Xylothrips flavipes ( Illiger,1801 )

Liu, Lan-Yu, 2021, A review of the powderpost beetle genera Xylothrips Lesne, 1901 and Calophagus Lesne, 1902 (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae: Bostrichinae: Xyloperthini), European Journal of Taxonomy 746 (1), pp. 130-147 : 135-137

Xylothrips flavipes ( Illiger,1801)

Figs 1C–D , 2

Apate flavipes Illiger, 1801:171 (male).

Apate dominicanus Fabricius, 1801: 380 (female). Synonymy in Lesne 1901: 621.

Bostrichus mutilatus Walker, 1858: 286 . Synonymy in Lesne 1901: 622.

Bostrichus iracundus Snellen van Vollenhoven, 1869: 10 . Synonymy in Lesne 1901: 622.

Apate sinuatus (non Fabricius, 1792) – Stephens 1830: 351. Synonymy in Lesne 1901: 622.

Apate religiosae – Fairmaire 1850: 50 (in part). Synonymy in Lesne 1901: 622.

Diagnosis

This species is easily separable from X. religiosus by the reddish brown body, the shallower frontoclypeal suture, the absence of punctures on the lateral part of the pronotum, the extension of the inferolateral callus, which converges into the lower lateral margin of the elytra ( Fig. 2B ), and the apical sutural angles raised with tubercles beneath the margin.

Material examined

The author has examined the type of Apate flavipes from ‘Afrika’ in MNB, and the type of Bostrichus mutilatus from Sri Lanka ( Ceylon) in NHMUK. The author has also examined more than 1000 specimens identified by Lesne, Vrydagh and others in 13 museums ( RBINS, MIZPN, MNB, MTM, NHMUK, NMBS, NME, NMPC, NMS, NMW, SDEI, SNSD and ZSM) as well as in private collections ( LYL, MAIC and PZP), mainly from Southeast Asia and the archipelagos of the Indian Ocean and Madagascar, but detailed locality data were not recorded.

New records

The author received 10 specimens collected from Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, China. This is the first record of the species from China. The data for the specimens are as follows:

CHINA • 1 ♂; S Yunnan, Xishuang-banna , S Yunnan, 20 km NW of Jinghong Man Dain ( Nabanhe National Nature Reserve ); 22°07′80″ N, 100°40′05″ E; alt. 730 m; 18 Jul. 2008; A. Weigel leg.; forest; EKL light trap; NME / LYL • 1 ♂, 1 ♀; 13 May 2008; A. Weigel leg.; EKL light trap; NME / LYL • 2 ♂♂; 6 Apr. 2009; L. Meng leg.; EKL light trap; NME / LYL • 1 ♂; 26 km NW of Jinghong, near An Man Xin Zhai; 22°11′45″ N, 100°38′44″ E; alt. 760 m; 10 Oct. 2008; L. Meng leg.; forest; EKL light trap; NME / LYL • 1 ♂; 37 km NW of Jinghong, near Guo Men Shan; 22°14′48″ N, 100°38′22″ E; alt. 1080 m; 18 Jul. 2008; A. Weigel leg.; UWP MF Malaise trap; NME / LYL • 1 ♂; 27 Apr. 2009; light; NME / LYL .

In addition, two more specimens were collected from the branches of a rubber tree ( Hevea brasiliensis Müll.Arg. ) in Jinghong, Xishuangbanna during Jan. 2018 (S.C. Lai, pers. comm.).

Description

BODY. 6–8.5 mm long, about 2–2.3 times as long as wide, elongate. Head, pronotum, abdomen and disc of elytra testaceous, posterior of elytra and declivity dark brown, antennae reddish, club often brown; femora testaceous, tibiae and tarsi brownish.

HEAD. Clypeus finely and densely punctured, concave in an arc in front. Fronto-clypeal suture distinguished by different colour between frons and clypeus or shallow suture with vertical longitudinal furrow in middle ending on anterior margin of clypeus. Frons with punctures less fine and less dense than on clypeus, slightly rough, covered by fairly long, fine pubescence directed upwards. First antennomere elongated, second antennomere sub-rectangular, each funicle segment with a rim of long hairs in middle, total length of funicle as long as or shorter than first antennomere of antennal club, first and second antennomeres of antennal club 1.3–1.5 times as long as wide, last antennomere rather elongated, about 2.5–3 times as long as wide. Club matt, without clear sensory impressions or an area with stiff hairs ( Fig. 1C ).

PRONOTUM. About 1.2–1.3 times as wide as long, fairly strongly narrowed in anterior third, widest in basal part; a distinct upwardly-directed uncinate tooth on anterolateral angle and a series of upwardlydirected teeth behind form lateral border of rasp on anterior half of pronotum, teeth gradually smaller and less erect towards summit of pronotum and posterior border of rasp formed by small tubercles or granules, bearing yellowish-red, short, recumbent pubescence between teeth ( Fig. 2A, D ); area above anterior margin between uncinate teeth finely and more or less roughly punctured; median and posterior areas shiny with fine, sparse punctures; sides evenly rounded behind rasp; distinct, ridge-like lateral carinae extended to basal margin of pronotum to form pointed posterolateral angles ( Fig. 1D ). Basal half of pronotum with minute, moderately dense punctures in middle only; laterally shining, glabrous, tiny white hairs present close to infero-lateral margin ( Fig. 1C ).

ELYTRA. 1.7–1.85 times as long as pronotum, 1.45–1.65 times as long as wide, disc parallel-sided, widest at middle of declivity. Elytra shining, with sparse, moderately fine and shallow punctures on disc, becoming deeper and larger on posterior part of disc and declivity, upper half of declivity with strongest punctures. Upper margin of elytral declivity with three pairs of tubercles, middle one largest, with pointed tip and projecting furthest, other two forming short ridges with rounded tips, infero-lateral callus extended and joining directly to infero-lateral margin of elytra ( Fig. 2B–C ). Elytral suture raised from upper margin of declivity and gradually swollen and thickest at apex, where it forms rounded thickened angles, margin of elytra with one or several tubercles on ventral side near sutural angle, which projects slightly.

ABDOMEN. Ventral side vestiture with dense, white or reddish yellow pubescence, last ventrite with narrow pleural pieces along margin to apical curved area, with a long tuft of hairs in middle.

LEGS. Dense, short golden hairs on ventroposterior margins of posterior femora ( Fig. 2E ). External face of pro- and mesotibiae broadly grooved, not narrowed towards apex. Segments 2 and 3 of anterior tarsi distinctly wider than others.

Male

HEAD. Frons transversely convex, densely and very finely punctured, very finely pubescent, with a few erect hairs next to inner margin of eyes. Clypeus with a transverse band of upwardly directed hairs towards base with a narrow median line ( Fig. 1C ).

Female

HEAD. Frontal crown of hairs very thick, forming arc of a circle or a very wide V, fairly distant laterally from eyes. Clypeal tufts of hairs as long as those on frons ( Fig. 2A, D–E ).

Remarks

Waterhouse (1888) transferred Bostrichus mutilatus Walker, 1858 to Xylopertha , noting that material he examined bore the name “ religiosa Dej. ”, and that it was very similar to material deposited in NHMUK as Apate lifuana Montrouzier, 1861 . Lesne (1901) later synonymised Xylopertha mutilatus with Xylothrips flavipes .

Biology

Stebbing (1914) recorded X. flavipes attacking cocoa trees ( Malvaceae : Theobroma cacao L.), in Mauritius, and researchers have observed this species in the wood of banyan ( Moraceae : Ficus religiosa L.) and badanier ( Combretaceae : Terminalia catappa L.), the latter a species native to India. In India, X. flavipes has been recorded living in the wood of the mango tree ( Anacardiaceae : Mangifera indica L.), sal ( Dipterocarpaceae : Shorea robusta Roth ), cocoa, rubber ( Euphorbiaceae : Hevea brasiliensis ), etc. ( Lesne 1932). Beeson & Bhatia (1937) listed host plants belonging to 13 families in India: Anacardiaceae ( Anacardium , Lannea ), Burseraceae (Canarium) , Dipterocarpaceae ( Dipterocarpus , Hopea , Vateria and Vatica ), Fagaceae (Quercus) , Euphorbiaceae (Mallotus) , Lauraceae (Persea) , Leguminosae ( Albizia , Butea , Caesalpinia ), Malvaceae (Bombax) , Moraceae (Ficus) , Myristicaceae (Knema) , Myrtaceae (Syzygium) , Phyllanthaceae (Phyllanthus) , Vitaceae (Vitis) and several unidentified woods. It is apparent that X. flavipes is a polyphagous species. It has usually been collected from forests or orchards, not lumber yards, timber processing premises or wooden items.

Beeson & Bhatia (1937) found that X. flavipes has two generations a year in North India and recorded the first generation emerging from the end of March to the end of May, with maximum abundance in the third week of April, a second generation from the first week of July to the third week of October. From logs of Mangifera indica (Anacardiaceae) felled in August, X. flavipes was found to have a minimum life-cycle of three months ( Beeson & Bhatia 1937). Sittichaya et al. (2013) surveyed the durian-based orchards in Southern Thailand and found X. flavipes was the dominant species in the durian growing areas.

Distribution

The distribution includes: Madagascar, Indian Ocean islands, Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, China (Yunnan), Southeast Asia, Philippines, Indonesia. It has probably been introduced through human agency into the Mariana Is., Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia in the Western Pacific. It has also been introduced into the Arabian Peninsula, Socotra Island ( Yemen), South Africa (Natal), Israel, Europe and USA ( Borowski & Węgrzynowicz 2007, 2019). Roberts (1968) recorded the species in Sapele, Nigeria at light. There are more than 10 specimens deposited in MNB and 7 specimens in SDEI from Ethiopia. This suggests that the species is established in that country. In the RBINS collection, there is one specimen (Vrydagh ident.) collected from NSW, Australia in 1914 from imported wood from India, and one specimen from Melbourne, Australia in SDEI. These appear to be accidental introductions.

Figures

Fig. 1. A–B. Calophagus pekinensis Lesne, 1902, ♀ (SNSD). A. Anterolateral view showing the antennae, with two strips of golden hairs on sides. B. Lateral view of head and pronotum showing absence of lateral carina on pronotum. C–D. Xylothrips flavipes (Illiger, 1801), ♂ (LYL). C. Frontal view showing the antennae, matt without sensory areas. D. Lateral view of head and pronotum showing clear lateral carina on pronotum. E–F. Xylothrips religiosus (Boisduval, 1835), ♂ (LYL). E. Frontal view showing the antennae, matt without sensory areas. F. Lateral view of head and pronotum showing clear lateral carina on pronotum. Scale bar = 1 mm.

Fig. 2. Xylothrips flavipes (Illiger, 1801), ♀ (LYL). A. Frontal view. B. Lateral view of declivity. C. Declivity. D. Dorsal view. E. Ventral view. Scale bars = 1 mm (upper scale for A–C; lower scale for D–E).