Compsus obliquatus Hustache 1938

O’Brien, Charles W. & Peña, Jorge, 2012, Two species of Compsus Schoenherr, new citrus pests from Colombia (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Entiminae), Insecta Mundi 2012 (227), pp. 1-13 : 7-9

Compsus obliquatus Hustache 1938

Figures 1–4 , 9–10 , 13–14

Compsus obliquatus Hustache 1938: 77

Compsus biramifer: Jekel (nomen nudum)

Description. Body elongate-oblong; integument black, nearly concealed by scales; clothed densely with nacreous white and metallic blue and/or green often scintillating, round to oval, recumbent scales forming three distinct incomplete vittae on prothorax and elytra with narrow vitta on sutural interval from base to just anteriad of declivity, there moving onto interval 2 and onto 3 on declivity, short vitta on interval 4 on declivity, short broken vitta on interval 6 behind humerus and on declivity, and narrow vitta on intervals 9 and 10, and with short obliquely angled posteriorly directed branch on posterior 3/5 on intervals 4–7; medial prothoracic vitta not extending onto head; with moderately sparse, scarcely evident, recumbent, strap-like white setae; dorsal surface uneven, undulating; areas with dense colored scales distinctly impressed, areas of white scales flattened or moderately convex.

MALE: Rostrum 0.44× wider than long; with narrow, deep, median sulcus and lacking lateral sulci; completely clothed with dense recumbent imbricate scales, concealing integument, apical 1/2 with golden rosaceous scales, remaining scales white; with sparse, indistinct, short, strap-like setae; nasal plate glabrous, deeply triangular, with sharply carinate margins; base of triangular impression behind nasal plate with low but evident transverse carina between antennal insertions. Head with frons nearly flat, lacking evident fovea and with narrow sulcus, completely densely clothed uniformly with imbricate white scales, concealing integument; lacking evident punctures, with sparse indistinct pale recumbent strap-like setae. Antennae with scape moderately clavate, with dense elongate recumbent scales and moderately dense long coarse scale-like suberect white setae; funicular antennomeres elongate, 1 about 0.94× as long as 2 and scarcely wider, 3 two thirds as long as 2, 4–7 subequal in length, about 1/2 as long as 2; 1–6 clothed densely with recumbent scales and coarse long setae, 7 clothed with dense fine recumbent setae, and ring of subapical moderately fine erect setae; club elongate-oval acute, 2× as long as 1 and 2, and 2× as wide as funicular antennomere 1. Prothorax transverse, 1.04× as wide as long, sides subparallel, weakly divergent behind apical third, there nearly straight to weakly narrowed base; basal margin strongly bisinuate; disc unevenly flattened, medially longitudinally broadly shallowly impressed; disc clothed with dense, recumbent, imbricate, round to oval, nacreous white, and metallic blue and green scales, many iridescent, forming three complete narrow vittae from apex to base; with small to elongate, unevenly spaced, very deep punctures; disc with moderately sparse, short, coarse, recumbent, strap-like setae. ( Fig. 1–4 ) Scutellum large, narrowly rounded apically, and basally broad with straight margin; clothed with glossy, recumbent, blue scales. Elytra elongate-oval, subparallel behind moderately rounded projecting humeri, then sides narrowed gradually at declivity and evenly narrowed to emarginate, projecting apices; intervals clothed with dense, recumbent, imbricate, nacreous white, and vittate with blue and green, metallic scales, many scintillating; sutural interval narrowly vittate on basal 1/3, there dividing and moving laterally onto 2 and near declivity onto 3; 4 with short declivital vitta; 6 with short broken vitta,just behind humeri and continued just behind middle; with narrow vitta on basal 1/2 of intervals 9 and 10, narrowed apically to interval 9 only; with short obliquely angulate posteriorly directed vitta on 4–7; remainder of area with nacreous white scales; strial punctures small, deep, round and distinct, unevenly distributed, separated by 5–20× own diameter; intervals uneven in width, each with sparse scarcely evident short strap-like recumbent seta; intervals 3, 5, and 7 moderately strongly unevenly raised. Venter completely clothed with dense recumbent, imbricate scales and moderately dense, subrecumbent, short, strap-like setae, with moderately fine, dense, unevenly spaced punctures; propleuron with broad, metallic, blue and green vitta; all sterna clothed with white and golden rosaceous scales; abdominal sternum I weakly impressed on medial basal 1/2, 1.30× as long as II; III and IV subequal in length, together 0.76 as long as II; sternum V subequal in length with II; V flattened, short and broadly truncately rounded. Legs stout; fore femur very strongly, asymmetrically swollen at apical 1/3; all femora with 1 or 2 blue and green maculae of scales, remaining area with dense imbricate nacreous white scales; tibiae with similar white scales and areas with metallic blue and green scales mixed with white and with long, dense, suberect, white setae on inner margin; all tibiae with strong, acute, apical, inner mucrone. Genitalia: Median lobe dorsally with base as wide as weakly expanded subtruncate apical 1/6, sides weakly curved; dorsally apical 1/6 open, not sclerotized ( Fig. 9 ); ventrally evenly curved, lacking swelling ( Fig. 10 ). Length, pronotum and elytron: 8.10mm. Length, head and rostrum: 2.40mm. Total length: 12.50mm.

FEMALE: Same as male except: Venter with metasternum and medial areas of abdominal sterna I and II clothed with recumbent metallic blue and green scales, sternum I broadly flattened basally and convex apically; sternum II strongly, transversely convex; sternum V narrowly, weakly, longitudinally convex along midline. Genitalia: Sternum VIII with plate elongate, sclerotized arms narrow, apically subtruncate, narrowly membranous between arms for entire length of plate. Spermatheca C-shaped, cornu slightly turned upward, ramus directed dorsally. Length, pronotum and elytron: 11.50mm. Length, head and rostrum: 2.80mm. Total length: 14.30mm.

Remarks and comparative notes. This species is similar to other blue, green and white, vittate or mottled species from Colombia and other South American countries. However, the sutural vitta which divides posteriorly, is directed laterally onto the second and third intervals, and reaches nearly the full length of the elytra which is not found in these other species. In addition, the metallic blue and/or green vitta or macula on interval 4 is obliquely fused across interval 5 with the complete or incomplete vitta on interval 6 just behind the middle of the elytra.

Intraspecific variation. This species is most variable in the color of the metallic scales, with some specimens mainly green and others mainly blue, although the mix of blue and green is most common. In general the iridescent scales are most often the green scales. The widths of the vittae are highly variable from very narrow to very wide and the vittae are broken into various lengths, sometimes forming short maculae. The range in total size is great, from 8.40 to 16.70mm.

Range. Known only from two departments of Colombia, Cundinamarca and Tolima.

Material examined. On hand for this study were 71 specimens, in ASUT, BMNH, CASC, CMNC, CWOB, FSCA, UNCM and USNM. COLOMBIA: Cundinamarca: Beltran , Vda. Paquita, Fca. El Limonae, 4º 6122, 74º 80348W, citrus, M. Zambrano, 268m. no date (10) ; Girardot, 3 June 1965 (3), 6 June 1965 (8), 11 June 1965 (7), 13 June 1965 (6), J. A. Ramos; Girardot, 17 June 1982, Clark & Cave (2). Tolima: Espinal, Vda. Agua Blanca, Finca La Cuba , 4º20455N, 74º88163W, 331m, on Tahiti lime, Citrus aurantifolia, Legator: W. King (35) .

Figures

Figures 1–4. Habitus. 1) C. obliquatus–male dorsal. 2) C. obliquatus–male lateral. 3) C. obliquatus–female dorsal. 4) C. obliquatus–female lateral.

Figures 9–12. Male median Lobe. 9) C. obliquatus–dorsal. 10) C. obliquatus –lateral. 11) C. viridivittatus–dorsal. 12) C. viridivittatus–lateral.

Figures 13–18. Female genitalia. 13) C. obliquatus–sternum VIII. 14) C. obliquatus–spermatheca. 15) C. viridivittatus–sternum VIII. 16) C. viridivittatus–spermatheca. 17) C. viridivittatus–ovipositor, dorsal view. 18) C. viridivittatus–ovipositor, lateral view.