Brontispa veitchiae Gressitt, 1960

Borowiec, Lech, Świętojańska, Jolanta & Sekerka, Lukáš, 2019, Revision of the tribe Cryptonychini (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae) of New Caledonia, Zootaxa 4690 (1), pp. 1-71 : 11-13

Brontispa veitchiae Gressitt, 1960

(Figs 16–24, 218)

Brontispa veitchiae Gressitt, 1960b: 105 (original description); Uhmann 1964: 454 (catalogue).

Type locality. New Caledonia, Forêt de la Thy .

Description. Length 5.10–6.80 mm, width 1.35–1.60 mm.

Head and pronotum orange yellow to ochraceous; elytra orange yellow to ochraceous, each elytron with brown stripe of diffused borders between rows 3 to 5 sometimes vanishing gradually from base to apex (Figs 16, 17). Antennae, thorax, abdomen and legs uniformly orange yellow to ochraceous. Body glabrous except for yellowish hairs on frontoclypeus, short golden brown pubescence on distal antennomeres and golden orange pubescence on tarsal pads and apices of tibiae. Head approximately as long as broad, interocular plate rectangular, slightly convex, well separated from vertex by moderately deep sulcus (Fig. 21). Surface of interocular plate coarsely and densely punctate and with narrow median sulcus only in anterior half, also anterior corners margined by shallow sulci; interantennal process in males only slightly longer than half length of antennomere I, in females ½ as long as antennomere I, stout, flattened laterally thus acute apically, without dorsal sulcus. Frontoclypeus 1.9 × as long as broad (including interantennal process), subacute apically, in basal half finely punctate with moderately dense erect hair, apically with two large and deep foveae below antennal insertions (Fig. 19). Antennae as long as ⅓ of body, slightly compressed and widened apically; antennomere I large, 1.7–1.8 × as long as broad; antennomere II elongate, 0.8 × as long as I; antennomeres III and VI slightly shorter than IV and VII and slightly longer than II; antennomere V as long as II, antennomeres VIII–X slightly shorter than II; antennomere XI 1.4 × as long as X, subangulate apically ( Fig. 18 ). Pronotum 1.2 × as long as broad, subparallel-sided, moderately constricted near middle, with well-marked anterolateral obtuse projections; anterior margin strongly convex, basal margin almost straight; basal angle slightly constricted and bearing minute acute tooth (Fig. 20); disc somewhat uneven, shiny, somewhat raised near anterior margin, with large and irregularly spaced punctures, which are absent along middle and obliquely to anterior explanations; on sides punctures dense, interspaces narrower than puncture diameter and with sparse minute punctures. Scutellum subcordiform, widest at middle, rounded-obtuse apically. Elytra approximately 3 × as long as broad, subparallel-sided anteriorly and distinctly broadened from base to middle and widest somewhat behind middle. Apex with straight sutural angle and broadly rounded lateral angle. Disc with 5–8 punctures in scutellar row, eight rows in humeral part, ten rows behind middle and 9–10 rows apically; intervals 2–5 linear, interval 7 carinate posteriorly, 8 elevated in entire length, intervals 1, 3, 5, 6, 7 carinate apically. Ventral surface shiny and minutely punctate, only lateral sides of thorax with row of coarse punctures; abdominal ventrites with some depressions on sides and with several coarse punctures; ventrite V large and pubescent near apex, deeply emarginate apically in males and weakly in females. Legs stout, not sexually dimorphic, fore tibiae emarginate at apex and outer and inner margins.

Sexual dimorphism distinct but weakly manifested, males with longer and denser hair in basal part of clypeus, and deeply emarginate apex of ventrite V (weakly in females).

Immature stages. Larva was described by Gressitt (1960b: 106).

Host plant. Arecaceae : Veitchia sp. ( Gressitt 1960b).

Type material examined. Holotype: ♂, ‘ NEW CALEDONIA | Foret de Thy | 550m, III-1 -’60 [w, p, cb] || J. L. Gressitt | Collector [w, p, cb] || ♂ [w, p, cb] || Veitchia [w, hw, cb] || D141 [yellow, hw, s] || HOLOTYPE | BRONTISPA [hw] | VEITCHIAE [hw] | J.L. Gressitt [r, p, cb] || BRONTISPA [hw] | VEITCHIAE [hw] | GR. [hw] | J.L. Gressitt det.[p]60[hw] [w, p, cb]’ ( BPBM); Paratypes: 1 ♂, ‘ NEW CALEDONIA | Foret de Thy | 550m, III- 1 -’60 [w, p, cb] || J. L. Gressitt | Collector [w, p, cb] || D125 [yellow, hw, s] || ALLOTYPE | BRONTISPA [hw] | VEITCHIAE [hw] | J.L. Gressitt [r, p, cb]’ ( BPBM); 1 ♂, 1 ♀, ‘ NEW CALEDONIA | Col. D’Amieu | 750m, III- 3 - ’60 [w, p, cb] || J. L. Gressitt | Collector [w, p, cb] || Paratype | BRONTISPA [hw] | VEITCHIAE [hw] | Paratytpe | J. L. GRESSITT [hw] [orange, p, cb] || BRONTISPA [hw] | VEITCHIAE [hw] | GR. [hw] | J.L. Gressitt det.[p]60[hw] [w, p, cb]’ ( BPBM); 1 spec. (damaged, only right elytron preserved), same data as the two previous paratypes ( BPBM).

Additional material examined. NEW CALEDONIA: Aoupiné , près de scierie, 22.iii.1994, 8 spec., M. Schöller leg. ( MS) ; Aoupiné , 21°09′S, 165°19′E, 500 m, 17.xii.2004, 1 spec., G. Monteith leg. ( QMBA) ; Col des Roussettes , 550 m, 4.–6.ii.1963, 2 ♀♀, 200 m, 5.–6.ii.1963, 2 ♀♀, C. M. Yoshimoto leg. ( BPBM) ; Mt. Koghi , 500–800 m, 23.–27.x.1967, 2 ♂♂, J. & M. Sedlacek leg. ( BPBM) ; Mt. Paniè , 11.x.1967, 500– 1000 m, 1 ♂, 2 ♀♀, 800 m, 1 spec. (in folded palm leaf), J. Sedlacek leg. ( BPBM) ; Noumea , 5–50 m, 1.iii.1960, 1 larva, J. L. Gressitt leg. ( BPBM) ; Pic du Grand Kaori, 22°17′S, 166°53′E, 250 m, 22.xi.2004, 1 spec., Queensland Museum expedition leg. ( QMBA) ; S of Dogny , 29.iii.1968, 1 spec. (damaged, right elytron and only thoracic sterna preserved), J. L. Gressitt leg. ( BPBM) .

Remarks. The larva from Noumea is labelled as paratype, however, it was not mentioned in the original description therefore it is not a part of the type series.

Figures

FIGURES 182–185. Teretrispa orchidaceae Gressitt, 1960, holotype. 182. Body dorsal, 183.Antenna, head and pronotum, 184. Frontoclypeus and prosternum, 185. Holotype labels. Photos provided by MNHN