Cassida lycii Borowiec & Świętojańska, 2001

Borowiec, Lech & Świętojańska, Jolanta, 2022, A monograph of the Afrotropical Cassidinae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Part 6. Revision of the tribe Cassidini 3, the genus Cassida L., Zootaxa 5171 (1), pp. 1-250 : 106-107

Cassida lycii Borowiec & Świętojańska, 2001

( figs. 27 , 291–292 )

Cassida lycii Borowiec & Świętojańska, 2001: 160 .

Diagnosis. It is unique species, the only in the group with pronotal punctation much coarse and dense than punctation of elytral disc.

Description. L: 4.50–5.30 mm, W: 3.20–3.60 mm, Lp: 1.60–1.80 mm, Wp: 2.70–3.00 mm, L/W: 1.40–1.49, Wp/Lp: 1.67–1.69. Body oval, sides moderately rounded, distinctly converging posterad ( fig. 291 ).

Uniformly green, including ventrites, legs and antennae ( figs. 291, 292 ).

Pronotum elliptical, with maximum width slightly after the middle, sides strongly angulate. Disc indistinctly bordered from explanate margin, without lateral lobes. Surface of disc extremely dense and coarse punctate, punctures much coarser than those of elytral disc, irregular, often elongate, form elongate grooves, surface of disc appears strongly rugose. Explanate margin of pronotum also coarse punctate, but punctures shallow, surface appears rather irregular than rugose, transparent but honeycomb structure indistinct.

Base of elytra slightly wider than base of pronotum, humeral angles moderately protruding anterad, angulate. Disc moderately, regularly convex in profile, without impressions or elevations ( fig. 292 ). Punctation moderately coarse and moderately dense, distance between punctures from as wide as to twice wider than puncture diameter, surface appears regular. Explanate margin moderately broad, in the widest part four time narrower than disc, strongly declivous, almost perpendicular to surface, with punctation slightly coarser but sparser than on disc, surface appear regular.

Eyes short, gena elongate, distance between under margin of eye and lateral angle of labrum slightly longer than half eye width. Clypeal lines very fine, hardly visible. Labrum very shallowly emarginate.Antennae stout, segments 9–10 slightly transverse. Length ratio of antennal segments: 100:58:64:66:62:52:54:56:58:60:112. Segment 3 approximately longer than 2 and approximately and slightly shorter than 4.

Prosternum very narrow in the middle, moderately expanded apically, area between coxa flat, shiny with few small, setose punctures, expanded apex slightly convex, shiny, with several small, setose punctures.

Claws simple.

Host plants. Solanaceae : Lycium ferricissimum ( Borowiec & Świętojańska 2001) ; Lycium hirsutum Dunal (label data, H. Heron pers. comm.).

Distribution. South Africa: Cape ( fig. 27 ).

Remarks. A member of the Cassida litigiosa species–group, the complex of species with narrow, elongate body. With C. oxylepiformis and C. wittmeri it is characterized by the most declivous, almost perpendicular to surface explanate margin of elytra within the group. Cassida lycii well differs from both relatives in the base of elytra distinctly wider than pronotum (only slightly wider in C. oxylepiformis and C. wittmeri ), elytra strongly converging posterad (slightly converging) and pronotal punctation extremely coarse thus the surface of disc appears strongly rugose (moderately coarse punctate, surface does not appears rugose).

Types examined. Holotype and two paratypes: [ SOUTH AFRICA]: Cape, 10 km NE of Langebaan , 33.02 S 18.06 E, 28 Dec. 1989, on Lycium ferricissimum, J.K.Scott (NIC, MNHW) .

Figures

FIGURE 27. Distribution of Cassida lycii (black diamond) and Cassida namibiensis (black squares).

FIGURES 291–292. Cassida lycii. 293–294. Cassida oxylepiformis. 291, 293. Dorsal; 292, 294. Lateral.