Laricobius baoxingensis Zilahi-Balogh & Jelínek, 2007

Leschen, Richard A. B., 2011, World review of Laricobius (Coleoptera: Derodontidae), Zootaxa 2908, pp. 1-44 : 5-6

1. Laricobius baoxingensis Zilahi-Balogh & Jelínek, 2007

(figs 1, 34)

Diagnosis. Body bicolored. Head dark; ocelli present. Prothorax transverse with well developed lateral carina and sides explanate. Pronotum dark; posterior tooth present. Scutellum dark. Surface of elytra incurvate; elytral punctures not confluent. Epipleura at base dark. Ventrites mostly dark. Femora dark. Tibiae light. Aedeagus without median carina on phallobase; medium lobe acute; apices of parameres without an internal ridge.

Description. Length 1.25–1.50 mm (x = 1.34, n = 5). Body bicolored, with head dark brown to black; pronotum, hypomeron, elytra caramel brown to dark tan, scutellum black, epipleuron at base dark brown to black, prosternum darker than hypomeron, ventrites dark brown, lighter brown on the tip of the abdominal ventrites; antenna tan with AI darker, palpi tan, femora dark brown with apices lighter, tibiae and tarsi light brown to tan. Head with ocelli; u-shaped furrow present; interocular distance about 4x the width of the eye; macropunctures irregular to ovate, present in central area of frons; micropunctures coarse; setae erect, moderately elongate with an average length as long as 2/3 the width of the eye. Antenna with length of A3 about equal to A4, ratios 1.7:1.4:1.2:1.3:1.4:1.1:1.2:1.0:1.4:1.4:1.7; A11 strongly asymmetrical. Prothorax transverse, dorsoventrally flattened, and widest at middle, sides parallel and straight in apical half and strongly converging posteriorly, and not constricted apically; about 0.80 x as long as wide (pronotal length/greatest pronotal width = 0.75–0.88, x = 0.80); depth = 0.17–0.36 mm (x = 0.27); pronotum laterally broadly explanate, lateral carina with a distinct sharp edge; anterior angle right and subrounded, not forming a tooth; posterior angle indistinct and broadly rounded and with a short tooth; foveae visible in dorsal view; macropunctures on disc of variable in size, narrowly to well separated or contiguous, micropunctures coarse; setae decumbent to erect, long and greater than width of eye. Elytra about 3.30 x as long as wide (elytral length/greatest elytral width = 3.13–3.57, x = 3.30) and 3.17 x as long as pronotum (elytral length/pronotal length = 2.59–3.29, x = 3.17); surface incurvate at basal third; macropunctures not coalescing to form grooves (apart from those of striae 1 along the suture at apical third), separated by ½ to 1 puncture diameter; micropunctures fine; microsculpture not visible; setae suberect and about as long as length of the eye. Aedeagus with phallobase transverse, about 1/3 the length of the median lobe, median carina absent; median lobe projecting slightly beyond apices of parameres, relatively narrow with its greatest width subequal to width of paramere, apex acute, median groove or carina absent, ostium subapical; parameres slender and acute, short setae present on apices, internal subapical ridge absent.

Comments. Laricobius baoxingensis is the only species of the genus with a subparallel-sided explanate margin (fig 1). The pronotal shape is somewhat similar to L. taiwanensis , but can easily be distinguished from it by the coloration of the head and elytra and presence of ocelli.

The holotype in IZAS was not examined. The dissected male for this study was not part of the type series and the illustrations published in Háva (2009a, Fig. 3 ; 2009c, Fig. 4 ) of the genitalia do not match the specimens here. The pinned specimens of the type series were covered with a residue making some of the cuticular and setal characters difficult to observe. The spiculum gastrale was not observed.

Hosts. Plant: Tsuga chinensis (Franch) Pritzel ex Diels Adelgid : Adelges tsugae . (Annand)

Biology. Habitat ( Zilahi-Balogh & Jelínek, 2007).

Distribution. China: Sichuan.

Type material examined. PARATYPES: 4, NiBa Gorge Forestry Station, near Qiagi village, Baoxing, Sichuan, China 5–8 IV 2002 coll. G.Zilahi-Balogh/T. McAvoy/ Host: Adelges , Tsuga chinensis Lat. 30°41‘44“ N; 102° 41‘44“ E Elev. 8899 ft./ 2 (hw in pencil)/ Laricobius sp. n. Jelínek & Zilahi-Balogh / Laricobius baoxingensis PT (hw on red label) (1, HNHM, 1, NMPC, 2, NMNH; note that the sequence of label data is different from Zilahi- Balogh & Jelínek 2007).

Additional material examined. 1, NiBa Gorge Forestry Station near Qiagi Village, Baoxing, Sichuan, China, 5–8 IV 2002, coll. G. Zilahi-Balogh/T. McAvoy, Laricobius sp. n. baoxingensis Jelínek & Zilahi-Balogh , 1 ( VTRC); 1, IV 2005, Niba Gou, W Liu ( VTRC); CHINA: Sichuan, Nibagou Jiaoqi Baoxing, 6 May 2007, Zhang G K from hemlock ( IZAS).

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 4. Dorsal habitus. 1, Laricobius baoxingensis; 2, L. bicolor; 3, L. caucasicus; 4, L. daliensis.