Epicauta bosqi Denier, 1935

Campos-Soldini, María Paula & Roig-Juñent, Sergio Alberto, 2011, Redefinition of the vittata species group of Epicauta Dejean (1834) (Coleoptera: Meloidae) and taxonomic revision of the species from southern South America, Zootaxa 2824, pp. 21-43 : 24-25

Epicauta bosqi Denier, 1935

Epicauta bosqi Denier, 1935: 135 ; Blackwelder, 1945: 482 (cat.); Bosq, 1942: 9 (cat.); Di Iorio, 2004: 168 (cat.).

Type material examined. Holotype male: [Rosario de S. Fe/ parque a la luz/ Denier 19.II.32] [ Epicauta / bosqi / Denier/ HOLOTIPO] [ MLP 555/ 1]. Paratype female: [Santa Fe/ Rafaela/ I.1933] [Coll. Bosq] [female] [ Epicauta / bosqi Denier/ PARATIPO] [ MLP 555/ 3] MLP.

Diagnosis. Cuticle brown; head with pale patch on frons; pronotum with pair of pale patches on apical third; legs with trochanters pale; elytra with four pale vittae, marginal and sutural vittae extended from base to near apex, and two vittae on disc, the four vittae fused near apex.

Redescription. Body length 10 – 18mm.

Cuticle and pubesence. Cuticle brown; head with pale patch on frons ( Fig. 15 ); pronotum with two pale patches on apical third; elytra with four pale vittae, marginal and sutural vittae extended from base to near apex, and two vittae on disc, the four vittae fused near apex (as in Fig. 18); legs brown tinged with light brown, trochanters pale; mesothorax bicolored. Pubescence of head, pronotum and elytra sparse (13–19 by lineal mm) and uniformly light brown; elytra pubescence not coincident with cuticle color; abdominal pubescence light brown.

Habitus. Head 0.80 as long as wide (L/A: 21–26); mandible strongly curved to the apex (as show by arrow in Fig. 10 ); antennae flattened dorso-ventrally; antennal segments of female with following proportions: 2.66 (I); 1.5 (II); 3.33 (III); 2.33 (IV); 2 (V); 2 (VI); 3 (VII); 3 (VIII); 3 (IX); 3 (X); 3.5 (XI); antennae of males 3 (I); 2 (II); 2.33 (III); 2 (IV); 2 (V); 2 (VI); 3 (VII); 3 (VIII); 2.5 (IX); 2.5 (X); 3 (XI). Pronotum 1.05 as long as wide (L/A: 20 – 19), slightly convex in lateral view. Elytron wider from the apical third to apex; apex one third wider than base. Legs with adhesive setae of tarsal pads of fore and medial legs uniformly distributed, distal region bilobed; hind legs with two longitudinal rows of adhesive setae. Claws with dorsal blade slightly curved from base to apex, ventral blade broader than dorsal near apical third. Abdomen with last abdominal tergite twice wide, with a small central emargination at apex.

Male genitalia. Falobase with superior margin deeply emarginate. Spiculum gastrale tridentate (as in Fig. 29). Median lobe slender, dorsal-hook, apex slightly curved; uncus (sensu Pardo Alcaide, 1948, 1950) slender, pointed apically ( Fig. 37 ).

Intra-specific variation. Color variation occurs in the pronotum. The two pale patches of the pronotum can be of different sizes and there is a pale longitudinal central line in some specimens. Also, the mesothorax is darker in some specimens.

Remarks. Denier (1935) provided a diagnosis of the type of Epicauta bosqi but the species was never described in detail.

Distribution. Map ( Fig. 45 ). Known from Argentina, where it has been recorded from Buenos Aires; Chaco; Corrientes; Formosa; Misiones; Salta; Santa Fe; Santiago del Estero. New records: Entre Ríos; Córdoba.

Host plant. The only known host plant is Medicago sativa ( Bosq, 1942; Hayward, 1960; Di Iorio, 2004).

Material examined 31 specimens from Argentina belong to the following collections: MLP, MCNFA. Córdoba. Chaco: Colonia Castelli (26º 01’ 34’’ S, 60º 53’ 62’’ W); Cote Lai (27º 31’ 97’’ S, 59º 34’ 24’’ W); Villa Angela (27º 34’ 16’’ S, 60º 42’ 28’’ W). Entre Ríos: Victoria (32º 37’ 37’’ S, 60º 09’ 53’’ W). Santa Fe: Recreo (31º 29’ 68’’ S, 60º 44’ 44’’ W); Santo Tomé 31º 39’ 99’’ S, 60º 45’ 37’’ W).

Figures

FIGURE 45. Distribution map of Epicauta bosqi and E. clericalis.

FIGURES 12 – 17. Head cuticle color: 12. E. excavate; 13. E. semivittata, E. missionum; 14. E. clericalis, E. luteolineata; 15. E. bosqi; 16. E. leopardina, E. monachica, E. rutilifrons; 17. E. grammica.

FIGURES 6 – 11. Epicauta lopardina, 6. Labial palpi with segment III strongly expanded from the basal third to the apex; 7. Maxillary palpi large (three times width) compressed dorso-ventrally, tapering to the base and expanding to apex. E. leopardina: 8. Prementum with central area having ample concavity; E. clericalis: 9. Prementum straight. Mandible dorsal views: E. leopardina: 10 (b, see arrow); E. clericalis 11 (b, see arrow).

FIGURES 37 – 44. Aedeagus, lateral view: 37. E. bosqi: (a) aedeagus, (dt) dorsal tooth, (h) hook; 38. Epicauta clericalis; 39. E. excavata; 40. E. grammica 41. E. leopardina; 42. E. luteolineata; 43. E. monachica; 44. E. semivittata.