Coelocephalapion geraldinhoi De Sousa & Anderson, 2022

Sousa, Wesley Oliveira De & Anderson, Robert S., 2022, Two new Brazilian species in the Coelocephalapion nodicorne species-group (Brentidae, Apioninae, Apionini, Oxystomatina) associated with Euphorbiaceae, Zootaxa 5205 (3), pp. 220-230 : 225-227

Coelocephalapion geraldinhoi De Sousa & Anderson sp. n.

( Figs. 15–28 )

Diagnosis. This new species differs from other C. nodicorne species group members by integument black; mesorostrum at antennal insertion produced into a slightly acute dentiform process; subocular lateral ridges undeveloped; prescutellar fovea on pronotal disc absent; elytral sutural interval without postscutellar spot of denser scales ( Figs. 15–18 )

Description

Measurements (in mm): male holotype: Total length: 1.64: Rostrum: length: 0.58; width at apex: 0.07; mesorostral width: 0.12. Head: length: 0.22, width: 0.22. Distance from eye to antennal insertion: 0.13. Antennae (length × width): scape: 0.09 × 0.04; desmomere 1: 0.04 × 0.04; desmomere 2: 0.05 × 0.02; desmomere 3–6: 0.03 × 0.03; desmomere 7: 0.03 × 0.04; club: 0.13 × 0.05. Scutellum: length: 0.06; width: 0.05. Pronotum: length: 0.45; width at base: 0.60; width at apex: 0.30. Elytra: length: 1.15; width: 0.79.

Integument black; femora and tibiae black to brown.

Vestiture conspicuous, heterogeneous, off-white scales; meta- and mesorostrum scales sparsely distributed, absent on the prorostrum apex; head and pronotal disc scales sparse, with centrifugal pattern; on sides of prosternum, meso- and metaventrite and anterior face of the procoxae denser; elytra interstria with one regular row of scales, interstria 3 with two irregular rows of scales; elytra striae with one row of scales; ventral region with scales uniform in abdominal ventrites; legs with sparse scales.

Rostrum nearly straight in side view, deflexed and robust in the basal third; about 4.8 times longer than maximum width; 1.3 times pronotum length along midline; in dorsal view sides of mesorostrum at antennal insertion about 1.7 times larger than apex of prorostrum; apical 1/4 polished and finely punctate; ventral and dorsal surface in basal half of rostrum finely microreticulate, including bottoms of scrobes.

Head with frons flat medially, with two rows of marginal scales as long as subocular scales; subocular lateral ridges undeveloped, not extending to posterior margin of eyes, ending in a V-shaped margin; area between subocular lateral ridges microreticulate and impunctate. Eyes round, convex and prominent. Antennae inserted at basal 0.13 of rostrum length; scape 0.75 times mesorostral width, 2,25 times as long as wide, 0.7 times club length; desmomere 1 as long as wide, as long as desmomeres 2, desmomere 3–6 as long as wide, desmomere 7 wider; club oblong, compact, 2.6 times as long as wide, longer than the last 5 desmomeres, sutures weakly marked.

Thorax with pronotum campaniform in dorsal view, slightly constricted before apex, about 0.75 as long as wide, base 2.00 times apex width, bisinuate with slightly median rounded projection toward scutellum, with basal flange; outline in lateral view slightly convex; pronotal disc plan, without prescutellar fovea; punctures covered by scales. Scutellum as long as wide, rounded, glabrous, plan at middle. Elytral length 1.45 times width, sub-rectangular, convex in profile; humeri salient; striae catenulate, at base straight, 1 st not surpassing apex of scutellum, others surpassing apex of scutellum, except 6 th and 7 th shortened into the humeral callus and 9 th before base; striae as wide as interstriae; striae strongly punctate apically, at apex joining 1+9, 2, 3+4, 5+6, 7+8; interstriae 9 with one specialized seta in apical half. Macropterous; hind wings with radial window; cubito-anal vein remnants paired, without colored apical fold, anal vein (2A) strong and without spurs, 3A vein absent; anal notch deep ( Fig. 19 ). Procoxae contiguous; prosternum as long as hypomeron; hypomeral lobes not divided by median suture, not separated from sternellum. Mesocoxae separated by union of meso- and metaventral apophyses. Metaventrite narrowed, posterior rim of mesocoxae absent. Mesofemora as robust as pro- and metafemora. Tibiae without mucro, 1st protarsomere 2.0 × as long as wide, subtriangular, 2nd 1.4 × as long as wide, subtriangular, 3rd strongly bilobate, wider than 2nd, onychium 3.3 × longer than wide, surpassing lobes of tarsomere 3 by ca. 1/2 length of onychium; claws dentate.

Abdomen. Abdominal ventrites 1–2 strongly convex, 1–5 with midline length ratios: 48–20–12–8–12; ventrite 5 apically rounded; pygidium of incomplete apionine type, with 0.14 of the total exposed length ( Fig. 20–21 ), semicircular, 1.1 times longer than wide, with distinct transverse sulcus not reaching lateral margins of pygidium, profile distinctly interrupted by sulcus.

Male terminalia. Ninth sternite (spiculum gastrale) Y-shaped, manubrium ca. 2.7 times arm length ( Fig. 22 ). Penis ( Fig. 23 ) depressed, slightly curved, pedon with apex straight in side view, rounded and acuminate apically in dorsal view; tectum without clear margins; penal apodemes (temones) length about 0.57 times pedon length; internal sac with four rows of teeth near orifice. Tegmen ( Fig. 24–25 ): tegminal plate fused to Y-shaped basal piece; tegminal apodeme 2.7 as longer as basal piece, with apex broad; parameral lobes notched; fenestral sector unmarked and without macrochaetae; linea arquata visible; prostegium protruding, medially bifid.

Measurements: male/female paratypes (range in mm): total length 1.44–1.64 /1.35–1.95; rostrum length 0.43– 0.58/0.54–0.78; maximum width 0.12/ 0.12; pronotum length 0.33–0.45/ 0.33–0.45 and maximum width 0.45– 0.60/0.44–0.62; elytra length 0.92–1.15/0.90–1.32 and maximum width 0.64–079/ 0.64–0.87.

Female. In general, females have the same external characteristics as the male. There are slight variations in relation to the length and width of the body; the rostrum is thinner, more slender, with a less squamous metarostrum; and ventrite 5 is more slender.

Female genitalia. Spiculum ventrale straight, very elongate, 2.0 longer than ovipositor, apical plate not discernible ( Fig. 27 ). Ovipositor ( Fig. 26 ): coxite length about 10 times width, with microchaetae; styli subcylindrical, length about 2.0 times width, with 4 macrochaetae. Spermatheca C-shaped ( Fig. 28 ), corrugated, with nodulus or ramus developed; cornu as wide as the corpus, with apical acute protuberance.

Type material. Holotype male dissected [red border printed label] ( DZUP), glued on paper triangle. Brasil, Dores do Indaiá-MG, I/2014, Oliveira, L. A. col., Croton antisyphiliticus . Paratype [black border printed label], same information as holotype: 2 males (1 dissected), 3 females (1 dissected and dismantled, head, thorax, legs, elytra, hind wings and abdominal ventrites glued on separate paper triangle) ( DZUP), 1 males, 2 females ( INPA), 2 males, 3 females ( MNRJ), 2 males, 3 females ( MZSP), 1 male, 1 female ( CMNC), glued on paper triangle, with genitalia stored in glycerol in a separate microvial .

Etymology. This species is named in honor of Dr. Geraldo Wilson Afonso Fernandes, or “Geraldinho” as he likes to be called, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Pampulha, a great ecologist who contributes knowledge about Neotropical insect galls and who provided us with specimens of this new species.

Biology. Coelocephalapion geraldinhoi larvae feed internally in the tissues and induce galls with numerous cavities or chambers, on the leaves of Croton antisyphiliticus Mart. (Euphorbiaceae) , a small herb regionally known as “canela-de-perdiz” or“pé-de-perdiz”. This plant is mostly found in the Brazilian Cerrado of Minas Gerais state in the central-western region of Brazil, in Paraguay and Argentina ( Fernandes et al. 2019, 2021).

Figures

FIGURES 15–19. Coelocephalapion geraldinhoi sp. nov.: holotype male, lateral (15) and dorsal view (16), paratype female, lateral (17) and dorsal view (18); hind wing (19).

FIGURES 20–28. Coelocephalapion geraldinhoi sp. nov.: male pygidium, dorsal (20) and lateral view (21); spiculum gastrale (22); penis dorsal view (23); tegmen, dorsal (24) and lateral view (25); ovipositor coxite and stylus (26); spiculum ventral (27) and spermatheca (28).