Brachypeplus macleayi Murray, 1864

Kirejtshuk, Alexander G. & Kovalev, Alexey V., 2022, Monograph on the Cillaeinae (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) from the Australian Region with comments on the taxonomy of the subfamily, Zootaxa 5103 (1), pp. 1-133 : 62-64

22. Brachypeplus macleayi Murray, 1864

Figs 16 , A–F

Brachypeplus MacLeayi Murray, 1864: 292 ; Sydney;

= Brachypeplus inquilinus Lea 1912: 73 , syn. nov.; Hornsby, “wild nest of hive bee (C. Gibbon).”

Specimens examined. Type specimens: holotype of Brachypeplus MacLeayi , male ( BMNH)—“Nlle Hol.”, “ MacLeayi ”, “[18]68.106” ; lectotype of Brachypeplus inquilinus here designated, female ( SAM)— “ inquilinus Lea , Type, Hornsby” ( NSW) . Other specimens: Australia, QLD: 1 ex ( SAM)— “ Townesville , Qld , 1902, F.P. Dodd ”, “ Griffith collection, Id. By A.M. Lea ”, “ basalis ”; NSW: 3 exx ( SAM)—“ Brachypeplus macleayi Murray, NS Wales ”.; 1 ex ( SAM)— “ Townsville , Qld , 1902, F.P. Dodd ”; 17 exx ( ANIC, ZIN)— “ 34.35S 132.46E, 15 km NE Batemans Bay, NSW, Sept. 86 — Apr. 1987, M.G. Robinson, flight intercept trap ”; 5 exx ( ANIC, ZIN)— “ 35.50S 150.18E, Kioloa SF, 15 km NE Batemans Bay, NSW, Sept. 86 — Mar. 87, M.C. Robinson, flight intercept ”; 4 exx ( CMS, ZIN)— “NS Wales ”; 3 exx ( AMS)—“ Jenolan State Forest , NSW, 27.XII.1988, D.A. Doolan ”; ACT: 10 exx ( ANIC, ZIN)— “ Canberra , ACT, March 1977, R.F. Powning, waxmoth culture”; 1 ex ( ANIC)— “ Canberra, ACT, Black Mt., 600 m, Sept. 1987, Weir, Lawrence, Dressler”, “flight intercept window / trough trap ”; VIC: 1 ex ( ANIC)—“ 34.35S 132.46E, Vic, Robinvale, 25 Oct.—3 Nov. 1988, T. Weir, J. Lawrence & M. Hausen. ”

Notes on synonymy. The re-examination of the above-mentioned type specimens showed their conspecifity. This synonymy becomes clear after comparison of the descriptions and diagnoses of Brachypeplus macleayi and B. inquilinus syn. nov.

Diagnosis. This species can be easily diagnosed after the above key to Australian and Tasmanian species of the genus. Brachypeplus macleayi is rather similar to B. basalis (see Murray 1864; Lea 1912) but differs from the latter in the wider and less convex body, less expressed dorsal pubescence, lack of clear longitudinal rows of punctures on elytra, shorter (subcircular) antennal club, bi-emarginate anterior edge of pronotum, gradually narrowing anteriorly and more widely (sub)explanate pronotal sides, more widely (sub)explanate elytral sides and wider male protarsus.

Addition to description. Body length 3.7 – 5.3 mm. Body dark brownish (castaneceous), with lighter anterior part of head, pronotal sides, base and explanate sides of elytra, frequently laterosternites and ventrites, and also appendages; upper surface with short and slightly to moderately conspicuous reddish pubescence (somewhat lighter on lighter part of elytra and tergite V), pronotal and elytral sides with moderately long cilia.

Head and pronotum with punctures somewhat coarser than eye facets, interspaces between punctures greater than one puncture diameter, obliterately microreticulate. Elytra with traces of longitudinal rows of punctures about as coarse as those on head and pronotum or slightly coarser and located in bottom of shallow striae along adsutural parts, interspaces between coarser punctures in these rows with diffuse fine punctures and obliterated microreticulation. Below thoracic sclerites and abdominal ventrite 1 with punctures somewhat finer and deeper than those on head and pronotum and interspaces between punctures on metaventrite almost smooth.

Antenna about as long as distance between eyes, with scape about as long as pedicel and antennomere 3 combined, about 2.0 × as long as wide, pedicel 0.5 × as long as antennomere 3, antennal club somewhat less than 0.3 × of entire antennal length, subcircular and about as long as wide. Pregenal processes rather wide and with rounded outer apical angle. Mentum with very strongly projecting anterior lateral angles surpassing level of median process of its anterior edge, about 4.0 × as wide as long. Pronotum with clearly bi-emarginate anterior edge, widely rounded and slightly projecting anterior angles, widely explanate sides (markedly more widely explanate than scape wide) and clearly bi-emarginate base. Scutellar shield subpentagonal and with subangular to subtruncate apex. Elytra with sides less widely explanate than those of pronotum (about 0.5 × as widely explanate as scape wide). Prosternal process about 4.0 × as wide as distance between procoxae and with widely rounded apex. Distance between mesocoxae somewhat less than 2.0 × greater than that between metacoxae and nearly 2.0 × greater than that between procoxae.Abdominal ventrite 3 about as long as ventrites 1, ventrite 2 about 0.5 × as long as each of ventrites 1 and 3, ventrite 4 longest among ventrites 1 – 4. Male pygidium transverse, about 1.3 × as long as tergite VI and subtruncate to shallowly emarginate at apex. Female pygidium slightly transverse, about 1.4 × as long as tergite VI and widely rounded at apex. Male hypopygidium more than 2.0 × as long as ventrite 1 (and about 1.5 × as long as long ventrite 4). Female hypopygidium almost 2.5 × as long as ventrite 1 (less than 2.0 × as long as long ventrite 4).

Tibiae subtriangular and somewhat narrower than antennal club, with outer apical angle not projecting and with spurs moderately long and thin. Male protarsus about 0.5 × as wide as protibia. Female protarsus as well as meso-and metatarsi of both sexes narrower.

Male anal sclerite dorsoventrally compressed, with subtruncate to widely rounded apex and finely serrate posterior edge. Aedeagus moderately to heavily sclerotized. Tegmen somewhat more than 2.0 × as long as wide and slightly narrowed at subtruncate apex. Penis trunk subequal in length with tegmen, about 2.5 × as long as wide, sharply narrowed at small apical process with widely rounded tip.

Ovipositor well sclerotized and moderately narrow; its gonocoxites comprising almost 0.4 of entire length, lateral lobes well sclerotized and about 0.3 × as long as gonocoxites in general, outer outline of gonocoxites slightly concave, comparatively narrow apex with rather long styli apically located.

Distribution. Australia: QLD, NSW (type locality of Brachypeplus macleayi: Sydney and type locality of B. inquilinus: Hornsby ), ACT, VIC; U.S.A.: Oregon, California.

Notes on bionomy. This species seems to be specialized inhabitant of honey bee nests. Lea (1912) recorded it from “wild nest of hive bee.” Recently this species was found in the nests of cultivated bees in Oregon ( Sagili et al. 2016: erroneously named as Brachypeplus basalis ), where it passes complete delelopment (with pupation) in debris of nests. Besides, it was also recorded by Montgomery (2017) in California in the web-site “BugGuide”. New data increases the scope of potential diet of this species by a record of it in “waxmoth culture.”

Figures

FIGURE 16. Brachypeplus macleayi, orig. A-E: male from ACT (“…waxmoth culture”); A: body, dorsal; B: shoulder place of elytron, dorsal; C: male anal sclerite and spiculum gastrale, ventral; D: tegmen, ventral; E: penis trunk, dorsal; F: female from NSW (“… Kioloa SF, 15 km NE Batemans Bay…”); ovipositor, ventral. Scale bars: a = 1.0 mm to Fig. A; b = 0.5 mm to Fig. B; с = 0.25 mm to Figs C–F.