Beltia chiriquensis (Jacoby) Flowers, 2018

Flowers, R. Wills, 2018, A review of the genus Beltia Jacoby (Chrysomelidae: Eumolpinae: Eumolpini), with descriptions of fourteen new species from Costa Rica, Panama, and northwestern South America, Insecta Mundi 672, pp. 1-43 : 8-9

Beltia chiriquensis (Jacoby) , new combination

Figures 3 , 20 , 44 , 61 , 81

Colaspoides chiriquensis Jacoby 1882: 186 (original description); Blackwelder 1946: 666; Bechynĕ 1953: 278; Flowers 1996: 30. Holotype deposited in NHMUK, not seen. Type locality: Panama, Volcán de Chiriquí.

Colaspoides turrialbana Bechynĕ 1950a: 263 ; Flowers 1996: 31, new synonymy. Holotype deposited in NHMB, seen, label data not transcribed. Type locality: Costa Rica, Turialba.

Redescription. Male. Body ovate, dorsally convex; length 5.5–6.7 mm. Head, pronotum, and elytra dark blue or shining bronze, some specimens with head and pronotum bluish green with elytra dark blue; underside glossy dark bluish green; antennomeres yellowish brown, apical antennomere darker. Legs dark bluish green, tarsi yellowish brown; apex or entire meso- and metatibiae yellowish brown in some specimens; base of femur sometimes yellowish brown.

Head. Clypeus densely punctate, punctures separated by distance less than their diameters. Frontoclypeal suture distinct. Frons finely punctate, surface between punctures smooth, vertex with a weak median impressed line, finely punctate. Mouthparts with apex of labrum weakly emarginate.

Thorax. Prothorax distinctly wider than long, L/W = 0.5; pronotal disc finely punctate, punctures separated by distance greater than their diameters; surface between punctures glossy, with numerous punctulae. Proepimeron finely wrinkled, impunctate. Prosternum with width of intercoxal process 0.83× diameter of procoxa. Metasternum alutaceous, with numerous short yellow setae.

Elytra. Width across humeri 1.2× width across pronotum; finely but distinctly punctate, punctures separated by distance greater than their diameters, surface between punctures smooth and glossy; postbasal depression obsolete.

Abdomen. Sterna with numerous short setae and a band of long setae in median third of sterna IV–VI, sternum III with long setae behind coxal insertions, sternum VIII with margins crenulate, surface of segments alutaceous. Dorsum with spicules along base of terga II, III, and laterally on IV; surface at center of tergum IV and all of terga V and VI shagreened.

Genitalia. Median lobe with large lateral flanges ( Fig. 44a ), sides converging to apex, giving an “arrow- head” appearance; in en-face view with apicolateral margin broadly rounded, apical margin slightly contorted, with a median asymmetric triangular projection ( Fig. 44c ). Tip of endophallus with a field of coarse spicules and two small twisted apical sclerites ( Fig. 44b ).

Female. Body oval; length 5.5–7.9 mm; color of head and pronotum greenish gold, elytra dark green, often with a strong copper reflexion in apical third ( Fig. 20 ); or color entirely dark blue or coppery red.

Head. Frontoclypeal suture obsolete, otherwise similar to male.

Thorax. Prothorax as in male; meso- and metathoracic sterna as in male.

Abdomen. Segments with numerous short setae and submedian pairs of long setae on sterna III–VI. Apex of sternum VII with a pair of small submedian tubercles as in Fig. 14 .

Genitalia. Segments VIII–XI forming elongate ovipositor (L/W = 4.42; Fig. 61a ). Sternum VIII with long, wire-like basal apodeme; dorsum of segment VIII with weakly sclerotized V-shaped bars. Segment IX covered with minute spicules; hemisternites with long, wire-like basal rods, baculum distinct, spindleshaped gonocoxae slightly longer than wide. Spermatheca with receptacle small, scarcely differentiated from the pump ( Fig. 61b ).

Specimens examined. (4♂, 25♀) COSTA RICA: Puntarenas Prov. (1♂, MNCR-A) Est. Sirena, ACOSA, 1– 100 m. 1–24 ABR 1995, B. Gamboa, LN270500507900 #4738//INBIOCRI002187978. (1♀, MNCR-A) Est. Sirena , P.N. Corcovado 1– 100 m. May 1993 G. Fonseca, LS 270500508300 #2098//INBIOCRI001934711. (1♂, MNCR-A) same locality, 17 jun a 4 sep 1991, Tp. Malaise //INBOCRI000685782. (1♀) Send. Los Patos , P.N. Corcovado, 0m, 8 Abr. 1993. M. Zumbado, LS 516956280450 #1993//INBIOCR001696761. (1♂, MNCR-A) Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula , D.H. Janzen coll. 13–23 March 1978 // INBIOCRI001688127. (1♀) same locality, 10– 100 m. 23–27 Mar. 1982, DH Janzen & W. Hallwachs // INBIOCRI001688426. (1♀) Bosque Esquinas, A.C. Osa , 200m, May 1994, M. Segura, LS 302450345100, #2920//INBIOCRI001999379. (1♀) Albergue, Cerro de Oro , 200 m. 4–14 MAY 1995, M. Moraga, LN280450517500 #4633//INBIOCRI002169003. (1♀) Est. Agujas, Send. Ajo , 300 m. 3–6 MAY 1998, M. Lobo, LS 276750526550 #50682//INBIOCRI002605017. (1♀, MNCR-A) same locality, Send. Zamia, Río Agujas , 300m. 9–28 MAR 1996, A. Azofeita LS276750526550 #7213//INBIOCRI002382047. (1♀, MNCR-A) Sendero La Tarde, Cerro de Oro , 5.3 Km NW del Cerro Rincón , 280m. 18 MAY 1996, L. Angulo, LS279600519600 #7552//INBIOCRI002419766. (1♂, MNCR-A) Golfito, Camion a las Torres , 400–500m. 28 Apr. 2001, D. Briceño, Libre , LN289300555700 #76836// INBIO003838080 . (1♀, BYU) Grumaco, Río Coto Brus , VII-14-1963, S.L.W. Parque Nacional Mauel Antonio, Quepos , LS370900448800 # 1181, 80m. (1♀, MNCR-A) Abr. 1992, C. Cano //INBIOCRI001718729; (2♀, MNCR-A) Abr. 1992, G. Varela // INBIOCRI001394157, INBIOCRI000456513; (1♀, MNCR-A) Abr. 1991, G. Varela //INBIOCRI001312313. PANAMA: Panamá Prov. (1♀, USNM) Bayano Dist . 2.5 k W Ipiti 11–22 May 1996, Wappes Huether & Moore ; (3♀, USNM) Bayano Dist. 3 km S. Ipiti , 24 May 1992, J.E. Wappes; (1♀, USNM) Bayano, 26km W. Ipiti , 20, 23-IV-1993, J.E. Wappes; (3♀, USNM) Colon Prv. 2km W. Cuango , 2 May 1992, J.E. Wappes; (1♀, FSCA) trap catch, El Cermeno , Pan. 6-6 ‘39, J. Zetek 4434.

Diagnosis. This species can be distinguished from other Central American Beltia by tarsi distinctly paler than the rest of the legs, and in most specimens by the tan antennae with only the apical segment darkened. In a single specimen with tan meso- and metatibiae the protibiae were entirely dark. In other Beltia both tibiae and tarsi are the same color, either metallic or reddish brown, or testaceous. Females of both B. chiriquensis and B. placidula have a small pair of subapical tubercles on the abdomen (as in Fig. 14 ), but can be distinguished by the color of the legs, which are entirely testaceous in B. placidula , as well as by their distribution.

Remarks. Costa Rican specimens of Beltia chiriquensis were compared with identified specimens in the Bowditch collection (MCZ). Bechynĕ (1950a), in his description of C. turrialbana , noted it was very similar to “ C. chiriquensis ” but lacked a clypeal groove found in the latter species. However, this character varies between males and females, as noted above in the description. Both forms have the diagnostic character of dark legs with lighter tan tarsi. Jacoby (1891) noted the variability in color of B. chiriquensis . While several species of Beltia have dark metallic colors that grade into bright gold or green reflexes laterally or apically, many B. chiriquensis are dark blue with well-defined apical patches of metallic green or copper. In 2003 I observed a number of B. chiriquensis feeding on young shoots of grapevines at the Fabio Baudrit agricultural station of the University of Costa Rica (Puntarenas Province). Beltia chiriquensis is known from central Costa Rica to eastern Panama ( Fig. 81 ).

Figures

Figures 1–8. Structures of Beltia and Colaspoides. 1) Beltia ledesmae, living male. Photo: Bernardo Navarrete. 2) Prothorax, lateral view showing lateral wings of prosternum (arrow), B. napoensis. 3) Pygidium, B. chiriquensis. 4) Lateral view of prothorax showing lateral wings of prosternum (arrow), C. bicolor (Olivier). 5) Posterior view of metatibia, B. tilarana. 6) Posterior view of metatibia, C. bicolor. 7) Furcasternum, B. vacilona. 8) Hind wing, B. vacilona.

Figures 18–26. Beltia, dorsal habitus. 18) Beltia angustomarginata, male. 19) Beltia awapita, male. 20) Beltia chiriquensis, female. 21) Beltia confusa, male. 22) Beltia gorgona, female. 23) Beltia herreri, male. 24–26) Beltia ledesmae, females. 24) Monochrome specimen. 25) Bicolored specimen. 26) Same female as (25) photographed with diffuser.

Figures 42–49. Beltia, male genitalia: a) lateral view of median lobe; b) endophallic apical sclerites; c) en-face view of median lobe. 42) Beltia angustomarginata. 43) Beltia awapita. 44) Beltia chiriquensis. 45) Beltia confusa. 46) Beltia gorgona. 47) Beltia herreri. 48) Beltia ledesmae. 49) Beltia nicaraguensis.

Figures 60–66. Beltia, female genitalia: a) ovipositor, ventral view; b) spermatheca. 60) Beltia angustomarginata. 61) Beltia chiriquensis. 62) Beltia gorgona. 63) Beltia herreri. 64) Beltia ledesmae. 65) Beltia napoensis. 66) Beltia nicaraguensis.

Figures 80–82. Distribution maps for Beltia spp.: Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. 80) Beltia angustomarginata (squares), B. osa (triangles), B. vacilona (circles). 81) Beltia chiriquensis (circles), B. herreri (stars), B. nicaraguensis (hexagons). 82) Beltia sanchezae (square), B. tilarana (inverted triangles), B. tisingalita (stars).

Figures 9–17. Structures of Beltia. 9) Profemur, B. nicaraguensis. 10) Profemur, B. tisingalita. 11) Pronotum, B. angustomarginata. 12) Pronotum, B. ledesmae. 13) En-face view of median lobe, B. angustomarginata. 14) Apex of abdomen, B. placidula. 15) Concave prosternum (arrow), B. ledesmae. 16) Head and pronotum, B. napoensis. 17) Male abdomen with seta patches (arrow), B. herreri.