Imantocera penicillata ( Hope, 1831 )

Agarwala, B. K., Ghate, H. V. & Bhattacharjee, P. P., 2014, Redescriptions ofImantocera penicillataHope andEutaenia corbettiGahan (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), with Records of Host Plants from India, The Coleopterists Bulletin 68 (4), pp. 719-726 : 719-726

Imantocera penicillata ( Hope, 1831) ( Figs. 1–6 )

Lamia penicillata Hope, 1831 (type locality: Nepal). Imantocera penicillata ( Hope, 1831) : Pascoe 1862

(synonymy).

Material Examined. 1 ♂ and 1 ♀, 10.iv.2012, host plant - jackfruit tree ( Artocarpus heterophyllus Lamarck ), west Bhubanban (23°51.565′ N and 91°15.737′ E, altitude 21 metre), Agartala, West Tripura, coll. P. P. Bhattacharjee ; 1 ♀, 21.i.2014, host plant - jackfruit tree, Ichanchandranagar (23°45.310′ N and 91°15.024′ E, altitude 24 metres), west Tripura, coll. P. P. Bhattacharjee .

Diagnosis. Morphologically, I. penicillata can be distinguished from its closest relative, Imantocera vicina Gahan , by the following characteristics: body color pale, apical macula on elytra larger than the scutellum; antennae in male with small tufts of hairs on segments 8–10, the fourth segment distinctly expanded medially and apically in both sexes; and the abdomen with three series of maculae on each side.

Distribution. Bangladesh (Sylhet), India (upper Assam, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tripura), Indo-China ( Annam, Tonkin), Myanmar (Taunggyi), Nepal.

Redescription of Male. Head, thorax and abdomen variegated in color, covered with dark, fuscus pubescence, thickly so on thorax and elytra ( Fig. 1a ). Body 18.51 mm long; 6.24 mm wide at base of elytra. Head: With a distinct median suture, dorsal surface pale with a black, ribbonlike band at base near prothorax, fulvous and maculate ( Fig. 1a ); eyes black and notched at base of antennae, crescent-shaped; clypeus dusky black, with semicircular yellowish pubescent strips, one on each side on lower margins ( Fig. 3a ). Antennae dull brown, 11-segmented, 23.41 mm long and about1.26 times the length of body ( Table 1), attached to elevated sockets in dorsum of head ( Fig. 3a ), 1 st segment rounded at base and vase-like apically, fitting into socket of head, 2 nd segment cup-shaped, smallest of all segments (0.60 mm) ( Fig. 3a ), 3 rd segment rod-like and (5.54 mm) ( Fig. 1a ), 4 th segment 4.54 mm long, slightly broader in apical half, strongly plumose, with an outwardly directed small arm ( Fig. 4 ); 5 th segment smaller (2.18 mm) than 4 th, rest of antennal segments shorter than 5 th segment; segments 8-10 each bearing a few short hairs apically and directed outward, the terminal segment glabrous and pointed at apex ( Fig. 5a ). Thorax: Pronotum dusky black, sparsely fulvous dorsally, with median area free, maculate on each side, with golden yellow, expanded triangular margins ( Fig. 1a ) and rest as described by Dillon and Dillon (1950); scutellum prominent, U-shaped, golden yellowish. Elytra with prominent, elongated ridge near the base, one on each side, bearing tubercles (characteristic of the genus) ( Fig. 1a ), with apical spots smaller than scutellum; elytra with scattered, shiny black spots except posteriorly; those in middle region smaller than those in anterior region; 5 indistinct ochraceous vittae on each elytron; space between vittae covered with greyish pubescence; a pair of round, yellowish maculae, one on each side, present near apex ( Fig. 1a ). Legs fuscous pubescent, fore legs longer than mid- and hind legs; femora expanded and incrassate in the middle, each with 3 annuli; tarsi slightly paler than tibiae, profemur 6.67 mm long, protibia 6.83 mm long, with sparse white hairs; tarsi 4-segmented, strongly plumose (typical of the genus), the 3 rd segment deeply bilobed, claws diverging 90° ( Fig. 6a ); mid- and hindlegs similar to forelegs except tarsi not plumose. Abdomen: Generally black and fuscous pubescent ventrally; fulvous maculae in 3 series present on first 2 sternites, in 2 series on next 2 sternites, and only 1 on last sternite on each side of abdomen ( Fig. 2a ).

Redescription of Female. Body color generally similar to male, smaller in size (13.95–16.24 mm long) than male (18.51 mm) ( Fig. 1b ); head dusky black with median region yellowish, fuscous and pubescent ( Fig. 1b ); clypeus faint to golden yellowish, with semicircular yellowish pubescent strips, one on each side on lower margins ( Fig. 3b ). Body shiny black ventrally, less fuscous and sparsely pubescent ( Fig. 2b ). Thorax: Prothorax shorter than that of male, 2.68–3.47 mm long ( Table 1); antennae 11-segmented, shorter (14.33–17.23 mm long) than those of male, 1 st and 2 nd segments similar to those of the male ( Fig. 2b ), 3 rd segment rodlike and longest, 3.36–4.33 mm long; 4 th segment 3.63 mm long, apical half thickly plumose as in male; segments 8-10 not bearing hairs as in the male ( Fig. 5b ). Elytra 10.15 mm long, 5.86 mm wide at base, with ridges bearing tubercles as in male but tubercles less prominent ( Fig. 1b ). Legs similar in color to those of male but shorter in length than in male ( Table 1); tarsi of forelegs not plumose ( Fig. 6b ); in other characters similar to male.

Notes. Hope (1831) originally described I. penicillata as Lamia penicillata from a male specimen collected in Nepal. Subsequently, Pascoe (1862) transferred the species to the genus Imantocera Dejean and provided key characters for the separation of three species. Dillon and Dillon (1950) reviewed the tribe Gnomini as it occurred in Indo-Australian region and listed all the species of Imantocera , including the record of a male of I. penicillata from upper Assam in India. That study provided very brief descriptions of the male and female of I. penicillata but without any illustration. Rondon and Breuning (1970) provided a key to the identification of species of Lamiinae of Laos, with I. penicillata included.

Figures

Figs. 1–2. Imantocera penicillata. 1) Dorsal habitus: a) Male, b) Female; 2) Ventral habitus: a) Male, b) Female.

Fig. 3. Imantocera penicillata, head, frontal view. a) Male, b) Female.

Figs. 4–5. Imantocera penicillata, antenna. 4) Fourth segment; 5) Terminal segments (8-11): a) Male, b) Female.

Fig. 6. Imantocera penicillata, protarsal segments. a) Male, b) Female.