Melobasis gloriosa subsp. gloriosa, gloriosa (Laporte & Gory)

Levey, Brian, 2012, 3464, Zootaxa 3464, pp. 1-107 : 71-73

M. gloriosa gloriosa (Laporte & Gory)

( Figs. 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 193)

Buprestis (Melobasis) gloriosa (Laporte & Gory) 1837:123 , pl. 31 fig.170; Saunders 1868:14; Gemminger & Harold 1869:1383; Saunders 1871:44; Masters 1886:73; Kerremans 1892:104; 1903:158; Carter 1923:80, 81; 1929:285; Obenberger 1930:431; Bellamy 2002:152; 2008:1322.

Type locality: Australia (Nouvelle Hollande)

Melobasis pulchra Blackburn 1891:294 ; Kerremans 1903:160; Carter1923:81; 1929:285; Obenberger 1930:431; Bellamy 2002:152; 2008:1322.

Type locality: N. Territory, Macdonnell Ranges (from original description).

Melobasis cuprina Kerremans 1898:122 syn. n.; 1903:158; Carter 1929:284; Obenberger 1930:430; Bellamy 2002:150; 2008:1319.

Type locality: Australia

Melobasis bimetallica Carter 1923 b:88 syn. n.; 1929:284; Obenberger 1930:428: Bellamy 2002:147; 2008:1316.

Type locality: Western Australia, Perth .

Buprestis gloriosa Hope 1836:7 (nom. nud.; unavailable name); Saunders 1868:14; Gemminger & Harold 1869:1383; Obenberger 1956:135.

Type specimens examined. Buprestis (Melobasis) gloriosa ( Laporte & Gory) Holotype ♂ ( MNHN) Type // Melobasis gloriosa C. et G. Type // [no original labels].

Melobasis pulchra Blackburn Holotype ♂ ( SAMA) S. Australia / Melobasis pulchra Blackb. C.S. Australia / Type/ This is merely a dark coloured ex. of Melobasis gloriosa C. & G. Id. by H.J. Carter/ Type ♂ / Type of Melobasis pulchra Blkb.

Melobasis cuprina Kerremans Holotype ♂ ( BMNH) Australie Mus. Stuttg./ cuprina Kerr. Type/ M. cuprina Kerr. Australie / Kerremans 1903 -59.

Melobasis bimetallica Carter Holotype ♂ ( MVMA) Perth W.A. / C. French’s Coll. 511.08/ Type ♂ H.J.C. / Melobasis bimetallica Carter Id. by H.J. Carter / Type ♂.

Buprestis gloriosa Hope ♂ Verified as Type by W. Holland / gloriosa Hope. S.R. / Type Col. 937, Buprestis gloriosa Hope.

Other specimens examined. Western Australia: Albany; Albany, 89 km N.; Armadale, 13 ml. S.E.; Bannister, 8ml N.E.; Beachborough; Beverley; Beverley, 42 km S.W.; Boxwood Hill; Brookton Highway–Beverley T.O.; Broomhill; Bullsbrook; Burracoppin; Cannington; Chittering; Denmark; Dryandra; Dunsborough; Geraldton; Gingin; Gnangara; Gosnells, Swan River; Hamel; Hopetown (Hopetoun?); Hyden; Jandakot; Kalamunda; Kalamunda, 6 miles E.; King Georges Sound (Albany); 5km S. of Kirup; Kojonup, 25km N.; Kookynick (Kookynie?); Lake Grace; Lime Lake; Lake Lockhart, 17km S. of Newdegate; Margaret River; Midland; Mogumber; Moore River; Mount Barker; Mount Cooke, Albany highway; Mount Drummond; Mt. Dale; Mundaring; Napier; Narrogin; Naval Base; Nedlands; North Dandalup; North Gingin; Owingup Swamp, Kent Rd.; Perth (Swan River); Pinjarra; Southern Cross; Tammin; Wannamal; Wanneru; Waroona; Watning (Wattening?); Wembley Park; Wilga; Yallingup; Yanchep; Yarloop; material in AMSA, ANIC, ASC, BMNH, BPBM, CLBC, GHNC, IRSNB, MMSA, MPC, MVMA, NMWC, OUMNH, SAMA, TMSHC, UQA, WADA, WAMA, ZMC, ZMHB.

Diagnosis. General diagnosis: length 6.1–14.8mm; colour and elytral markings very variable (see under comments); underside sparsely to moderately densely clothed with moderately long silvery pubescence which does not obscure the underlying punctation.

Head: very densely to contiguously punctured with small strong ovate punctures, which partly coalesce to form dorso-ventrally orientated series on the lower half to two-thirds of the head; sparsely clothed with short inconspicuous silvery pubescence; unpunctured areas moderately strongly microsculptured; clypeal excision very shallow, U-shaped, with an unpunctured shiny or microreticulate border which is sometimes poorly developed; clypeal peaks almost rounded to acute; vertex flat, about half to three fifths width of head across eyes when viewed from above; eyes moderately strongly to strongly convex.

Antenna: serrate from segment 4–10, in ♂ the expanded part of the segments is quadrate, except segment 4 which is triangular, in ♀ the expanded part of segment 4 is triangular, segments 5–10 are sub-quadrate.

Pronotum: 1.36–1.56 times as wide at base as long in midline; anterior margin strongly bisinuate, with a strongly produced median lobe; anterior beaded margin well defined; posterior margin bisinuate; widest at or slightly in front of the mid-length; lateral margins parallel sided for a short distant in front of posterior angles before diverging to the widest point, or widening from posterior angles to the widest point, then strongly curvilinearly converging to the anterior angles; slightly narrower, to as wide at base as elytra at base; lateral carina slightly sinuate, about half to three-quarters complete; punctation moderately dense to dense in central half, consisting of small round punctures, punctures larger and very dense in lateral half; without an unpunctured midline; usually with a well marked depression near the lateral margin just behind the mid-length; shiny to weakly microsculptured; glabrous or with very sparse short silvery pubescence adjacent to the lateral carina.

Scutellum: transversely ovate or roughly shield-shaped, microsculptured, about one-eleventh to one-sixteenth width of elytra at base.

Elytra: 2.05–2.19 times as long as wide at base; basal margin moderately strongly bisinuate; slightly to moderately strongly widening from base over the humeral callosities, thence parallel sided to slightly beyond midlength, before narrowing to the rounded apices; lateral margins in apical quarter to third and apices with weak, obtuse or slightly acute serrations; sutural margins slightly raised in apical third; subsutural depression sparsely punctured with small round punctures; lateral to the subsutural depression the punctation in the internal half is partly arranged in longitudinal series, but not regularly punctate-striate; punctation in external half denser and often forming short transverse series; weakly microreticulate.

Proepisternum: contiguously punctured with fairly small shallow ovate punctures, partly obscured by moderately dense long silvery pubescence.

Prosternum: with a narrow bead at the anterior margin, the anterior margin at almost the same level as the area behind; prosternal process slightly to strongly widening distally, sparsely punctured with very small round punctures, with a groove formed from contiguous punctures close to the lateral margin; sparsely clothed with moderately long silvery pubescence.

Mesoepisternum: shiny or weakly microsculptured with none to numerous very small variably shaped punctures.

Apical sternite: with small lunate punctures, mostly well separated but sometimes partly coalescent and forming short transverse series near the lateral margin; excision shallow crescent-shaped about twice as wide as deep in ♂, as wide to twice as wide as deep in ♀, the lateral spines not or only slightly developed.

Mid tibia: ♂ curved, rather swollen, with a long setae-filled depression on the ventral face; ♀ slightly curved, without a setae-filled depression.

Tarsal claws: slightly widened at base, but without a basal tooth.

Aedeagus ( Fig. 193): apical setae-bearing part of parameres with long fine setae only.

Comments. M. gloriosa gloriosa (Laporte & Gory) is exceedingly variable, in size, colour and markings. The main variation is in the form of the elytral markings and to a lesser extent the pronotal markings. The different types of elytral markings appear to be partly sex related, however, not in the constant way they are in M. gloriosa cruentata . The majority of the specimens of both sexes examined have discrete and well defined elytral markings (111 ♂, 66 ♀) ( Figs. 132, 133), this corresponds to the holotype of M. gloriosa gloriosa (Laporte & Gory) , however, a significant number of males and to a lesser extent females have reduced elytral markings sometimes with the loss of the pre-apical macula (51 ♂, 15 ♀) ( Fig.134, 135). The other major form lacks elytral markings and is the same colour as the female of M. gloriosa cruentata , and is almost confined to the female (2 ♂, 60 ♀) ( Fig.137); this corresponds to the Holotype of M. cuprina Kerremans. I have also seen a small number of specimens in which the elytral markings are expanded to produce a form resembling the male M. gloriosa cruentata , these being mostly males (10 ♂, 2 ♀), and a slightly larger number of specimens, again mostly male, in which the markings are greatly expanded to produce a form in which the elytra are largely green or golden (18 ♂, 4 ♀). All the colour forms can occur in the same area.

M. Powell (pers. comm.) believes there are two major types with different, but overlapping distributions, different emergence times and different adult host usage. Namely a small form 7–10 mm in length, adult from late August to November, which frequents flowers of Fabaceae and occurs on the Swan Coastal Plain, the Darling Scarp and the central wheat belt. This would correspond with the Holotype of M. cuprina Kerremans. A larger form 10–15mm in length, which is adult in November, and frequents the new growth of a variety of plants, as well as flowering Eucalyptus and Nuytsia species. This second form occurs on the Swan Coastal Plain north to Arrowsmith, the Darling Scarp and southern mallee areas. This would correspond with the Holotype of M. gloriosa gloriosa (Laporte & Gory) . I have dissected males of the different types and can find no consistent difference in the overall form of the aedeagus, although males of the small form often have the apex of the median lobe more acutely produced than in males of the large form. It seems possible that the extreme variation seen in M. g. gloriosa is the result of introgression between formerly geographically isolated populations, as a result of climatic fluctuations during the quaternary period. Isolated populations might have diverged genetically but if they had not acquired different specific mate recognition systems, then genetic introgression could occur when the populations came back into contact. The use of molecular techniques would be very valuable in understanding the status of the different forms.

Bionomics. Adults collected between late August and January, but with most records from November and December. Adults have been collected on the following genera of Fabaceae : Acacia, Daviesi , Dillwynia , Gompholobium , Jacksonia and Mirbelia , and the following genera of other families. Casuarinaceae : Casuarina sens. lat.. Loranthaceae : Nuytsia . Myrtaceae : Eucalyptus , Melaleuca . Proteaceae : Adenanthus , Hakea . Xanthorrhoeaceae : Xanthorrhoea . Larval hosts unknown.