Stenispa Baly, 1858

Sekerka, Lukáš, 2014, Review of Imatidiini genera (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 54 (1), pp. 257-314 : 289

Stenispa Baly, 1858

( Fig. 23 )

Stenispa Baly, 1858: 13 . Type species: Hispa metallica Fabricius, 1801 by original designation.

Diagnosis. Stenispa species can be easily recognized by the narrow, parallel-sided, and cuneiform body, with serrate lateroapical margins of the elytra. Some Cephaloleia species , particularly those associated with various Poaceae , have more or less similar body-forms but differ in having smooth lateroapical margins of the elytra and the pygidium visible from above. Lechispa gen. nov. differs in the much more elongate body, smooth lateroapical margins of the elytra, and the pygidium visible from above and possessing a prominent transverse carina.

Species transferred to Stenispa . Stenispa minasensis (Pic, 1931) comb. nov. and S. viridis (Pic, 1931) , both from Cephaloleia .

Remarks. Cephaloleia minasensis Pic, 1931 and C. viridis Pic, 1931 are transferred to Stenispa because of the cuneiform body and the serrate lateroapical margins of the elytra. On the other hand, Stenispa parallela Pic, 1930 and S. rosarina Maulik, 1933 are transferred to Lechispa gen. nov. because they have smooth lateroapical margins of the elytra, the body-form being strongly elongate and parallel-sided, and the pronotum widening anteriorly.

Number of species. 21 ( UHMANN 1957a, present paper).

Key to species. MONRÓS & VIANA (1947) covered three Argentinean species, STAINES (2006b) covered two USA species.

Biology. The genus was reported from two plant families Cyperaceae (i.e. MONRÓS & VIANA 1947) and Poaceae (i.e. FORD & CAVEY 1985). We have repeatedly collected other species on these two plant families (Windsor & Sekerka, unpubl. data).

Distribution. United States to northern Argentina.

Figures

Figs 12–24. Dorsal habitus. 18 – Katkispa insignis (Pic, 1934), syntype, Venezuela: Colonia Tovar; 13 – Weiseispa angusticollis (Weise, 1893), Ecuador: Río Palenque; 14 – Demotispa pulchella Baly, 1858, lectotype, Peru; 15 – Demotispa rubiginosa (Boheman, 1862), Panama: Chiriquí; 16 – Parimatidium rubrum (Boheman, 1850), French Guyana:St. Laurent du Maroni;17 – Pseudostilpnaspis lata (Baly, 1885), Panama:Santa Clara; 18 – Pseudimatidium elaeicola Aslam, 1966, Colombia: Calima area; 19 – Windsorispa latifrons (Weise, 1910), Colombia: SantoAntonio; 20 – Cephaloleia Àavipennis Baly, 1869, Ecuador: Río Hollín; 21 – Melanispa sp., Guadeloupe; 22 – Parentispa formosa (Staines, 1996), Panama: La Fortuna; 23 – Stenispa attenuata Baly, 1875, Panama: Gamboa; 24 – Lechispa parallela (Pic, 1930), syntype, Argentina: Rosas. All scale bars = 2.5 mm.