Cercopeus chrysorrhoeus ( Say, 1831 )

O’Brien, Charles W., Ciegler, Janet C. & Girón, Jennifer C., 2010, Weevils of the genus Cercopeus Schoenherr from South Carolina, USA (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Entiminae), Insecta Mundi 2010 (141), pp. 1-29 : 7-8

Cercopeus chrysorrhoeus ( Say, 1831)

( Fig. 3 , 20 , 41 )

Diagnosis. Body broad-oval; integument shining, dark reddish brown; clothed with dark brown, light brown, and whitish tan, oval to round recumbent scales without obvious pattern, some specimens heavily encrusted, obscuring scales; and with moderately dense, erect, coarse, bristle-like setae.

Description. Female. Length, pronotum and elytra: 3.5-4.3 mm. Width, elytra: 1.75-2.40 mm. Rostrum shorter than head, thick, nearly straight, slightly tapered to apex; dorsal contour curved in lateral view, apical 1/3 weakly depressed; dorsomedian area broadly, shallowly impressed; basal 2/3 clothed with light brown scales concealing punctures; apical 1/3 glabrous with elongate punctures and moderately sparse, elongate, suberect, pale setae; with nasal plate moderately to poorly defined, not carinate or punctate. Head with frons with shallow median fovea; frons densely covered with scales similar to scales on base of rostrum; vertex glabrous or scaly; occiput shiny with tiny scales in elongate substriate punctures; eyes oval, ventral margin flattened, nearly flat in dorsal view. Antennae moderately slender, scape gradually widened to apex, straight or nearly so, with dense recumbent scales and sparse long suberect setae; funicular antennomere 1 clavate, slightly longer than 2, 3 half the length of 2, slightly longer than wide, 4-7 moniliform and 3/5 as long as 2; club broad-oval, about as long as funicular antennomeres 1 + 2. Prothorax 1.08× wider than long, sides markedly rounded, widest 2/5 from base, slightly constricted toward apex, base wider than apex; lateral margins moderately angulate in anterior view; disc on median 3/4 with large contiguous elongate substriolate punctures, each with round to elongate pale to dark scale, laterally with wide vitta of paler scales, inflexed area of pleuron with dark brown scales; disc with pale fine to moderately coarse, elongate, suberect setae; margins with moderate to coarse dark setae. Elytra short broad-oval, 0.74× as wide as long, broadest 1/5 to 2/5 from base behind rounded humeri, sides roundly evenly narrowed to slight constriction near apex, apices conjointly rounded; disc and inflexed area mottled with vague v-shaped paler area from humeri to 1/3 from apex; striae with deep round punctures separated by more than own diameters, each with small elongate scale not concealing puncture; intervals equal in width, nearly flat, with moderate-sized imbricate scales, becoming plumose on sides, all with single row of long suberect setae. Legs stout; femora moderately clavate with small, noncontiguous, recumbent scales and, fine, elongate, subrecumbent setae; foretibia nearly straight with inner margin sinuate, not denticulate, externally with small apical spine and anteapical spine 1/6 from apex ( Fig. 20 ), apex internally produced as large triangular mucronate process; hind tibia with two blunt stout apical spines, and outer margin of apex with 12 short sharp pale spines becoming longer posteriorly. Venter with sparse, noncontiguous, recumbent, plumose scales on pro-, meso-, and metasternum; abdominal sterna shiny with pale, recumbent, plumose scales marginally, nearly glabrous medially with pale fine subrecumbent setae, and both coarse and very fine punctures; abdominal sternum I transversely convex, 1.5× as long as II; II slightly convex posteriorly, as long as III + IV together; III + IV weakly convex; V as long as II with broadly rounded apex, nearly flat with slight transverse impression. Genitalia: Tergum VII ( Fig. 41a ) 1.1× wider than long, with anterior margin slightly rounded, 1.3× wider than posterior margin, lateral margins nearly straight, apical margin emarginate, surface with setae on apical fourth; in lateral view, dorsal outline straight. Tergum VIII ( Fig. 41b ) 1.1× wider than long, with anterior margin emarginate and lateral margins convergent, straight; posterior margin emarginate, with submarginal setae. Sternum VIII ( Fig. 41c ) 0.8× length of sterna I-V together, spear-shaped, with lamina 3× longer than wide, rounded at apex and corners, with apicolateral area and median basilongitudinal region more sclerotized than basilateral region, with two lateral submarginal setae. Coxites + styli ( Fig. 41d ) 0.8× length of lamina of sternum VIII; coxites with one apical seta and two preapical shorter setae; styli 3× longer than basal width, with three setae, apically inserted. Genital chamber 0.9× length of sternum VIII. Spermatheca ( Fig. 41e ) 1.5× longer than wide, j-shaped; cornu straight; ramus and collum similar in size and shape, apically truncate, laterally rounded; duct inserted apically; surface not particularly sculptured.

Male. Unknown.

Remarks and comparative notes. This is a highly variable distinctive species with diverse color patterns, not to be confused with species which lack the anteapical spine of the foretibia. Cercopeus strigicollis , with an anteapical spine, is larger and has distinct prothoracic striolae. Although some individuals of both species overlap in length, the more robust, rounded, convex body of C. strigicollis makes it appear much larger.

Range. AL, AR, DC, GA, IN, KY, MA, MD, MI, NC, NJ, NY, OH, PA, SC, TX, VA, WV ( O’Brien and Wibmer 1982).

Materials examined. South Carolina: Calhoun Co., St. Matthews (1) CWOB), (1) ( JCCC); Florence Co., Florence (8) ( CUAC); Greenville Co., Greenville (1) ( CWOB); Newberry Co., Joanna (1) ( JFCC); Pickens Co., Clemson (6) ( CUAC), Liberty (1) ( CUAC), Nine Times (1) ( JCCC); Richland Co., Ballantine (1) ( JCCC); Sumter Co., Woods Bay State Park (1) ( CWOB).

Figures

Figure 1-5. Habitus of Cercopeus species: dorsal view, lateral view, and life-size silhouette. 1) C. alexi, male. 2) Same, female. 3) C. chrysorrhoeus, female. 4) C. cornelli, male. 5) Same, female.

Figure 16-23. Legs of Cercopeus species. 16) Left midfemur, C. femoratus, male, ventral view. 17) Left foretibia, C. alexi, male, lateral view. 18) Left foretibia, C. tibialis, male, lateral view. 19) Right foretibia, C. cornelli, male, ventral view. 20) Right foretibia, C. chrysorrhoeus, female, dorsal view. 21) Left foretibia, C. maspavancus, female, dorsal view. 22) Right foretibia, C. femoratus, female, dorsal view. 23) Left foretibia, C. tibialis, female, lateral view.

Figure 40-48. Female genitalia of Cercopeus species: a. tergum VII, dorsal view; b. tergum VIII, dorsal view; c. sternum VIII, ventral view; d. coxite, lateral view; e. spermatheca. 40) C. alexi. 41) C. chrysorrhoeus. 42) C. cornelli. 43) C. femoratus. 44) C. maspavancus. 45) C. paulus. 46) C. skelleyi. 47) C. strigicollis. 48) C. tibialis. Scale bars: 0.5 mm for a, b and c; 0.2 mm for d and e.