Uracanthus pallens Hope, 1841

Thongphak, Duangrat & Wang, Qiao, 2007, Taxonomic revision of the longicorn beetle genus Uracanthus Hope 1833 (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Cerambycinae: Uracanthini) from Australia., Zootaxa 1569 (1569), pp. 1-139 : 22-23

Uracanthus pallens Hope, 1841

(Figs 25, 63, 96)

Uracanthus pallens Hope, 1841a: 53 .— Hope, 1841b: 65, 1844: 198; Aurivillius, 1912:147;

Lea, 1916: 385; McKeown, 1947: 65; Duffy, 1963: 115.

Description

Male. Body length, 19.21–26.27 mm; width, 3.73–4.55 mm.

Colour (Fig. 25). Body, reddish brown with head, thorax, femora, and basal elytra darker. Head with dense golden pubescence, except median frontal groove and a glabrous area on vertex. Pronotum with 2 distinct longitudinal stripes of white pubescence on each side: 1 on disc and 1 near ventral side; the remaining pronotal disc with golden pubescence. Each elytron with a narrow, long, subtriangular glabrous mark, starting from shoulder and ending at almost ½ of elytra, margined with a distinct line of dense white pubescence; apical area glabrous, margined with a distinct line of dense white pubescence; remaining elytral disc with fairly dense golden pubescence. The glabrous marks on elytra may be reduced or expanded to some extent.

Head. Postclypeus triangular and convex, with dense coarse punctures; frontoclypeal suture deep and wide in middle; distance between lower lobes of eyes 1.69–1.88 × as long as distance between upper lobes of eyes; distance between upper lobes of eyes 1.07–1.28 × as long as distance between eyes on ventral side; genal length 0.31–0.48 × as long as head width immediately below eyes. Antennae usually slightly shorter than body; segments 4–10 flattened and produced on one side at apex; apical ¼ of segment 11 slightly thinner than basal ¾.

Thorax and abdomen. Pronotum 1.15–1.42 × as long as width, rounded at sides; posterior margin 1.09– 1.15 × as wide as anterior margin; disc binodulose in middle and rugose transversely anteriorly and and 1/3 posteriorly. Scutellum semicircular, with dense pubescence. Elytra 3.88–4.80 × as long as prothorax and 3.65– 4.19 × as long as shoulder width; each elytron with 3 feeble longitudinal carinae; base of elytra with coarse punctures, decreasing in size towards apex; apex narrowly emarginate and bispinose. Abdomen slender, ventral surface covered with dense pubescence; apex of terminal sternite truncate or slightly emarginate.

Male terminalia. Apex of ventral median lobe slightly emarginate and apex of dorsal lobe pointed; ventral lobe about as long as dorsal lobe; spined region of internal sac about 5.2–5.4 × as long as basal unspined region; spined region divided into 2 sections with an unspined gap between sections; first section longer than unspined gap with dense long simple spines; second section with sparse short simple spines ( Fig. 63a). Eighth sternite strongly obliquely truncate at side, shallowly emarginate at apex, with long and fairly long setae arising terminally; ventral surface with cloud-like processes ( Fig. 63b). Eighth tergite rounded at apex, with fairly dense simple spines on dorsal surface ( Fig. 63c). Paramere 1.5–1.67 × as long as wide, cylindrical in shape, apex rounded with long and short setae ( Fig. 63d).

Female. Body length, 15.47–26.63 mm; width, 2.65–4.85 mm.

Similar to male but differs in having antennae and legs shorter, abdomen more robust, elytra 3.96–4.09 × as long as shoulder width and 4.36–4.49 × as long as prothorax.

Ovipositor and spermatheca. Ovipositor short; styli arising terminally with short hairs ( Fig. 63e). Spermatheca heavily curved; spermathecal gland arising near base ( Fig. 63 f).

Distribution

Northern Queensland, northeastern and eastern New South Wales, northern Australian Capital Territory, central Victoria and eastern & southern Tasmania ( Fig. 96).

Biology

Known host is Callitris hugelii . Larvae attack and kill regenerations of the host plant. Attack appears to be intiated near the tip of the stem, and then the larva works down below the bark in a single longitudinal channel. At about half way down the stem from the ground level, it girdles the stem. Tops of plants break off readily at this point, and sometime fall to the ground. The larva continues to feed in the dead tops. Adults were collected in October and March to April, and attracted to MV light trap.

Comments

This species closely resembles U. triangularis but differs in having the elytral apex relatively narrowly emarginate; the glabrous marks on the elytra narrower and longer, and the pronotal disc less strongly rugose transversely.

Material examined

Holotype. ♂. Van Diemen’s Land (= TAS): no data; type coll. 1768; bearing a white label with Hope’s hand writing of the species name, and a red label with hand written sericus olim Van Diemans Land ( HMO).

Other material examined. 10 ♂, 7 ♀. QLD: 1 ♂, Archer River X-ring (13°25’S, 142°56’E), 11.iv.1989, MV lamp, G. A. Daniels ( UQIC) . NSW: 1 ♀, Crowdy Bay National Park , 15.x.1990, S. G. Watkins Collection ( ANIC) ; 1 ♂, 3 miles S of Cresent Head , 27.iii.1965, I. F. B. Common & M. S. Upton ( ANIC) ; 1 ♂, Helensburgh , x.1962, H. E. Osborne ( ANIC) . 1 ♀, Sydney , Ftio, W. Ferguson Coll. ( ANIC) ; 2 ♀, Mt Kaputar , 3000ft, 30.x.1967, at light, C. W. Frazier ( ANIC) ; 1 ♀, Engadine , 10.i.1970, R. H. Mulder Collection ( AM) ; 1 ♀, same data as above but 12.i.1960 ( AM) ; 1?, Wahroonga , no abdomen, H. J. Carter ( ANIC) ; 1 ♂, Vaucluse , 9.ii.1920, Coll. no. K44380 ( AM) . ACT: 1 ♂, Black Mt. , Canberra, 22.i.1952, L. J. Chinnick ( ANIC) . VIC: 1 ♂, Delleys Dell , Grampians, 6.ii.1956, N. B. Tindale ( SAM) . TAS: 2 ♂, 1 ♀, Freycinet National Park , 28.i.1963, I. F. B. Common & M. S. Upton ( ANIC) ; 1 ♂, Melaleuca (43º25'S, 146º09'E), 19.ii.1990, E. S. Nielson & P. C. McQuillan ( ANIC) . Locality unknown : 1 ♂, no data, E. F. du Boulay Collection ( WAM) .