Hycleus balteatus ( Pallas, 1782 )

Serri, Sayeh, Bologna, Marco A. & Riccieri, Alessandra, 2020, Revision of the Hycleus sexmaculatus species group (Coleoptera: Meloidae Mylabrini), Zootaxa 4790 (1), pp. 1-42 : 7-10

Hycleus balteatus ( Pallas, 1782)

Figs 2, 14, 33–39

Meloe balteata Pallas, 1782: 88 , tav. F, f. E14.

Mylabris indica Herbst in Füessly, 1784: 147 , Tav. 30 f. 6.

Mylabris bicolor Thunberg, 1791: 111 , f. 2.

Mylabris punctum Fabricius, 1792: 89 .

Mylabris coromanda Lichtenstein, 1795: 75 .

Mylabris laticlavia Lichtenstein, 1795: 75 .

Mylabris fasciata Voet, 1806: 20 .

Zonabris punctum var. puttalamamensis Pic, 1912b: 13 .

Zonabris punctum var. singularipennis Pic, 1912b: 13 .

Hycleus balteatus, Bologna & Turco, 2007: 17 .

Type material. The type was deposited in the Pallas’ collection, now lost. We considered the specimens described and figured by Billberg (1813) almost coeval, as well as those identified by several specialists of the XIX century, such as Marseul ( MNHN), as reference specimens.

Type locality: “ India gangetica“( Pallas 1782).

Additional material examined. India. 10 ♂ 10 ♀ Kerala, Nilgiri Hills, Kovalam , VIII.1998, leg. Rautenste- rauch ( HMIM; MABC) ; 1 ♂ Nilgiri Hills , VI.1990, leg. Rautensterauch ( MABC) ; 2 exx. Tamil-Nadu, Ama distr., Dindigul , Nilakkotai env. ( MZUF) ; 4 exx. Tamil-Nadu, Ambekdar distr. , 20 km S Vellore ( MZUF) ; 1 ♂ India orientalis Tamil Nadu, Shenbagamur ( HNHM) ; 1 ♂ Tamil Nadu, Madura district, Sirumalai Hills , 16.VII.1937 ( HNHM) ; 1 ♂ 1 ♀ India Orientalis, Tamil Nadu, Madura ( HNHM) ; 1 ♀ Madura , Coimbatore Or., IV.1975, 1400 ft., leg. T. R. S. Nalhan ( HNHM) ; 1 ♂ Madura, Coimbatore ( HNHM) ; 1 ♀ Tamil Nadu, Madura district, Sirumalai Hills , 16.XII.1957 ( HNHM) ; 6 ♂ 6 ♀ Tamil Nadu, Padukkottai, Vamban, Uniu Tamil , VII–VIII.2013, leg. Narayanasami ( MABC) ; 2 ♀ Tiruchi Dt., Padukkottai , X.1973, leg. T. R. SA. Nalhan ( HNHM) ; 2 exx. Tamil-Nadu, Padukkotai distr. , 29 km N Padukkotai ( MZUF) ; 2 ♂ Madras ( HNHM) ; 2 ♂ 1 ♀ South India, Karikal Terr., Kurumbagaram , III.1951 ( HMHM) ; 5 ♂ Trichinopoly , leg. Biro, 1902 ( HNHM) ; 3 ♀ Nedungadu, Tanjore distr., India orientalis ( HNHM) ; 1 ♂ South India, Ranisaram , III.1961 ( HNHM) .

Records from literature. India. India gangetica ( Pallas 1782, type locality); India ( Fischer 1827 as punctum ; Marseul 1870, 1872 both as indica ; Kuzin 1954; Bologna et al. 2018); Coromandel coast ( Olivier 1811), Tranquebar ( Olivier 1811); Tranquebar ( Fabricius 1801 as punctum typ. loc.); Madurai ( Fairmaire 1896; Chockalingam & Manogharan 1979, 1980 as indica ); Vadakkankulam ( Haniffa & Fransis Sekar 1993); Bihar, Kerala, Tamil Nudu ( Anand 1989); Andhra Pradesh: Cuddapah dist, Kodar ca.; Vempati; Tamil Nadu (Madras): Rameswaram; Tuticorin, Pearl Bank Fisheries; Salem Town; Salem dist. Harur; Kambalai; 10 miles SE Harur, foot of Chitteri ‘Hills; Kattur; Yelagiri Hills; Palni, foot of Palni Hills; Bapat1a; Tirunelvelli; Pamben ( Saha 1979). Pakistan. Pakistan ( Hashmi & Tashfeen 1992; Bologna et al. 2018), doubtful record. Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka ( Pic 1912b as punctum ; Kuzin 1954; Anand 1989); Puttalam ( Pic 1912b as punctum ); Kandy Distr., Kandy ( Mohamedsaid 1982).

Billberg (1813) erroneously recorded this species (as punctum ) from the Cape of Good Hope. As for some very old records from India (especially from Thunberg), the species was reported as collected in the Cape, in South Africa, where all ships stopped for the supplies during their navigation to India.

Description. Body length 8–19 mm. Body black, elytra reddish yellow with black pattern, anteriorly almost yellowish; head with deep punctures; antennomere III ca. 1/4 time longer than IV, V–VIII progressively widened with broader apical part, male XI ( Fig. 33 ) two times as long as X, with curved and elongated apex; in female ( Fig. 34 ) shorter and not elongated. Pronotum ( Fig. 14 ) almost as long as wide, with anterior and basal depressions and one middle longitudinal furrow, punctuation relatively deep; mesosternun as in Fig. 38 . Each elytron with one narrow black basal fascia, stretched to scutellum, one black spot on anterior third, one wide middle fascia with sinuate posterior margin, and one black margin on apical part ( Fig. 39 ). Ventrites with red margin on sides; last male ventrite convex, posterior margin with a shallow rounded emargination. Aedeagus ( Fig. 37 ) with endophallic hook small, aedeagal hooks quite close, distal hook slightly greater; gonoforceps ( Figs 35–36 ) strongly slender in both ventral and lateral vision.

Taxonomic remarks. In some specimens the following elytral variation exist ( Fig. 39 ): anterior narrow fascia connected to frontal spot forming a wide black anterior colouration; black anterior spots reduced or totally absent; middle fascia shortened or narrowed near suture; apical margin with different width and shape of anterior margin. The shape of the male genitalia ( Figs 35–37 ) seems to be constant among populations. Anand (1980) compared male genitalia of Meloinae and figured the IX tergum and genitalia but the shape of gonoforceps figured by this author is very approximate and doesnot match with the material we examined.

Pic (1914) synonymised Mylabris japonica Sumakov, 1913 with M. balteata and mentioned it as a simple variation. According to the description of M. japonica it has a big antennal club formed by antennomeres IX–XI, which differs totally from the synapomorphic condition of the Hycleus sexmaculatus species group. Therefore, we consider the Pic’s synonymy as erroneous. Without the examination of types of M. japonica , we are unable to define its taxonomic value.

Pardo Alcaide (1958, 1963) did not include balteatus in the sexmaculatus group, but in a separate group with H. orientalis ( Marseul 1872) and H. thunbergi ( Billberg 1813) , neither species having modified male antennomere XI.

Distribution. Hycleus balteatus is cited from Pakistan, but this record is doubtful, and its range is confirmed only in southern India and Sri Lanka. The species has never been recorded from western India.

Figures

FIGURES 33–39. Hycleus balteatus (Pallas): 33. male antenna; 34. female antenna; 35. tegmen, ventral view; 36. tegmen, lateral view; 37. aedeagus, lateral view; 38. mesosternum; 39. elytral pattern. Scale bar: 1 mm.

FIGURES 13–24. Head and pronotum of: 13. Hycleus apicipennis; 14. H. balteatus; 15 H. bipunctatus; 16. H. cingulatus; 17. H. colligatus; 18. H. hayki; 19. H. lindbergi; 20. H. pirata; 21. H. schauffelei; 22. H. sexmaculatus; 23. H. tenuepictus; 24. H. trianguliferus.