Cassida spatiosiformis Borowiec & Świętojańska, 2001

Borowiec, Lech & Świętojańska, Jolanta, 2022, A monograph of the Afrotropical Cassidinae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Part 6. Revision of the tribe Cassidini 3, the genus Cassida L., Zootaxa 5171 (1), pp. 1-250 : 150-151

Cassida spatiosiformis Borowiec & Świętojańska, 2001

( figs. 34 )

Cassida spatiosiformis Borowiec & Świętojańska, 2001: 163 .

Cassida spatiosa: Kleinjan & Scott, 1996: 103 ; Heron & Borowiec, 1997: 635 (misidentification).

Description. L: 5.20 mm, W: 3.80 mm, Lp: 1.80 mm, Wp: 3.10 mm, L/W: 1.37. Body short–oval, sides regularly rounded ( fig. 62 ).

Uniformly yellow–green, including ventrites, legs and antennae.

Pronotum elliptical, with maximum width in the middle, sides subangulate. Disc indistinctly bordered from explanate margin, area above head slightly impressed. Surface of disc finely, very sparse punctate, punctures much finer than those of elytral disc. Distance between punctures mostly two to three times wider than puncture diameter. Surface of disc regular. Explanate margin very shallowly punctate, appears impunctate, surface regular.

Base of elytra slightly wider than base of pronotum, humeral angles moderately protruding anterad, angulate. Disc moderately, regularly convex in profile, without impressions or elevations. Punctation coarse and moderately dense, distance between punctures mostly slightly narrower than half puncture diameter, but surface appears regular. Explanate margin moderately declivous, almost with punctation similar to those of disc, surface appears regular.

Eyes large, gena short, distance between under margin of eye and lateral angle of labrum shorter than half eye length. Clypeus broad, approximately 1.3 times as wide as long, clypeal grooves distinct, converging in triangle, clypeal plate flat, shiny, with few small, setose punctures. Labrum shallowly emarginate. Antennae stout, segments 9–10 as long as wide. Length ratio of antennal segments: 100:62:59:56:59:72:75:59:66:68:112. Segment 3 slightly approximately as long as 2 and 4.

Prosternum very narrow in the middle, moderately expanded apically, area between coxa flat, without special sculpture, with few small, setose punctures, expanded apex slightly convex, on sides and along posterior margin with small, setose punctures.

Claws simple.

Host plant. Asteraceae : Chrysanthemoides monilifera subcanescens (DC) Norlindh ( Kleinjan & Scott 1996, Heron & Borowiec 1997 —as Cassida spatiosa , misidentification; Borowiec & Świętojańska 2001).

Distribution. South Africa: Eastern and Western Cape Provinces ( fig. 34 ).

Remarks. A member of the Cassida litigiosa species–group. At first glance it is similar to C. chrysanthemoides and C. spatiosa . The last species distinctly differs in the presence of two narrow impunctate intervals (in position of third and anterior half of fifth interval in regularly punctate species), and finer punctation of the elytral disc and finer but denser punctation of the pronotal disc. Cassida chrysanthemoides is the most similar but differs in finer but denser punctation of the pronotum and elytra, and has the base of the elytra much wider than the base of the pronotum.

Type examined. Holotype: [ SOUTH AFRICA]: S. Africa, Cape, Calitzdorp 33.32 S 18.31 E, 26 Feb. 1990, Scott + Kleinjan ( NIC).

Other specimens examined. SOUTH AFRICA: Eastern Cape Prov., Coega , 33°45’S, 25°39’E, 1 ( ARC) ; Western Cape Prov., Kandelaarsrivier , 33°42’S, 22°06’E, 1 ( ARC) ; Western Cape Prov., Prince Albert , 33°14’S, 22°02’E, 1 ( ARC) .

Figures

FIGURE 34. Distribution of Cassida penelope (black square), Cassida spatiosa (black circles) and Cassida spatiosiformis (black diamonds). FIGURE 35. Distribution of Cassida sphaerula (black circles) and Cassida oxylepiformia (black diamond).

FIGURES 57–62. Cassida tosta. 57–58, 60–62. Dorsal; 59. Lateral.