Lilioceris, Reitter, 1912

Yu, Peiyu, Lu, Wenhua & Casagrande, Richard, 2001, Lilioceris lilii (Scopoli) Occurs in China (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), The Coleopterists Bulletin 55 (1), pp. 65-66 : 65-66

Lilioceris lilii (Scopoli) Occurs in China ( Coleoptera : Chrysomelidae )

Lilioceris lilii (Scopoli) is an important pest of ornamental plants on a Holarctic scale, but its status in China has been unresolved. The earliest record of L. lilii in China was by G. Liu (1935, Lingnan Science Journal 14(1): 112), who stated that it occurred in eastern Mongolia and Kirin (Jilin Province today). J.­P. (Chenfu) Wu (1936, Catalogus Insectorum Sinensium III: 781) also reported L. lilii from the same localities in his voluminous catalogue, probably based on Liu’s record (1935). Apparently no one saw the specimen of L. lilii from China. J. L. Gressitt and S. Kimoto (1961, The Chrysomelidae (Coleoptera) of China and Korea, Part I. Pacific Insects Monograph 1A: 52–53) recorded the species but did not include it in their keys for Chinese Lilioceris species and stated that the occurrence of L. lilii in China should be verified. Lilioceris lilii is widespread throughout Europe and Russia eastward from the Caucasus to Siberia and Tuva. It occurs in the Kazakhstani Dzungarskiy Alatau Mountains and Mongolian Altai Ranges (I. K. Lopatin 1977, Leaf Beetles (Chrysomelidae) of Middle Asia and Kazakhstan (in Russian). Nauka, Leningrad), both of which border China. Berti and Rapilly (1976, Annals of the Society of Entomology of France (N.S.) 12 (1): 31–73) indicated that L. lilii originated in Asia and showed China as the center of dispersal.

Since 1996 museum specimens from China and literature have been actively examined (W. Lu and R. Casagrande 1998, Chrysomela 35: 7). We found 4 specimens in the Entomological Collection of Academia Sinica, Beijing. One specimen was collected on 20.vi.1957 from Genhe (121.8 ° E, 50.8 ° N, no collector label), Inner Mongolia. The other 3 specimens were from Yuming Co. (82.9 ° E, 46.2 ° N, no date), Xinjiang Autonomous Region, collected by Duan X.­Z. Recently, an additional 4 specimens were collected in the field this year (Yuming Co., Xinjiang, 15.v.2000, H.­B. Wang). Thus, we confirm for the first time that L. lilii exists in northern China. Because Inner Mongolia broadly borders the Mongolian Altai Ranges, L. lilii probably occurs there, in spite of the single representative in the collection. Meanwhile, in an internal newsletter of the Heilongjiang Natural History Museum, we found an article by Zhang D.­Z. (1985) on species and distribution of Chrysomelidae in northeastern China, where L. lilii was recorded from Weihe Co. (128.3 ° E, 44.9 ° N; no date or collector label), Heilongjiang. Although we have not yet seen the specimens, L. lilii probably also extends into that part of China because of the latitude. Lilioceris lilii resembles a closely related species, L. merdigera (L.), but differs from the latter in having the head, scutum, legs, and ventral surface black (L. merdigera with head and scutum reddish brown, legs and ventral surface dark brown). Both are Palearctic species, and the latter is widespread in China. Therefore, it is a frequent mistake in collections to confuse L. lilii with L. merdigera. This may explain the infrequent records of L. lilii in China. There is no obvious variation in adult genitalia of either sex of L. lilii among Chinese, North American, and European specimens. However, elytral line punctures in Chinese specimens are frequently sparse. After examining more than 100 specimens from all over the world in U. S. museums in 1999, we found variation in elytral punctures in different regions: dense punctures in specimens from Russia and Hungary; sparse punctures in those from Canada, U.S.A., Sweden, Spain, and Austria; both types of punctures in specimens from France, Italy, and Germany.

According to the original collector in Xinjiang (1999, in litt.), the earliest record was in 1964 when the beetle was found to be a pest of Fritillaria (Liliaceae) used in Chinese medicine. One of the major fritillary plantations is 28 km north of the county capital and 2,000 m above sea level. There L. lilii has one generation per year and adults overwinter. In early spring, adults emerge and lay eggs on fritillary seedlings. Once hatched, young larvae crawl down the stems into the soil, where they feed on the bulb scales, resulting in holes in the bulb, which is the medicinal part used. At higher altitudes, some larvae feed on the leaf, chew out the soft tissue, and only leave a white layer of on Fritillaria Cirsium (Comadults feed on

cuticle behind. The host plants of L. lilii also vary seasonally; the pest is in the spring, moves to Solanaceae in July, and then in August to thistle, positae). Most host plants of L. lilii are in the family Liliaceae ; some 65

66 THE COLEOPTERISTS BULLETIN 55(1), 2001

Solanum (S. S. Livingston, 1996, Biology, Control, and Host Range of Lilioceris lilii: a New Ornamental Pest in the USA. M.S. thesis, University of Rhode Island), but Compositae appears to be a previously unrecorded host family.

The genus Lilioceris is widespread throughout China and L. lilii ranges from west to east across northern China in Palearctic temperate regions around 45 ° N, based on the specimen data. An investigation near Lanzhou (103.7 ° E, 36 ° N), Gansu Province, where large scale planting of several Lilium species (Liliaceae) occurred, yielded no evidence of L. lilii. Lilioceris lilii in China may reach the southernmost limit of the species range in East Asia. However, it may occur at higher altitudes farther south, even to 40 ° N where it was reported but we have not yet seen specimens. We therefore believe that China may offer potential for finding natural enemies of L. lilii. It is difficult to reconcile Berti and Rapily’s theory on the Chinese origin of L. lilii with the sparse records in China. Taxonomic confusion, remote collecting areas, and effective natural enemies may all play a role. A search for L. lilii and its potential natural enemies in Xinjiang is now in progress.

We owe gratitude to Duan X.­Z. (Yuming Co. Fritillary Plantation, Xinjiang) who provided life history information. This project was funded in part by the Rhode Island Agricultural Experiment Station (Contribution No. 3837), The Conservation Agency , and a USDA Short Term Visitor grant (1999). We thank D. Furth ( Smithsonian Institution ), P. Perkins ( Museum of Comparative Zoology ), D. Kavanaugh (California Academy of Sciences ), and A. Samuelson (B. P. Bishop Museum) for the use of specimens .

Peiyu Yu, Institute of Zoology, Academia Sinica, Haidian, Beijing 100080, CHINA; Wenhua Lu and Richard Casagrande, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881, U.S.A. E­mail: [e-mail].

(Received 19 April 2000; accepted 27 September 2000)