Cionus olens ( Fabricius, 1792 )

Košťál, Michael & Caldara, Roberto, 2019, Revision of Palaearctic species of the genus Cionus Clairville (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Cionini), Zootaxa 4631 (1), pp. 1-144 : 91-92

54. Cionus olens ( Fabricius, 1792)

Figs 54 a–f.

Curculio olens Fabricius, 1792: 435 . Reitter, 1904: 57 ( Cionus olens ). Wingelmüller, 1914: 216; 1921: 110; 1937: 198 ( Cionus olens ). Hustache, 1932: 345 ( Cionus olens ). A. Hoffmann, 1958: 1225 ( Cionus olens ). Smreczyński, 1976: 60 ( Cionus olens ). Caldara, 2013: 124 ( Cionus olens ). Alonso-Zarazaga et al., 2017: 186 ( Cionus olens ).

Rhynchaenus caprimulgus Fabricius, 1801: 480 . Wingelmüller, 1914: 235 (syn. n.); 1937: 219. Caldara, 2013: 124. Alonso- Zarazaga et al., 2017: 186.

Type locality. France .

Type series. Fabricius described the species very briefly without giving the number of specimens. In coll. Fabricius ( ZMUK), there are two specimens under the label “olens”. One pinned, well-preserved, with missing right antenna and part of left protarsus, 3.80 mm long, unlabeled female with erect seta-like scales clearly corresponds to the original description referring to elytra “cinereo-pilosus”. It was designated as the lectotype of Curculio olens Fabricius by adding the label “ LECTOTYPUS Curculio olens Fabricius M.Košťál et R.Caldara des.2011 [printed red label]”. The other specimen, a male, belongs to C. clairvillei Boheman and does not correspond to the author´s description.

Synonyms. Rhynchaenus caprimulgus was described by Fabricius from an unknown number of specimens. In coll. Fabricius ( ZMUK), under the label “caprimulgus”, there is a single 4.12 mm long male, which we consider a syntype corresponding to author´s description with the reference to erect seta-like scales by a remark “villosus”. This specimen was designated as the lectotype of Rhynchaenus caprimulgus Fabricius by adding the label “LECTO- TYPUS Rhynchaenus caprimulgus Fabricius ♂ M.Košťál et R.Caldara des.2011 [printed red label]”. The lectotype is conspecific with the lectotype of Curculio olens Fabricius.

Redescription. Male. Body stout, subparallel to subrotund. Head: rostrum stout, medium long (l/ w 4.2, Rl/Pl 1.29), dark brown; in lateral view very slightly curved, of same width from base to half of apical part, then moderately abruptly narrowed on lower side to apex; in dorsal view slightly narrowed at base, of same width to half of apical part, then slightly narrowed to apex, in basal part round in cross-section, in apical part moderately dorsoventrally flattened; densely longitudinally punctured except for almost bare and shiny small median part of apex; basal part with up- and backwardly oriented, subrecumbent grayish scales, apical part with forwardly oriented, suberect, longer grayish seta-like scales. Head between eyes narrow, of less than 0.4 rostrum width at base. Eyes very large, broadly rounded, slightly 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 moderately wider than segment 2, segment 1 less than twice, segment 2 twice as long as wide, segments 3–5 as long as wide; club spindle-shaped, more than twice as long as wide, completely covered with recumbent, thin, light brownish hairs and sparse, erect, pale sensilla. Pronotum: dark brown, markedly wider than long (Pl/Pw 0.63), densely evenly finely punctured, punctures subrotund, of slightly unequal size, spaces between punctures smaller than puncture diameter; covered with slightly unevenly distributed, variously oriented, recumbent and subrecumbent, thin, elongate (l/w 6–9), yellowish to grayish scales; widest at base, subparallel to slightly conical in basal half, then distinctly conically narrowed to anterior margin, without constriction, in lateral view absolutely flat in basal half, then relatively abruptly falling to anterior margin. Prosternum: anterior margin with sharply incised semicircular to subquadrate emargination, bounded by sharp edges, separated from coxae by narrow prosternal area. Scutellum: triangular, with relatively sharp apex, covered with scales similar to those on elytra, densely punctured. Elytra: reddish brown to dark brown, in basal 2/3 subparallel to slightly subrotund, in apical part broadly evenly rounded, moderately elongate (El/Ew 1.23), widest at about 1/3 of elytral length, at base somewhat wider than pronotum (Ew/Pw 1.60), humeri subrotund, slightly prominent, with only indistinct posthumeral impression; almost flat on disc; interstria 1 at 1/3 of medial length moderately broadened, in preapical area slightly broadened, interstria 2 at same lengths on dorsum distinctly, in preapical area indistinctly narrowed and constricted laterally encompassing black tomentous maculae without differently colored scale border; interstriae except perimacular areas of equal width; odd interstriae, especially in posterior half, with sparse, very unevenly distributed large patches of black scales, without patches of light scales; striae shallow, feebly visible, formed by even rows of densely arranged punctures; entire surface completely covered with recumbent to slightly subrecumbent, very densely arranged, elongate (l/w 5–9), yellowish to grayish scales of unequal thickness completely concealing integument; interstriae with uneven rows of erect, yellowish to grayish and sparsely intermixed black seta-like scales similar in length or longer than width of interstriae. Venter: in lateral and posterior part densely covered with recumbent and subrecumbent long to hair-like scales, metasternum and median longitudinal part of ventrite 1 sparsely covered with subrecumbent to suberect, grayish, thin hair-like scales, without clusters of scales; mesosternal process flat, broad, emarginate at posterior margin, punctured, with hairs; metasternum flat, densely punctured; ventrite 1 with shallow impression, punctured, ventrite 2 flat, punctured; ventrite 1 almost twice as long as ventrite 2, ventrites 1–2 combined 3.9 × as long as ventrites 3–4 combined; ventrites 3–4 combined of 0.8 length of ventrite 5. Legs: brown to dark brown, profemora with very small sharp teeth, meso- and metafemora with large sharp triangular teeth; femora covered with subrecumbent, unevenly densely distributed pale scales, tibiae with suberect, pale yellowish and sparsely intermixed black scales, tarsi except onychia with recumbent whitish hairs and suberect whitish seta-like scales; protarsal onychia moderately longer than tarsomeres 1–3 combined, protarsal tarsomere 3 wider than long; protarsal lateral, meso- and metatarsal medial claws by about 1/4–1/3 shorter than their pair-claws. Penis: Figs 54 d–f, its body medium long, with sinuate sides, narrowed before apex, apex broadly tapered.

Female. Rostrum and antennal insertion approximately as in male. Ventrites 1 and 2 slightly convex. Claws of approximately equal length.

Variability. Length ♂♂ 3.39–4.20 mm, ♀♀ 3.59–4.60 mm. Very variable species in the color of rostrum, legs and elytra from reddish to almost black and, even in more extent, in elytral pattern. Both elytral maculae vary in size from medium large to small or almost patch-like, sometimes missing at all. The number and the size of black patches on odd interstriae varies extremely from relatively dense to missing. Elytral sides vary also to some extent from subparallel to slightly subrotund.

Diagnosis. This species is recognizable by concealed elytral integument, erect, long seta-like scales on all elytral interstriae, small profemoral teeth, rather subparallel elytral sides, pronotum in lateral view abruptly falling to anterior margin, and penis shape.

Comparative notes. Cionus olens is undoubtedly most closely related to C. merkli , from which it differs by small profemoral teeth, more oblong elytra, on average smaller body size, pronotum in lateral view abruptly falling to anterior margin, and less elongate apical part of body of penis.

Biological notes. The first author collected this species in southern Moravia, Slovakia and Hungary on Verbas- cum densiflorum . Smreczyński (1976) reported V. thapsus , V. phlomoides , V. pulverulentum Vill. and V. blattaria L. as host plants. Hoffmann (1958) reported also V. nigrum as a host plant. C. olens is apparently an oligophagous species, which is often found in first-year rosettes of leaves.

Distribution. This species is widely distributed in most European countries except Scandinavia eastwards to European part of Russian Federation, Transcaucasus, Anatolia and Israel.

Non-type specimens examined. We examined more than 200 specimens from all above mentioned regions and countries.

Figures

FIGURES 53–54. FIGURE 53. Cionus zonovi. 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 54. Cionus olens. 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.