Agrilus dipterioides, Hespenheide, Henry A., 2012

Hespenheide, Henry A., 2012, New Mexican and Central American species of Agrilus Curtis (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) mimetic of flies, Zootaxa 3181, pp. 1-27 : 5

Agrilus dipterioides , new species

(Figs. 5–9)

Description. Holotype male: Rather slender, in cross-section flattened above, convex below, from side elytra weakly convex, 7.50 mm long, 1.70 mm wide; epistomal area, antennomeres, and lower 1/2 of front above epistoma yellowish-golden, upper 1/2 of front greenish-blue, vertex of head and anterior 2/3 of pronotum red; posterior 1/3 of pronotum, scutellum, and anterior portion of basal elytral depressions greenish-blue; elytra and ventral surface black with more or less strong reddish-purple reflections; head glabrous; setae short, dense, inconspicuous, and recumbent on elytra, longer, inconspicuous, and recumbent on pronotum; setae longer, pale and more conspicuous on ventral surfaces except abdomen, longer, pale and more conspicuous on upper lateral portions of abdominal ventrites, narrower on ventrite 1, and on dorsal portions of abdominal ventrites 1 and 3–5.

Head with front somewhat convex, with faint depression along midline at vertex, surface finely punctate and shagreened on upper 1/2, less densely punctate and somewhat polished on lower 1/2; epistoma 1/3 as wide as distance between inner margins of eyes, rugose, slightly concave and with carina between dorsal margins of antennal insertions, ventral margin strongly emarginate at middle and weakly so at sides; eyes narrowly oval with complete marginal grooves; antennae compact, serrate from antennomere 4, antennomeres 4–6 triangular 7–11 broader and more or less rounded-triangular.

Pronotum subequal to elytra at posterior margin, with sides shallowly expanded outward to middle, then narrowing slightly; when viewed from side marginal and submarginal carinae slightly undulate, narrowly separated for anterior 3/4; from above 1/3 wider than long, anterior margin produced as broadly, weakly rounded lobe; basal margin nearly transverse to middle of each elytron, then produced and nearly transverse before scutellum; anterior portion of disc convex in cross section, with moderate transverse depression at basal 1/3, broadening and deepening at lateral margins; prehumeral carinae very fine, parallel and just interior to marginal carina for basal 3/4; disc finely rugose. Scutellum shagreened, pentagonal, acute behind, with fine transverse carina.

Elytra with lateral margins slightly broader at humeri than at middle, slightly emarginate between, then narrowing somewhat to apices, apices broad, narrowly emarginate, with short spine on longer exterior side and 1–3 small teeth on sutural side; disc moderately costate for entire length, each elytron with shallow triangular-oval depression at base; surface imbricate, finely rugose on basal 1/10; dorsal portions of ventrite 1 barely visible from above.

Prosternum with sides of prosternal process slightly broadening behind coxae, rounded-triangular at apex; prosternal lobe nearly transverse. Metacoxal plate with posterior margin nearly straight, upper exterior angle obtuse. Abdomen with suture between ventrites 1 and 2 weakly indicated at sides by slight depression, dorsal portions of ventrites 1–5 very narrow. Metatarsomere 1 longer than 2–4 combined, 0.50 mm long, tarsal claws similar on all tarsi, cleft with inner tooth slightly shorter than outer tooth. Genitalia as in Fig. 7.

Allotype female: As male, but front entirely red and shagreened; elytra with posterior 5/9 with coppery reflections and conspicuous short golden setae, golden setae continuing in narrow line along suture to basal 1/4 and with broader, oblique oval spot of short silvery setae anterior to basal 1/4; 9.20 mm long, 2.20 mm wide.

Type material. Holotype: Costa Rica: Prov. Cartago, Tapantí N.P., Road Rio Orosí, 1200–1500 m, 9o 42–44’ N 83o 46’ W, 05- 09.05.2005, Barries, Cate & Nagy ( INBC). Allotype: Same data as holotype ( INBC). Paratype: Same data as holotype ( CHAH).

Etymology. The name refers to the species’ resemblance to flies.

Discussion. This species is sexually dimorphic in the manner frequent to Agrilus of males having a bright green front and the females having a red or coppery front, but the sexes also differ in the pattern of setae on the elytra - the male has inconspicuous setae (Fig. 5) and the female has a pattern typical of members of this complex (Fig. 8) with the apical half of the elytra with conspicuous golden setae in a patter similar to the Mexican A. updikei and A. marthae . Agrilus dipterioides has elytral apices similar to those of A. marthae , but is more slender, has a weaker transverse depression on the pronotum, and has a different pattern of setae on the elytra and abdominal ventrites. The paratype female is 9.60 mm long.