Agenysa connectens ( Baly, 1869 )

Sekerka, Lukáš, 2016, Taxonomic and nomenclatural changes in Cassidinae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 56 (1), pp. 275-344 : 302-303

Agenysa connectens ( Baly, 1869)

Calaspidea connectens Baly, 1869: 84 (original description).

Type locality. ‘Pebas, Upper Amazons’ [= Peru, Loreto Region, Mariscal Ramón Castilla Province, Pebas].

Type material examined. SYNTYPES: ♀, pinned, ‘ Type [w, p, s, c, rf] || Pebas [hw] | Baly Coll. | 1905—54. [w, p, cb] || Calaspidea | connectens | Baly | Pebas , Upper Amazons [g, hw by Baly, cb] || Type [hw by Baly on underside of preceding label]’ ( BMNH) ; ♂, pinned, ‘ Pebas [w, hw by Baly, cb] || Pebas [hw] | Baly Coll. | 1905—54. [w, p, cb] ’ ( BMNH) ; ♂, pinned, ‘ Pebas [hw] | Baly Coll. | 1905—54. [w, p, cb]’ ( BMNH) .

Remarks. BALY (1869) did not state how many specimens he had at his disposal, however, he gave length span suggesting he must have had at least two. In the BMNH there are three specimens of this species from the Baly collection, all agreeing with the primary description thus I consider all three of them as syntypes.

Agenysa connectens was previously recognized by the red reticulation present on most of the elytral margin. SPAETH (1916) considered it as having high reticulation and proposed the subspecies A. c. aequatoriensis Spaeth, 1916 for the bronze form from Ecuador. However, the latter is not conspecific with A. connectens because the three syntypes have much lower reticulation, which appears nearly vanished on apical slope while A. c. aequatoriensis has high reticulation all over elytral disc. Agenysa connectens also has weakly convex elytra with highest point approximately in the middle while remaining species, with exception of A. stragula ( Boheman, 1862) , have clearly more convex elytra with highest point in postscutellar area. Therefore I think that A. c. aequatoriensis belong to a different species and Ecuador is removed from the distribution range of A. connectens (see A. calvata for more information).

The typical population of A. connectens from Pebas in Peru is bright metallic blue-green or turquoise-blue while population from Tefé (Amazonas) is rather green. The three types from Pebas have each diferently formed red reticulation on elytra. The female has it almost all over explanate margin of elytra and also extending to apical slope of the disc and the reticulation itself is thin enclosing large inside fields. One male has also the reticulation covering most of the explanate margin but it is thick and enclosing very small fields and the last male has the reticulation similarly thick but forming only oval spot around the middle of explanate margin like in A. caedemadens .

The species is with certainty distributed in the lowlands of the Upper Amazon Basin and extends along the Amazon and Río Negro to Peru and Colombia. Curious is occurrence of isolated population in NE Colombia reaching from Pacific slopes of Cordillera Occidental through lowlands of Chocó to Serranía de Pirre in SE Panamá. I have seen only a few specimens of this population but they are externally nearly identical to types from Pebas. Based on the above evidence I tentatively classify the population under A. connectens .

Distribution. Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Panama ( BOROWIEC & ŚWIĘTOJAŃSKA 2016).