Bondariella ruschiana Bondar, 1942

Valente, Roberta De Melo & Júnior, Mariano Brandão Cordeiro, 2015, Revision of Bondariella Hustache & Bondar (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), with descriptions of the first species from the Amazon and notes on natural history, Zootaxa 4018 (2), pp. 201-227 : 217-218

Bondariella ruschiana Bondar, 1942

( Figs. 1 A, 4)

Bondariella ruschiana Bondar, 1942: 24 ; Bondar 1943: 370 (natural history); Vaurie 1953: 33 (lectotype designation); Wibmer & O’Brien 1986: 316 (catalogue).

Male ( Figs. 1 A, 4). Length of pronotum + elytra: 2.0– 2.4mm (N=6). Integument ( Fig. 1 A) reddish black; antennae and legs reddish brown, evidently lighter the remaining of the body; covered by elongate whitish scales, becoming larger and discretely spatulate on lateral region of the thorax. Rostrum ( Fig. 1 A) 0.8–0.9 times as long as pronotum, curved in lateral view. Antennae: antennal insertion premedian (0.4); scape 1.8 times as long as article I of funicle. Pronotum 1.2 times wider than long; disc with small and distantly spaced punctures (distant by 1.3 times their own diameter); scales subequal in length throughout; median line evident, narrow, moderately concave; collar slightly evident, marked by darker strip of punctures. Interprocoxal distance slightly shorter (0.8– 0.9 times) than procoxal diameter. Femora and tibae lacking comb of setae. Elytra 1.4–1.5 times longer than wide; 2.1–2.4 times as long as pronotum; sutural interval with only one row of scales; remaining intervals with 1–2 rows of scales on base, becoming variously a single row toward apex. Abdominal tergites ( Fig. 4 A): laterotergites subdivided into four smaller sclerites; median fissure complete, reaching distal margin of tergite IV; tergite IV with lateral and median spiculate patches on median sclerites; tergite VII with two rows of plectra, each with seven distantly spaced plectra. Ventrites ( Fig. 4 B): I–II combined 2.0–2.1 times as long as III–IV combined; ventrite I 1.1–1.2 times as long as ventrite II; ventrite V transversally oblong, 3.2–3.5 times wider than long, flat, distal margin slightly sinuous, lacking tufts of scales. Sternum VIII ( Fig. 4 C): each sclerite semicircular, with six posteroventral setae. Spiculum gastrale ( Fig. 4 D) 2.9 times as long as median lobe; stylus very narrow, slightly curved; furcal arms sclerotized, elongate, narrowed, not clavate, symmetrical. Tegmen ( Fig. 4 E) sclerotized, 2.4 times as long as median lobe; dorsal parameroid lobes free (not connected medially on base), each parameroid lobe 0.7 times as long as median lobe, clothed with long setae on distal 2/3; ventral tegminal apodeme 0.8 times as long as median lobe, narrowed, elongate and reflexed dorsally. Aedeagus ( Fig. 4 F): median lobe short and wide, 2.0 times longer than wide; apex rounded; lateral margins narrow; sides parallel; endophallus membranous, clothed with sparse spinules, with an anterior pair of membranous bags bearing numerous denser spinules; ostium evident, distal; orificial plates small, subtriangular. Apodemes of aedeagus 2.0 times as long as median lobe, not sclerotized on basal ½.

Female ( Fig. 1 A). Length of pronotum + elytra: 2.3–2.4mm (N=6). Differs from male by generic characters of the rostrum, antennal insertion, scrobe, antennal scape, interocular distance and ventrite II (cited above). In addition, by rostrum ( Fig. 1 A) light reddish brown, strongly curved; scrobe 0.2 times as long as rostrum; antennal insertion basal (0.1 times); scape shorter than article I of funicle (0.5 times); interprocoxal distance larger than procoxal diameter (1.3 times). Body part ratios. Length rostrum/length pronotum: 0.9 times; pronotum width/ length: 1.2–1.3 times; elytron length/width: 1.3–1.5 times; length elytron/length pronotum: 2.1–2.4 times; length ventrite I/length ventrite II: 1.1 times; length ventrites I+II/length ventrites III+IV: 2.2–2.3 times; ventrite V width/ length: 3.0–3.1 times.

Etymology. Named by Bondar (1942) in reference to the association with Syagrus ruschiana .

Remarks. Bondariella ruschiana ( Fig. 1 A) is distinguished from other species of Bondariella by the body clothed with elongate scales and with small and distantly spaced punctures (1.3 times their own diameter) on pronotal disc. In the remaining species, the scales are spatulate and the punctures on the pronotal disc are larger and closely spaced (by 0.3–0.7 times their own diameter). In addition, B. ruschiana has spiculum gastrale ( Fig. 4 D) longer and much narrower than remaining species of the genus. Moreover, only in B. ruschiana and B. mucugeana the integument is reddish black but evidently lighter (reddish brown) on antennae, legs and female rostrum. However, in B. ruschiana ( Fig. 1 A) the sutural interval of the elytra is covered by only one row of scales, the median line on pronotum is evident and the integument of elytra is completely reddish black, while in B. mucugeana ( Fig. 1 C) the sutural interval of the elytra is covered by two rows of scales, the body at least dorsally is covered by spatulate scales, the median line on pronotum is not evident and the integument of elytra can be reddish black or variously reddish brown. In Bondariella rudicula sp. nov. ( Fig. 2 B) and Bondariella crenata sp. nov. ( Fig. 2 C) the sutural interval of the elytra is also covered by only one row of scales but the integument is evenly light reddish brown throughout. Finally, B. ruschiana has only been collected from Syagrus ruschiana while the remaining species of the genus have been collected from different palm species.

Natural history. Bondariella ruschiana is recorded from Atlantic Forest biome, from Colatina, Espírito Santo, Brazil. Adults and larvae were collected on flowers of Syagrus ruschiana (Bondar 1942, 1943, cited as Cocos ruschiana Bondar ), locally known as “coco de pedra”, “palmeirinho” and “colatina” ( Glassman 1987, Henderson et al. 1995, Lorenzi et al. 2004). Larvae feed and complete their life cycle between petals of male flowers from open inflorescences of S. ruschiana (Bondar 1942, 1943). Bondar was able to rear larvae of B. ruschiana in the laboratory, but larvae and pupae have not yet been described. In additional collections besides the type series, Bondariella ruschiana has only been recorded on flowers of S. ruschiana (for details, see natural history of Bondariella ).

Material examined. Lectotype male deposited in AMNH: “Colatina, Espírito\ Santo, Brazil \ June, 1941 2841 [label 1], Cocos ruschiana [label 2], ♂ [label 3], Gregorio Bondar\ Collection\ David Rockefeller\ Donor [label 4], Lectotype \ Bondariella \ ruschiana \ Bondar\ P. Vaurie [label 5–rectangular, pink, print]”. Paralectotypes: “Colatina, Espirito [Espírito]\ Santo, Brazil \ June 1941 [label 1], Cotipo [label 2–rectangular, red, manuscript], 2848 [label 3], Gregorio Bondar\ Collection\ David Rockefeller\ Donor [label 4]” ( AMNH: 12♂, 8♀), “Cotipo [label 1– rectangular, red, print], VI. 941[1941]\ Espirito [Espírito] Santo\ Colatina\ Bondar [label 2], Bondariella \ ruschiana Bond., 1942 \ cotipo\ H. Reichardt det. 1962 [label 3]” ( MZUSP: 2♂ (1 dissected), 4♀).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Habitus of Bondariella: lectotype male (dorsal and lateral view) and paralectotype female (lateral view). A B. ruschiana (♂ 2.3 mm, ♀ 2.3 mm). B B. torresi (♂ 2.6 mm, ♀ 2.4 mm). C B. mucugeana (♂ 2.6 mm, ♀ 2.6 mm).

FIGURE 2. Habitus of Bondariella: lectotype male (dorsal and lateral view) and paralectotype female (lateral view). A B. mimica (♂ 2.3 mm, ♀ 2.4 mm). B Bondariella rudicula sp. nov. (♂ 1.9 mm, ♀ 2.1 mm). C Bondariella crenata sp. nov. (♂ 2.1 mm, ♀ 2.1 mm).

FIGURE 4. Bondariella ruschiana, paralectotype male. A Tergites, dorsal aspect showing plectra. B Ventrites. C Sternum VIII, dorsal view. D Spiculum gastrale, dorsal view. E Tegmen, dorsal view. F Aedeagus, dorsal and lateral view. Scale bars: A – B, 200 µm; C – D (on same scale) and E – F (on same scale), 0.25 mm.