Beltia weyrauchi Bechynĕ, 2018

Flowers, R. Wills, 2018, A review of the genus Beltia Jacoby (Chrysomelidae: Eumolpinae: Eumolpini), with descriptions of fourteen new species from Costa Rica, Panama, and northwestern South America, Insecta Mundi 672, pp. 1-43 : 27-28

Beltia weyrauchi Bechynĕ , new combination

Figures 40, 41 , 59 , 74 , 78

Colaspoides weyrauchi Bechynĕ 1950b: 225 (original description); Bechynĕ 1953: 280. Holotype male at USNM, seen, labeled: Valle Chanchamayo ( Peru) 800m, 1939, leg. Weyrauch //WKW 5832// Type // HOLOTYPE USNM 66980 //TYPE Colaspoides weyrauchi m. det. J. Bechyne 1950//USNMENT00911465.

Colaspoides chanchamayensis Bechynĕ 1950b: 227 (original description); Bechynĕ 1953: 378. Holotype male at USNM, seen, labeled: La Merced , Valle Chanchamayo ( Peru) 800m, 1939, leg. Weyrauch //WKW 6253// Type // HOLOTYPE USNM 66978 //TYPE Colaspoides chanchamayensis m, det. J Bechyne 1950//USNMENT 00911386, new synonymy.

Bechynĕ (1950b) described both species from Peru as typical Colaspoides without mentioning the toothed profemora. However, specimens of both species in the Frey Collection, as well as in the collection of the Fundación Miguel Lillo in Argentina, show this character. The descriptions below are based on three specimens from Peru, all collected in the vicinity of the type localities listed by Bechynĕ.

Redescription. Male. Body ovate, length 5.8 mm. Body cobalt blue, legs and antennae yellowish tan ( Fig. 40 ).

Head. Clypeus densely punctate, punctures separated by distance subequal to their diameters; frontoclypeal suture indistinct. Frons strongly punctate, punctures aciculate laterally; frons and vertex with impressed median line; antennal calli indistinct.

Thorax. Pronotum wider than long (L/W = 0.6). Prosternum sparsely punctate, with short whitish setae; posterior margin of intercoxal process weakly concave, width of intercoxal process subequal to diameter of procoxa. Metasternum transversely wrinkled, metepisternum finely alutaceous. Profemur with a hooked ventral tooth in apical third.

Elytra. Evenly punctate, punctures separated by distance several times their diameters; elytra at humeri 1.3× width of pronotum; postbasal depression weak.

Abdomen. Sterna with seta-bearing punctures in longitudinal bands on either side of midline; surface of segments smooth.

Genitalia. Median lobe in lateral view curved downward, apex bent upward ( Fig. 59a ). In en-face view apex narrowed to a somewhat asymmetrical projection; postorifical area relatively broad ( Fig. 59c ). Tip of endophallus with a small apical sclerite and a patch of spicules ( Fig. 59b ).

Female. Body ovate, length 7.2 mm. Head and pronotum glossy green with coppery reflexion, elytra shining reddish purple with green reflexion laterally, thoracic sterna glossy dark blue, legs and abdomen dark piceous with a blue reflexion; antennomeres piceous ( Fig. 41 ).

Head. Punctation as in male.

Thorax. Prothorax wider than long, L/W = 0.52; shape and punctation of pronotum and elytra as in male. Prosternum as in male. Width across humeri 1.2× width across pronotum; basal calli developed; postbasal depression shallow.

Abdomen. Surface of sterna and setae as in male, sternum VII with a small, transverse, subapical tubercle.

Genitalia. Abdominal segments VIII–X forming an elongate (L/W = 5.18) ovipositor ( Fig. 74a ). Sternum VIII with a long, needle-shaped basal apodeme, divided at midline in central third; segment IX covered with minute spicules; hemisternites with elongate basal rods; baculum distinct, elongate; gonocoxae slightly longer than wide. Spermatheca ( Fig. 74b ) with receptacle bulbous, slightly narrower than pump.

Specimens examined. (1♂, 2♀). (1♂) PERU: Junin, Sani Beni valley, Saitipo 840m, 14 Dec. 1935, Felix Woytkowski; (1♀) same locality and collector, 9-10-1935; (1♀) same department and collector, 8 km E Saitipo, 10 Oct. 1935 (all deposited in SEMC) .

Diagnosis. Beltia weyrauchi is most similar to B. tisingalita in that both species have acute teeth on the profemora. In B. tisingalita the pronotum is more strongly convergent anteriorly and the body is more elongate than in B. weyrauchi .

Remarks. Bechynĕ described both forms in a key to Peruvian Colaspoides , giving leg color as a distinguishing character: C. weyrauchi was described as having testaceous legs, whereas the legs are metallic in C. chanchamayensis . In the three specimens studied here, the legs are yellowish brown in the male, dark reddish brown with metallic bluish green femora in one female, and dark metallic bluish green in a second female. As already seen in several species, leg color by itself is not a useful character for delineating species in Beltia . Since C. weyrauchi has page priority in Bechynĕ’s (1950b) publication, I chose that name for the new combination. Bechynĕ’s description of the locality of C. chanchamayensis includes a note: “type, Mus. Javier Prado á Lima ”, which appears to be contradicted by the labeled holotype in the USNM. This species is known only from a small area in the eastern Peruvian Andes ( Fig. 78 ).

Figures

Figures 36–41. Beltia, dorsal habitus. 36) Beltia tilarana, male. 37) Beltia tisingalita, female. 38) Beltia tsachila, female. 39) Beltia vacilona, female. 40) Beltia weyrauchi, male. 41) Beltia weyrauchi, female.

Figures 57–59. Beltia, male genitalia: a) lateral view of median lobe; b) endophallic apical sclerites; c) en-face view of median lobe. 57) Beltia tsachila. 58) Beltia vacilona. 59) Beltia weyrauchi.

Figures 67–74. Beltia, female genitalia: a) ovipositor, ventral view; b) spermatheca. 67) Beltia osa. 68) Beltia placidula. 69) Beltia sanchezae. 70) Beltia tilarana. 71) Beltia tisingalita. 72) Beltia tsachila. 73) Beltia vacilona. 74) Beltia weyrauchi.

Figures 78–79. Distribution maps for Beltia spp. 78) Northwestern South America: B. confusa (star), B. gorgona (inverted triangles), B. placidula (blue circles), B. rugosa (red circle), B. weyrauchi (square). 79) Ecuador: B. awapita (hexagon), B. ledesmae (squares), B. napoensis (triangles), B. talaga (circle), B. tsachila (star).