Alfius pictipennis (Lea, 1929), 2006

Reid, Chris A. M., 2006, A taxonomic revision of the Australian Chrysomelinae, with a key to the genera (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), Zootaxa 1292 (1), pp. 1-119 : 1-119

Alfius pictipennis (Lea, 1929) , comb.

( Figs. 1–14 , 28 )

Oomela pictipennis Lea 1929: 235

Material examined

Holotype: ♂ / pictipennis Lea type Kuranda/ Oomela pictipennis Lea Queensland type I.17119/ Paropsimorpha pictipennis Daccordi / ( SAM). The holotype is damaged; it has been dissected and remounted by a previous borrower (basal half of penis missing), with some parts mounted in euparal.

Other material: 2/ Cairns dist. , F. P. Dodd ( SAM) ; 2/ Hugh Nelson Range , 21km S Atherton, intercept trap, 9.i–10.ii.1984, Storey & Brown ( QDPM) ; 2, ditto, except 10.ii–13.iii.1984 ( QDPM) ; 1/ Kuranda , 1.ii.1904, F. P. Dodd ( SAM) ; 1/ Longlands Gap , 17.28S 145.29E, FIT, 1150m, 30.xi.1995 – 3.i.1996, L. Umback ( ANIC) ; 1/ 22km WSW Mareeba , malaise trap, 7.i–12.ii.1985, Storey & Titmarsh ( QDPM) ; 1/ Mt Fisher , 17.33S 145.32E, 1150m, FIT, 8.iii–6.iv.1995, P. Zborowski ( ANIC) ; 1/ Topaz, Westcott Road , 17.24S 145.41E, rf intercept, 680m, 6.xii.1993 – 25.ii.1994, Monteith, Cook, Janetski ( QMB) ; 1/ Windsor Tableland via Mt Carbine , intercept trap, 12.xi–26.xii.1983, Storey & Walford­Huggins ( QDPM) ; 1/ Windsor Tableland , 38km from mainroad, intercept trap, 15.i–5.iii.1986, Storey & Brown ( QDPM) ; 1/ Wongabel SF, 6km S Atherton , intercept trap, 9.i–10.ii.1984, Storey & Brown ( QDPM) ; 1/ 16km NE Yungaburra, Gillies Highway , flight intercept, rainforest, 800m, 24.vi–3.viii.1982, S. & J. Peck ( ANIC) .

Description

Adult male. Length: 3.7–4.5mm. Colour ( Figs. 1–2 , 28 ): dorsum variegated in shades of brown and pale straw yellow, often with slight metallic reflections; head darker at base than apex, appendages yellow except antennomeres 3–5 mostly brown, 6–11 blackishbrown with slight bluish reflection; pronotum brown, paler laterally and anteriorly; scutellum yellow; elytra pale yellow (reddish­yellow and less clearly marked in old specimens) with irregular brown to blackish­brown markings: along middle of base, at margins below humeri, from basal third of suture sinuously towards apex of outer margin, along apical third of suture; these markings sometimes fused or apical sutural marking reduced to spots; venter and legs yellowish­brown, lateral thoracic sclerites sometimes darkened. Pubescence: dorsum glabrous except setae at antero­lateral corners of labrum and clypeus, small trichobothrial setae at pronotal corners; venter with scattered setae on prosternal process, metaventrite and abdomen. Microsculpture: dorsum and venter shining, without microsculpture.

Head ( Figs. 3–4 ): clypeus distinctly punctured, at least along frontoclypeal suture; frons and vertex impunctate except at base of head capsule; eyes separated by about 3x eye lengths; all antennomeres elongate, 2 equals 6 shortest, 11 longest, 3–6 narrower than 2 (6 narrowest).

Thorax ( Figs. 1–2 , 5–7 ): surface of pronotum with sparse large punctures, denser at middle and 2–7 larger elongate punctures on either side of basal edge; prosternal process elongate, ridges convergent anteriorly at anterior prosternal margin; elytral striae evanescent in apical third and at base, except first and deeply grooved base of 5th, interstrial punctures minute or absent; humeri pronounced, with slight posthumeral depression on 9th stria; hind tarsomere 5 longer than 1.

Abdomen ( Figs. 8 , 10 ): apical margin last ventrite slightly convex, shallowly depressed at middle.

Male genitalia ( Fig. 10 ): penis dorsally longitudinally grooved, basal foramen more than half length of penis; everted endophallus with two apical hooks and without flagellum.

Adult female ( Figs. 9 , 11–14 ) as male except: length 4.3–5.3mm; first tarsomere more elongate, without ovate patch of spatulate setae, apex last ventrite more strongly convex, not depressed ( Fig. 14 ); tergite VIII with concave apex; vaginal palpi flat; spermatheca with heavily sclerotised U­shaped base and densely convoluted duct.

Distribution

Alfius pictipennis occurs from the southern end of the Atherton Tableland to the Windsor Tableland, in northern Queensland.

Biology

Host­plants are unknown but the species is associated with rainforest. All detailed localities are elevated, at 680–1150m. The adults have been collected most of the year (November to March and a singleton collected within the period June to August) but are rare. All recent material examined for this study was collected in flight intercept traps.

Notes

Specimens from Windsor Tableland have slightly more sparsely and weakly punctured pronota and more extensive dark areas on the elytra and venter, but are not distinguishable on genitalic characters.

Figures

FIGURES 1–3. Male Alfius pictipennis (Lea): 1, dorsal; 2, lateral; 3, anterior.

FIGURES 4–9. Alfius pictipennis (Lea): 4, antenna; 5, thoracic venter; 6, front tarsus; 7, claw; 8, male ventrite V; 9, female ventrite V.

FIGURES 10–14. Alfius pictipennis (Lea): 10, male aedeagus, in dorsal and lateral views, including different stages of endophallic eversion; 11, female tergite VIII; 12, female sternite VIII; 13, ovipositor; 14, spermatheca.

FIGURES 27–32. Habitus photographs of Australian Chrysomelinae, dorsal: 27, Aesernoides nigrofasciata (Jacoby); 28, Alfius pictipennis (Lea); 29, Ateratocerus intricatus Blackburn; 30, Callidemum hypochalceum (Germar); 31, Calligrapha pantherina Stål; 32, Calomela parilis Lea. Line = 1mm.