Agrilus vescivittatus Hespenheide and Westcott

Hespenheide, Henry A., Westcott, Richard L. & Bellamy, Charles L., 2011, Agrilus Curtis (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) of the Baja California peninsula, México, Zootaxa 2805, pp. 36-56 : 42

Agrilus vescivittatus Hespenheide and Westcott , New Species

(Figs. 11–13)

Description. Holotype male: moderately robust, proportionately broad and somewhat flattened, in cross-section flattened above, convex below, 4.45 mm long, 1.30 mm wide; reddish coppery throughout, brighter on pronotum and beneath, except greenish-golden on front; setae short, recumbent, and inconspicuous throughout, somewhat denser in vague sutural stripes on elytra and interior to prehumeral carinae and along margin of pronotum, and on abdomen; denser and recumbent on upper 2/3 of posterior coxae, upper posterior angles of metasternum, and dorsal portions of abdominal ventrite 1 and posterior 1/2 of ventrites 2–4; denser, setae hair-like and semierect along ventral midline from prosternal lobe to abdominal ventrite 3.

Head with front slightly convex with vague shallow depression along midline and narrow transverse depression above antennal insertions, surface weakly rugose and strongly shagreened; epistoma very shallowly concave between antennal insertions, width 1/4 of distance between inner margins of eyes, emarginate below, eyes oval; antennae compact, serrate from antennomere 5, antennomeres 5–6 rounded-triangular, antennomeres 7–11 broadly rounded-truncate.

Pronotum subequal to elytra in width at posterior margin, with sides shallowly expanded outward nearly to apex where they are broader than elytra at humeri, then narrowing slightly; marginal and submarginal carinae somewhat widely separated at apices then converging and joining at base when viewed from side; from above anterior margin slightly produced as rounded-angulate lobe; basal margin undulate, angulate-emarginate at middle of each elytron, slightly emarginate before scutellum; disk broadly, shallowly convex, with indistinct medial depression on posterior 1/2 before middle and stronger depressions along lateral margins; prehumeral carinae strong, 1/3 length of pronotum, from just interior to posterior angles and diverging slightly from lateral margins; surface finely concentrically rugose and weakly shagreened. Scutellum narrowly pentagonal, acuminate behind, with fine transverse ridge.

Elytra with lateral margins nearly parallel to posterior 2/3 then narrowing to apices, apices narrowly, separately rounded, minutely toothed; disk shallowly convex in cross section, each elytron with strong oval depression at base, costate with narrow, shallow sutural depressions on posterior 6/7; surface imbricate.

Prosternum with sides of prosternal process parallel between coxae; prosternal lobe transverse. Metacoxae with posterior margin biemarginate, upper exterior angles broadly acute. Abdomen with strong suture between ventrites 1 and 2, regularly convex, ventrite 1 somewhat flattened along midline, dorsal portions of ventrites 1–5 narrow, that of ventrite 1 somewhat broader, ventrites 1 and 2 visible from above. Metatarsomere 1 equal in length to next two combined, tarsal claws similar on all legs, cleft with slightly shorter inner tooth. Genitalia as in Figure 12.

Type material. Holotype: México: Baja California Sur, 6.5 mi S, 1 mi E El Pescadero, 20/ 21-VII-1977, Dozier & Westcott, Beating mesquite, Prosopis glandulosa var. torreyana ( CAS).

Etymology. The name refers to the narrow elytral vittae, “vescus” for “weak” or “thin.”

Discussion. This species is not very similar to any other in Baja California. Agrilus felix Horn , A. illectus Fall , A. jacobinus Horn and A. hualpaii Knull also have weak sutural vittae of setae, but are larger and much more robust in cross section.

In the following faunal treatment of previously described species, species listed in boldface font represent new records for Baja California, and for Mexico unless otherwise indicated. Only the new records bear collector names, when known. Some distribution records lack or have incomplete dates of capture, lack the collection in which the specimens are deposited and omit the collectors; however, they were determined or verified by RLW. Most of the other specimens were either determined or verified by one of us, or by another specialist of Buprestidae . Additional collection data, especially geographical coordinates, were added using maps or the online “Global Gazateer Version 2.2<http://www.fallingrain.com/world/ MX /> (last accessed August, 2010). Host information outside of Baja California is provided from Nelson et al. (2008), unless otherwise indicated, and is not complete for adult hosts. General distributional data outside of Baja California mostly is from Bellamy (2008). A key follows the species accounts. Species are listed alphabetically but are illustrated by the indicated figure numbers in the sequence in which they fall out of the key.