Hypolepida wilsoni Britton, 1978

Allsopp, Peter G., 2020, Australian Melolonthini (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae): a second species of Hypolepida Britton, 1978, Zootaxa 4742 (3), pp. 595-600 : 596-598

Hypolepida wilsoni Britton, 1978

( Figs. 1–6 )

Hypolepida wilsoni Britton 1978: 36 ; Weir et al. 2019: 493, Figs. 169–170, Plate 59E.

Holotype. Holotype male (by original designation): AUSTRALIA: QUEENSLAND: Mossman , 7.i.1960, G. Wilson, bred from larva / ANIC Database No. 25-039403; in ANIC, (examined) .

Other material examined. AUSTRALIA: QUEENSLAND: 1 ♂ paratype, Mossman, 7.i.1960, G. Wilson, bred from larva / ANIC Database No. 25-039404 [ ANIC] ; 1 ♂, Mt. Molloy , N. Qld. [16.67S, 145.33E], 28.xii.[19]85, Walford-Huggins / ANIC Database No. 25-039405 [ ANIC] .

Other material not examined. AUSTRALIA: QUEENSLAND: 12 ♂, Mt. Molloy , N. Qld., 28.xii.[19]85, Walford-Huggins [ CMNC] .

Description ( Figs 1–5 ). Male. Body 12–16 mm long; head, pronotum, scutellum, pygidium, ventral thorax and last abdominal ventrite black, contrasting with brown elytra ( Fig. 1 ), other abdominal sternites dark reddish brown; antennae pale yellowish brown grading to darker at base of lamellae ( Fig. 3 ), scape dark brown, palpi and tarsi reddish brown, coxae, femora and tibiae very dark brown to black. Labrum rounded laterally with a narrow, deep median indentation, not protruding beyond anterior margin of upper clypeus, with scattered long setae more numerous in lateral angles. Terminal palpomere of maxillary palp slender, about 3.8 times as long as greatest width, about as long as palpomeres 1–2 combined, with dull elliptical area on upper surface ( Fig. 3 ). Anterior face of clypeus deep, 4 times as wide as long, with setiferous punctures mainly in posterior half, anterior surface smoother; outline of upper surface broadly rounded, with a low anterior emargination that is strongly reflexed, surface very coarsely punctate, punctures each with short, white seta shorter than puncture diameter. Frons with punctures and setae similar to clypeus; ocular canthi with long, pale yellow setae. Antennal club 7-lamellate but lamella of antennomere 4 one-third length of other lamellae ( Fig. 3 ). Pronotal length 2 times greatest width, sides evenly rounded at about two-thirds length, anterior and posterior angles slightly obtuse and slightly rounded, anterior margin emarginate and slightly raised, posterior margin narrowly raised, both defined by grooves continuous from side to side, posterior margin very widely rounded across middle; lateral margin with raised, erose edge with a long seta in each notch; anterior edge of pronotum without long setae; surface with round punctures, each containing a short, white seta contained within its puncture ( Fig. 2 ), setae longer across posterior margin; pronotal hypopleura with long, pale yellow setae. Scutellum with punctures similar to those on disc of pronotum ( Fig. 2 ), margin without a groove. Elytra with sutural stria well defined, other odd-numbered striae defined by impressed lines, surface fairly uniformly punctate, punctures smaller than those on pronotum and each containing a small, pale seta similar to those on pronotum ( Fig. 2 ); lateral margins with a fringe of longer, stout, brown setae, setae longer near humeral angles. Pygidium uniformly clothed with recumbent, parallel sided, flattened, white setae, punctures only moderately impressed ( Fig. 1 ). Ventral thorax with dense, long, pale yellow setae. Legs with scattered pale yellow setae and a few flattened, white setae. Abdominal ventrites with dense, flattened, white setae, almost absent from middle and less dense on last ventrite, last ventrite with longer, brown setae on poster margin. Aedeagus ( Figs. 4–5 ) with each paramere tapering on shaft and then widening to rounded apices with strong hook on lower edge.

Female. Unknown.

Distribution. Known from two localities north-east of Cairns ( Fig. 6 ). Atlas of Living Australia (2019) incorrectly attributes the type series to “Mosman, New South Wales ”.

Natural history. The adults from Mt Molloy were collected in December. The holotype was bred from a larva, probably collected in or near a sugarcane field.

Figures

FIGURE 6. Distribution of Hypolepida species: blue triangle, H. wilsoni Britton, 1978; red star, H. braes Allsopp, new species.

FIGURES 1–5. Hypolepida wilsoni Britton, 1978. 1, Dorsum of male; 2, section of pronotum, scutellum and elytra; 3, antennal club of male; 4, parameres, dorsal view; 5, parameres, lateral view