Brachiacantha bruchi Weise

Gordon, Robert D., Canepari, Claudio & Hanley, Guy A., 2014, South American Coccinellidae (Coleoptera), Part XVI: systematic revision of Brachiacantha Dejean (Coccinellinae: Hyperaspidini), Insecta Mundi 2014 (390), pp. 1-76 : 14-16

5. Brachiacantha bruchi Weise

Brachyacantha bruchi Weise, 1906: 196 ; Leng 1911: 293; Korschefsky 1931: 204: Blackwelder 1945: 449. Brachiacantha bruchi: Milléo and Almeida 2007: 420 .

Description. Male. Length 3.0 mm, width 2.4 mm; body oval, convex. Dorsal surface with head alutaceous, dull, pronotum alutaceous, feebly shiny, elytron slightly alutaceous, shiny. Color yellow except pronotum with large, mediobasal black macula occupying most of surface, anterior 1/5 and lateral 1/8 of pronotum yellow, anterolateral angle of black macula emarginate with yellow; elytron with complete black border, border widened on apical declivity, scutellum black, 3 large black spots present, median discal spot on sutural border, humeral spot irregularly oval, apical spot rounded ( Fig. 24 ); ventral surface with head, prosternum, meso- and metaventrites black; abdomen mostly black with lateral 1/4 and apices of ventrites 5–6 yellowish brown, legs yellow except leg 3 with basal 5/6 of femur brown. Head punctures small, separated by a diameter or less, each puncture slightly larger than an eye facet; pronotal punctures larger than head punctures, separated by less than to 2 times a diameter, elytral punctures slightly larger than on pronotum, separated by 1 to 3 times a diameter; metaventral punctures larger than on elytron, separated by a diameter or less. Clypeus weakly emarginate apically, nearly truncate, lateral angle rounded, surface with sparse, long pubescence. Eye canthus about 6 eye facets long, straight, apically acute, brown. Pronotum narrowed from base to apex, basal and anterior angles abrupt, lateral margin straight, basal margin without trace of bordering line medially. Epipleuron narrow, grooved, weakly descending externally, deeply emarginate for reception of femoral apices. Protibia narrowly flanged, flange narrower than remainder of protibia, outer margin nearly straight, smooth, basal tooth large, about 1/2 width of tibia at base, sponda slightly extended beyond protibial flange. Carinae on prosternal process narrowly separated at apex, slightly convergent toward base, not joined, ended at basal 1/5 of prosternum. Metaventrite without setal tuft. Basal abdominal ventrite without setal tuft. Abdomen with postcoxal line on basal abdominal ventrite slightly flattened along posterior ventrite margin, extended forward at apex, ventrite with sparse, long pubescence and small, dense punctures; ventrites 2–6 pubescent throughout, punctures fine, dense; ventrite 3 without cusp on each side of middle; 5th ventrite deeply depressed in median 1/3, apex broadly emarginate; 6th ventrite depressed medially, apex deeply emarginate. Apical tergite finely, densely punctured, apex slightly arcuate. Genitalia with basal lobe slightly longer than paramere, symmetrical, sides weakly rounded in basal 2/3, slightly narrowed before apical 1/3, apex lunulate; paramere slightly Psc, short, wide basally, narrowed in apical 1/2, apical 1/2 flattened dorsally with setae rising from flattened area, apex rounded ( Fig. 25, 26 ); sipho robust, strongly curved in basal 1/2, with large lateral alae posterior to apex, basal capsule heavily sclerotized, inner arm short, triangular, apex acute, outer arm wider and longer than inner arm, with accessory piece, basal border broadly, shallowly emarginate ( Fig. 27–29 ).

Female. Similar to male except head black, pronotum black except lateral 1/8 yellow, anterolateral angle of black area slightly emarginate with yellow, all legs with femur brown. Genitalia with spermathecal capsule short, wide, cornu with short, apical beak; bursal cap oval, with outer arms not sclerotized, inner arm absent, apical strut elongate, basal 1/2 slender, lightly sclerotized, apical 1/2 laterally flattened, apical 1/5 heavily sclerotized ( Fig. 30 ).

Variation. Length 3.0 to 4.0 mm, width 2.4 to 3.1 mm.

Type locality. Argentina (Catamarca or Salta).

Type depository. ZMHB (lectotype here designated).

Geographical distribution. Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Peru.

Specimens examined. 44. Argentina. Loreto; Misiones, Dep. Concepcion, Sta. Maria; Misiones, Piñalito; Tucuman; Tucuman, Tacanas. Brazil. Chapada; Corumba; Matto Grosso; MG, Rio Verde; MT, Cáceres. Paraguay. Sapucay. Peru. La Merced, Valle de Chanchamayo. ( MNHL) ( DZUP) ( USNM) ( ZMHB).

Remarks. Closely similar to B. sellata , males of B. bruchi are distinguished by the mostly black pronotum, smaller size, and male genitalia. Females, though smaller in size, are more difficult, but both sexes are usually distinguished by the narrowly spaced prosternal carinae extended to the basal 1/5 of the prosternum.

The lectotype is a female in the ZMHB labeled “Rep ARGENTINA, XII 1899, C. Bruch/TYPUS (red paper)/ex. coll. J. Weise/Brachyacantha bruchi m.” A second type, a male labeled “ Tucuman Bruch (green paper, handwritten)/male symbol/ex. coll. J. Weise,” is designated a paralectotype. Weise (1906) stated that his Coccinellidae specimens were from “provincia Catamarca et provincia Salta,” but did not specifically state which province his specimens of B. bruchi came from.

Figures

Figures 18–35. 18–23. Brachiacantha sellata. 18) Habitus. 19) Phallobase ventral. 20) Phallobase lateral. 21) Sipho. 22) Enlarged siphonal apex. 23) Female genitalia. 24–30. Brachiacantha bruchi. 24) Habitus. 25) Phallobase ventral. 26) Phallobase lateral. 27) Sipho. 28) Enlarged siphonal apex lateral. 29) Enlarged siphonal apex dorsal. 30) Female genitalia. 31–35. Brachiacantha esther. 31) Habitus. 32) Phallobase ventral. 33) Phallobase lateral. 34) Sipho. 35) Enlarged siphonal apex.