Alurnus Fabricius 1775

Staines, C. L., 2013, A review of the genus Alurnus Fabricius, 1775 (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae), Insecta Mundi 2013 (291), pp. 1-34 : 2

Alurnus Fabricius 1775

Alurnus Fabricius 1775: 94 . Type species: Alurnus grossus Fabricius , by monotypy. Fabricius 1787: 66 (noted), 1792: 51 (noted), 1801b: 25 (noted); Linnaeus 1788: 1666 (noted); Latreille 1802: 231 (description), 1807: 49 (noted) 1829: 142 (description), 1836: 127 (description); Illiger 1804: 130 (redescription); Voet 1806: 38 (illustration); Schönherr 1808: 342 (species list); Dejean 1821: 115 (catalog), 1837: 387 (catalog); Duméril 1823: 196 (noted); Voigt 1839: 323 (noted); d’Orbigny 1841: 314 (redescription); Guérin-Méneville 1844: 266 (noted), 1855: 602 (faunal list); Blanchard 1845: 181 (noted), 1849: 508 (noted); Lacordaire 1845: XLII (larva); Chevrolat 1849: 359 (noted); Baly 1858: 24 (redescription), 1885: 5 (noted); Chenu and Desmarest 1870: 341 (noted); Crotch 1870: 45 (noted); Girard 1873: 784 (noted); Chapuis 1875: 293 (redescription); Gemminger and Harold 1876: 3605 (catalog); Chenu 1884: 335 (noted); Weise 1893: 1059 (noted), 1910: 102 (noted), 1911a: 12 (catalog), 1911b: 18 (catalog); Donckier 1899: 557 (catalog); Jacobson 1899: 247 (revision), 1899(1900): x (nomenclature); Berg 1900: 252 (noted); Gahan 1900: 438 (noted); Gestro 1901a: 435 (noted), 1903: 157 (noted); Heyne and Taschenberg 1908: 252 (noted); Bruch 1915: 375 (faunal list); Bondar 1925: 208 (noted), 1940: 44 (noted); Fischer 1935: 264 (revision); Bryant 1942: 205 (faunal list); Blackwelder 1946: 721 (faunal list), 1947: 55 (nomenclature); Guérin 1953: 99 (faunal list); Papp 1953: 30 (catalog); Lima 1955: 203 (faunal list); Uhmann 1957a: 35 (catalog), 1964: 406 (catalog); Wilcox 1975: 138 (catalog); Jolivet 1989: 298 (noted), 1997: 12, 82 (noted); Mariau 1994: 254 (noted); Suzuki 1994: 340 (hind wing venation); Jolivet and Hawkeswood 1995: 144 (host plants); Staines 1996 ( 1997): 7 (Nicaraguan species), 1997: 412 (Uhmann species list), 2002b: 744 (key, genera), 2004: 309 (host plants); Farrell 1998: 557 (phylogeny); Staines and Staines 1999: 522 (Baly species list); Farrell and Sequeira 2004: 180 (evolution); Chaboo 2007: 21 (noted); Flowers and Chaboo 2009: 6 (noted).

Poecilalurnus Jacobson 1899: 247. Type species: Hispa bipunctatus Olivier , by monotypy. Weise 1910: 103 (synonymy), 1911a: 12 (catalog), 1911b: 18 (catalog); Fischer 1935: 264 (revision).

Generic Description. Large (16-38 mm); convex; oblong-elongate. Head: frons slightly concave; often with sulcus(i) or carina; setose or not. Antenna: slender, filiform, with 11-antennomeres, extending to at least humerus; antennomere 1 short, thick; 2 no more than subequal in length to 1; 3 at least as long as 4 to 5 combined; 6 to 10 decreasing in length, thinner than preceding, 11 usually longer than 10, rounded or pointed at apex. Pronotum: highly convex, more so anteriorly; wider than long, widest at base; glabrous or finely pubescent; lateral margin sinuate, bisinuate, or angulate, margined or not; basal margin bisinuate. Scutellum: cordate or cuniform. Elytron: oblong-oval, convex; lateral and apical margins smooth, margined or slightly laminate; apices individually rounded; some species with distinct costae, others with faint costae, others without costae; sparsely pubescent. Venter: usually punctate and pubescent.

Taxonomic placement. Alurnus belongs in the tribe Alurnini Chapuis, 1875 ( Staines 2002b) . This tribe consists of six genera distinguished by their large size (14-39 mm), the pronotum having a tuft of setae in each angle, and the elytral punctation not forming rows.

Alurnus can be distinguished from the other genera of Alurnini by the following combination of characters: the pronotum is much narrower than the base of the elytra; the antennae are filiform, with antennomere 3 longer than 4 and 5 combined; the epipleuron of the elytra is setose posteriorly; and the labrum is impressed anteriorly.

Biology. The only work on the biology of this genus is with Alurnus humeralis Rosenberg from Ecuador (Morieno and Vásquez 1963, Santos 1968a, b). Oviposition occurs on tender shoots. The host plant is damaged by both adults and larvae. Larvae feed on tender growth of the palm heart, which is partly to totally skeletonized. Adults, feeding on younger unfurled leaves, remove long strips of leaf tissue parallel to the leaf veins. There are 2 to 3 generations each year. Damaged plants may be attacked by secondary pests.