Cionus hortulanus ( Geoffroy, 1785 )

Košťál, Michael & Caldara, Roberto, 2019, Revision of Palaearctic species of the genus Cionus Clairville (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Cionini), Zootaxa 4631 (1), pp. 1-144 : 33-35

15. Cionus hortulanus ( Geoffroy, 1785)

Figs 15 a–f.

Curculio hortulanus Geoffroy, 1785: 129 . Reitter, 1904: 49 ( Cionus ). Wingelmüller, 1914: 186 ( Cionus ); 1921: 103 ( Cionus ); 1937: 166 ( Cionus ). Hustache, 1932: 341. A. Hoffmann, 1958: 1217 ( Cionus ). Smreczyński, 1976: 55 ( Cionus ). Caldara, 2013: 123 ( Cionus ). Alonso-Zarazaga et al., 2017: 185.

Cionus subsquamosus Reitter, 1904: 50 . Wingelmüller, 1914: 189; 1921: 124; 1937: 169. Caldara, 2013: 124. Alonso-Zarazaga et al., 2017: 186. syn. n.

Cionus franzi A. Hoffmann, 1960: 168 . Smreczynśki, 1976: 6 (syn. n.). Caldara, 2013: 123 (stat. n.). Alonso-Zarazaga et al., 2017: 185. syn. n.

Type locality. Paris ( France) .

Type series. The lectotype (♂) and two paralectotypes (♀♀) designated by Alonso-Zarazaga (2008) are depos- ited in coll. Geoffroy ( MNHN) and correspond to C. hortulanus as currently understood.

Synonyms. Cionus subsquamosus was described from the northern Caucasus, “Helenendorf” without mentioning the number of specimens. In coll. Reitter ( HNHM), there is a 3.93 mm long, heavily damaged and abraded, clumped, glued female corresponding to the original description labeled “Helenendorf / Kaukas Leder / Holotypus 1897 Cionus subsquamosus Reitter / C. subsqamosus m. 1896. [Reitter´s handwriting] / Coll. Reitter”. We designated this specimen as the lectotype by adding the printed red label “ LECTOTYPUS Cionus subsquamosus Reitter Michael Košťál des. 2013”. The lectotype is conspecific with C. hortulanus as currently understood and labeled accordingly “ Cionus hortulanus (Geoffroy) Michael Košťál det. 2013”. The main distinguishing character given by Reitter, namely very short scales instead of seta-like scales, is due to a considerable abrasion.

Cionus franzi was described based on a single male specimen from Austria, “Greinberg”. In coll. Franz (NHMW), there is a male labeled “GREINBERG B. SCHEIBBS LEG. H. FRANZ / Cionus Franzi m. A. Hoffmann det. / Type [red label] / Cionus hortulanus Geoffr. Smreczyński det. 19..[illegible]”. There is no doubt that this speci- men is the holotype of C. franzi A. Hoffmann. The holotype is 4.08 mm long, completely preserved with mounted genitalia, and conspecific with C. hortulanus as currently understood. For clarity, we provided the specimen with a red distinguishing label “ HOLOTYPUS Cionus franzi Hoffmann Michael Košťál vid. 2015” and an identification label “ Cionus hortulanus (Geoffroy) M. Košťál det. 2015”.

Redescription. Male. Body stout, subrotund to suboval. Head: rostrum moderately slender, medium long (l/ w 4.8, Rl/Pl 1.16), blackish-brown, apical part lighter; in lateral view moderately curved, at antennal insertion slightly more curved, moderately narrowed from base to antennal insertion, then markedly tapered to apex; in dorsal view of same width from base to antennal insertion, then narrowed to apex, basal part considerably laterally constricted, apical part markedly dorsoventrally flattened; basal part very densely longitudinally punctured to ribbed, apical part until shortly before apex with round to elongate, well separated punctures; basal part covered with upwardly and backwardly oriented, elongate, recumbent, yellowish scales, apical part with forwardly oriented, suberect, very thin yellowish seta-like scales. Head between eyes narrow, of less than 0.4 rostrum width at base. Eyes large, broadly rounded, not protruding from head outline. Antennae reddish-brown except darkened club, inserted at 0.6 of rostrum length; funicle of 0.7 scape length, segment 1 slightly wider than segment 2, segment 1 twice, segment 2 more than twice as long as wide, segments 3–5 as long as wide, subglobose; club spindle-shaped, 2.5 × as long as wide, slightly shorter than funicle, nearly completely covered with recumbent, tiny, dark brown hairs and sparse long erect pale sensilla. Pronotum: dark brown, somewhat wider than long (Pl/Pw 0.63), very densely and finely evenly punctured, punctures round, approximately of equal size, spaces between punctures mostly smaller than puncture diameter; covered with evenly arranged, forwardly oriented, recumbent and subrecumbent elongate (l/w 4–7), yellowish scales; widest at base, nearly evenly conically narrowed to anterior margin, very broadly and shallowly constricted in its anterior part, flat on disc, in lateral view flat in basal half, then falling to anterior margin. Prosternum: anterior margin with relatively deep, sharply incised emargination, not bounded by tubercles, separated from coxae by narrow prosternal area. Scutellum: triangular with blunt apex, covered with backwardly oriented, subrecumbent, elongate yellowish scales, finely punctured. Elytra: brown to dark brown, in basal 2/3 slightly rounded to subparallel, in apical third broadly rounded, moderately elongate (El/Ew 1.16); widest at mid-length, at base markedly wider than pronotum (Ew/Pw 1.70), humeri subrotund, prominent, with only very slightly distinct posthumeral impression, slightly convex on disc; interstria 1 from 1/4 to almost half of medial length and in preapical area broadened, interstria 2 at same lengths moderately narrowed and constricted laterally encompassing medium large dorsal and preapical round, black tomentous maculae without border formed by differently colored scales; interstriae except perimacular areas of same width; odd interstriae with alternating black and yellowish scale patches; striae formed by single even rows of round, densely arranged punctures; entire surface covered with densely arranged, recumbent to subrecumbent, relatively moderately elongate (l/w 4–6), yellowish scales almost completely concealing integument. Venter: covered with semidensely distributed, backwardly oriented, recumbent, yellowish elongate scales, clustered into patches on margins of ventrites 3–5 and metepisternum; mesosternal process flat, subquadrate, shallowly incised at posterior margin, densely punctured; metasternum flat, transversally ribbed; ventrite 1 and anterior part of ventrite 2 with relatively deep impression, transversally punctured to ribbed; ventrite 1 1.6 × as long as ventrite 2, ventrites 1–2 combined 3.8 × as long as ventrites 3–4 combined, ventrites 3–4 combined slightly shorter than ventrite 5. Legs: dark brown, protibiae and tarsi lighter; profemora with small teeth, meso- and metafemora with large triangular sharp teeth; legs except onychia covered with recumbent (on femora), subrecumbent to suberect (on tibiae and tarsi) elongate yellow scales, on tibiae also with a few black elongate to seta-like scales, onychia covered with recumbent, long whitish hairs, neither femora nor tibiae with transverse bands; protarsal onychia of normal length, approximately as long as tarsomeres 1–3 combined, protarsal tarsomere 3 as long as wide; protarsal lateral and meso- and metatarsal medial claws moderately shorter than their pair-claws. Penis: Figs 15 d–f, its body very long and narrow, with concave sides and broadly spoon-like at apex.

Female. Rostrum slightly longer (Rl/Pl 1.22), apical part shiny, with fine, tiny, very sparse punctures, antennal insertion shortly beyond rostrum mid-length. Ventrites 1 and 2 without impression, convex. Claws equally long.

Variability. Length ♂♂ 3.81–4.55 mm, ♀♀ 3.97–4.61 mm. This species is very variable and shows a wide range of elytral patterns varying from sharply distinguished to nearly unicolored. It is also variable in color of scales, size of both elytral maculae, color and shape of legs, width of body of penis, density of body scales, body size, rostrum shape and its length, especially the apical part, vary less but noticeably.

Diagnosis. This species is recognizable by nearly invisible elytral integument (in fresh specimens), distinctly narrowed apical part of rostrum in both sexes, which is shiny in females, moderately large dorsal and preapical maculae, body size, deep impression on ventrites 1 and 2 in males, and penis shape.

Comparative notes. Cionus hortulanus is most closely related to C. schultzei , from which it differs by smaller body size, shorter rostrum in both sexes, especially in females, and elytral vestiture.

Biological notes. Cionus hortulanus lives on many species of the family Scrophulariaceae . Smreczyński (1976) reported Scrophularia nodosa , Limosella aquatica , Verbascum phlomoides L. and V. nigrum L. as host plants. We collected the species on Verbascum chaixii austriacum (Roem. & Schult.) , V. lychnitis L., V. phoeniceum L., V. thapsus L. and other unidentified Verbascum species. The first author also confirmed the occurrence on S. nodosa in Brno ( Czech Republic). In southern Sweden (Skåne), C. Fagerström (pers. comm.) collected the species from cultivated Buddleja sp.

Distribution. Widespread species occurring in Europe, Siberia, Turkey, Middle East, Iran and Central Asia.

Non-type specimens examined. We examined more than 1050 specimens from all the above reported distributional areas.

Figures

FIGURES 15–16. FIGURE 15. Cionus hortulanus. a: body in dorsal view (male), b: body in lateral view (male), c: rostrum in lateral view (female), d: penis in ventral view, e: penis in lateral view, f: apex of penis in dorsal view. Not to scale. FIGURE 16. Cionus maurus sp. n. a: body in dorsal view (male), b: body in lateral view (male), c: rostrum in lateral view (female), d: penis in ventral view, e: penis in lateral view, f: apex of penis in dorsal view. Not to scale.