Herminella Spaeth, 1913

Borowiec, Lech & Wietojañska, Jolanta, 2014, A revision of the genus Herminella Spaeth (Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae: Notosacanthini), with a description of a new related genus and species from Madagascar, Zootaxa 3895 (2), pp. 257-272 : 258

Herminella Spaeth, 1913

Herminella Spaeth, 1913: 529 (type species: Herminella marshalli Spaeth, 1913 , by monotypy), 1914: 11; Hincks, 1952: 331; Seeno and Wilcox, 1982: 171; Borowiec, 1994: 10, 1999: 7.

Diagnosis. Small cassids with less than 3.5 mm. Pronotum transverse with well marked basal corners and shallow anterior emargination, head not visible from above. Transparent margins of pronotum in anterior emargination partly overlapped. Disc of pronotum without impressions, impunctate or with moderately coarse and sparse punctures, especially at base and on sides, surface of disc appears regular. Explanate margin of elytra with very large transparent punctures, disposed irregularly. Scutellum triangular. Base of elytra as wide as or slightly narrower than pronotum. Elytral disc depressed or slightly and regularly convex with very coarse and dense punctures. Punctures tend to form longitudinal rows but on sides of disc often irregular, interspaces distinctly narrower than the diameter of a puncture thus intervals hardly visible or at most linear. Sculpture of disc not as developed as in most species of the genus Notosacantha , usually only apical transverse costa present, slightly elevated humeral costa and sometimes dorsal costa, no elevated tubercles. Explanate margin of elytra strongly declivous, narrow, not wider than 1/4 width of disc, with coarse and dense punctation, without impunctate, fenestrate spots. Head without frontal plate. Clypeus with central triangular impression and elevated sides. Eyes moderately large, gena always present but not longer than 1/3 width of eye. Labrum transverse, without or with very shallow anterior emargination. Prosternal collar very short. Prosternal process flat or with shallow median impression, between coxae not wider than half width of coxa, strongly expanded apically with truncate apex, in the widest part more than three timesthree times wider than between coxae, its surface without special sculpture. Meso- and metasterna without modifications, sides of metasterna moderately convex. Abdomen without fusions of sternites. Legs stout, femora without teeth or spines, tibiae broad, slightly depressed laterally with sharp external margin. Tarsi broad with densely setose sole, last segment short, note extending behind margin of the third segment, claws symmetrical, simple. Antennae stout, 11-segmented with distinct 4-segmented club.

The genus Herminella has all characters of the tribe Notosacanthini and differs from the most species of the genus Notosacantha in very small body (most species of Notosacantha are larger, with length from more than 4 mm to 8 mm), reduced elytral sculpture (most Notosacantha species have special set of elytral costae and tubercles), lack of frontal plate (most Notosacantha species have distinct frontal plate), and very narrow and strongly declivous explanate margin of elytra (in Notosacantha the margin is usually broad, moderately declivous to horizontal). The most distinguishing character is the structure of the pronotum with the very shallow anterior margin and the transparent margin in the emargination partly overlapped thus the head is not visible from above. Members of Notosacantha usually have a deep anterior emargination, transparent margins which never overlap and the head more or less visible from above. Only five species of Notosacantha from Madagascar have the anterior emargination shallow and a reduced frontal plate but head partly visible from above and body size from 4 to 6 mm and well marked elytral sculpture.

The new genus Hermosacantha at first glance looks very similar but differs in a broader anterior emargination of the pronotum without overlapped transparent margins, smaller eyes with the gena longer than half width of eye, prosternal process with a deep median sulcus, and distinct clypeal structures with large round impression medially with a deep longitudinal sulcus.