae with short, stout spines sparsely arranged along external margin. Abdomen: Male ventrites 1–3 with indistinct median patch of white setae ( Fig. 19A ). Pygidium unmodified, broadly rounded apically in both sexes ( Fig. 21B ). Median lobe of aedeagus a bowed tube with acute, ventrally directed apex ( Fig. 24C–D , lateral view); tegmen relatively short and wide, with distinct constriction at base of ring ( Fig. 28B , ventral view).

Etymology. The species name honors the Native American Kumeyaay people who historically inhabited the San Diego region and adjacent northern Baja California. The name is treated as a noun in apposition.

Host Plant Associations. Adults of A. kumeyaay have been collected from flowers of plants in the families Anacardiaceae [ Malosma laurina (5)], Asteraceae [ Hemizonia fasciculata (2)], and Polygonaceae [ Eriogonum fasciculatum (32)].

Seasonal Distribution. 20 May to 1 August ( Fig. 39 ).

Geographic Distribution. Baja California, Mexico north into San Diego County, California ( Fig. 36C ).

Material Examined. Records reported here are based on the examination of 44 specimens. MEXICO: BAJA CALIFORNIA: Agua Caliente, N32° 06.438’, W116° 27.233’, 20 May 2007, sweeping, M. Gimmel (paratypes, 2♂♂, 1♀, SBMNH, 1♂, 1♀, UCRC); Ensenada , 12 mi. N., 1 August 1934 / Timberlake Coll. / on Rhus laurina (paratypes, 5♂♂, UCRC) . USA: CALIFORNIA: San Diego County: Otay Reservoirs on Otay Lakes Rd. , elev. 160 m, N32° 38.836’, W116° 55.866’, 16 June 2015, A. J. Mayor / Collected beating flowers of Eriogonum fasciculatum (holotype ♂, CAS, paratypes, 13♂♂, 7♀♀, UCRC, 4♂♂, 3♀♀, SBMNH) ; same except 29 June 2015 (paratypes, 2♂♂, 2♀♀, UCRC) ; same except /Collected beating flowers of Hemizonia fasciculata (paratypes, 1♂, 1♀, UCRC) .

Remarks. Pubescence coloration is variable in A. kumeyaay . In specimens from San Diego County in California, the whitish reclining setae on the elytra tend to be most conspicuous along the sutural margin, in a transverse band at the basal third, and at the extreme apex of the elytra. In specimens from Baja California, Mexico, the whitish reclining setae on the elytra are more abundant and evenly distributed.

Adults of A. kumeyaay might be confused with those of Trichochrous aenescens (LeConte, 1852) . They have a very similar habitus, both being small, less than 3 mm in length, black species with short, erect setae on the elytra, and both occur in the same localities on flowers of E. fasciculatum . In California specimens of both species, the abdominal ventrites are entirely black in both sexes. The primary external differences are in the distribution of erect setae on the head and pronotum, the size of the male head, and the shapes of the pronotum and the male pro- and mesotibial spurs. In A. kumeyaay , the erect setae on the head and pronotum are restricted to bristling setae at the margins, the male head is slightly enlarged, the pronotum is narrow and elongate, and the pro- and mesotibial spurs are acute in both sexes. Additionally, the tegmen is membranous apically. In T. aenescens , the erect setae on the head and pronotum are more generally distributed, the pronotum is clearly wider than long, the male pro- and mesotibial spurs have one acute spur and one broad spoon-shaped spur, and the tegmen is sclerotized apically.

Figures

Fig. 1. Asydates species, dorsal habitus. A. grandiceps: A) Male, B) Female. A. kumeyaay: C) Male, D) Female. Scale bars = 1.0 mm.

Fig. 7. Asydates species, lateral habitus. A. grandiceps: A) Male, B) Female. A. kumeyaay: C) Male, D) Female. A. rufiventris: E) Male, F) Female. A. chumash: G) Male, H) Female. Scale bars = 1.0 mm.

Fig. 10. Asydates species, frontal view. A. grandiceps: A) Male, B) Female. A. kumeyaay: C) Male, D) Female.

Fig. 14. Asydates species, pronota. A. grandiceps: A) Male, B) Female. A. kumeyaay: C) Male, D) Female. A.

Fig. 19. Asydates species, ventral view of male abdomen showing dense, white setae concentrated medially on ventrite 1. A) A. kumeyaay, B) A. ruficauda.

Fig. 21. Asydates species, male pygidium and attached abdominal sternite VIII, ventral view. A) A. grandiceps, B) A. kumeyaay, C) A. rufiventris, D) A. chumash. Scale bars = 0.5 mm.

Fig. 24. Asydates species, median lobe of aedeagus, right lateral view. A) A. grandiceps, CA: Los Angeles Co.: Franklin Canyon, B) A. grandiceps, CA: San Bernardino Co.: Lone Pine Canyon, C) A. kumeyaay, Mexico: Baja California: Agua Caliente, D) A. kumeyaay, CA: San Diego Co.: Otay Lakes Road, E) A. irwini, CA: San Bernardino Co.: south of Lucerne Valley on Highway 18, F) A. shoshone, NV: Elko County: 43.5 km south of Wells. Scale bars = 0.5 mm.

Fig. 28. Asydates species, tegmen of aedeagus (apex directed upward). A) A. grandiceps, CA: San Bernardino Co.: Lone Pine Canyon, B) A. kumeyaay, Mexico: Baja California: Agua Caliente, C) A. rufiventris, CA: Los Angeles Co.: Mount Baldy Road, D) A. chumash, CA: Kern Co.: Mount Pinos, E) A. tongva, CA: San Bernardino Co.: Middle Fork Lytle Creek, F) A. irwini, CA: San Bernardino Co.: south of Lucerne Valley on Highway 18. Scale bars = 0.5 mm.

Fig. 36. Distribution of Asydates species. A) Composite localities of all Asydates specimens examined for this

Fig. 39. Seasonalities of adult Asydates species, by month, based on collection records in the Material Examined sections.