Acmaeodera haemorrhoa LeConte, 1858: 69

Westcott, Richard L., 2005, A new species of Chrysobothris Eschscholtz from Oregon and Washington, with notes on other Buprestidae (Coleoptera) occurring in the United States and Canada, Zootaxa 1044, pp. 1-15 : 7

Acmaeodera haemorrhoa LeConte, 1858: 69

Acmaeodera bouvieri Kerremans, 1906: 120 (new synonymy).

My colleague, W. F. Barr, has long accepted this synonymy, but has not published it. I have compared his slide of the type of A. bouvieri (MNHN) to a photo of the lectotype of A. haemorrhoa (http://mcz­28168.oeb.harvard.edu/mcztypedb.htm, as of July, 2005) and agree with his assessment. Although the former represents a phenotype of the latter that is less heavily marked with yellow, nevertheless I have examined many specimens of this widely distributed species and consider this to represent intraspecific variation. However, in general, more heavily marked forms occur in the northern part of its range.

Acmaeodera mariposa mariposa Horn, 1878 . Barr (1971) stated that adults of this species occur on Ceanothus cuneatus and that it is a probable host. Given the wide range of hosts recorded by Burke (1917), that may well be true. However, Barr’s only reference was to Beer (1944), who recorded only that Cercocarpus betuloides is a larval host, and that adults were swept from foliage of Purshia tridentata on Roxy Anne Butte near Medford, Oregon. I collected at that site, where both shrubs occur. Westcott et al. (1979) recorded Cercocarpus ledifolius as a new larval host. Based on my experience, C. betuloides appears to be the plant on which adults are most commonly encountered.

Acmaeodera quadrivittata Horn, 1870 (complex). Nelson and Westcott (1995) discussed this species and described two others, A. navajo Nelson and Westcott and A. quadrivittatoides Nelson and Westcott , in the same complex. Since that time, I have examined numerous additional specimens that, for the most part, serve only to muddy the waters. For example, specimens from Utah, Kane Co., The Hall and Willow Tank that were attributed to A. navajo now seem better aligned with A. quadrivittata . This is based on examining many specimens from north of this area, in Garfield Co. At the same time it shows that those two species may not be as distinct as originally considered. A similar relationship occurs between the latter species and A. quadrivittatoides , the extreme closeness of which, separable only by ovipositor structure, was recognized by the aforementioned authors. For example, in their work, specimens from near Needles, San Bernardino Co., California, were attributed to A. quadrivittata though indicated to be a transitional form. Recent examination of specimens from this same region (Hwy. 95, S of Needles, 20­VI­88, BYUC, RLWE) clearly shows they are A. quadrivittatoides , which represents only the second known record from that state. The other is an anomalous specimen from “Inyo Co.” ( Nelson and Westcott 1995), which I feel needs to be verified. Obviously this complex needs considerably more study by some enterprising student of Buprestidae , especially to include other populations, some of which undoubtedly represent undescribed species, known from Mexico.