Aphthona bombayensis

Prathapan, K. D. & Konstantinov, A. S., 2011, A New Species-Group inAphthonaChevrolat (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) with a Description of a New Species from Southern India, The Coleopterists Bulletin 65 (4), pp. 329-334 : 329-334

Aphthona bombayensis species-group

Members of this group share the following characters: color yellow to dark brown; body extremely small (1.2–1.6 mm); head with supraantennal sulci well-developed, postcallinal sulci poorly developed or absent, and antennal calli not raised; elytral

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punctures forming nearly regular striae; median lobe of aedeagus ventrally with longitudinal impression and acute apex lacking denticle, with dorsal side membranous and concave; spermatheca with ovoid receptacle and duct making loop away from receptacle; posterior sclerotization of tignum wide, without well-developed arms.

Konstantinov and Lingafelter (2002) observed that many Oriental species of Aphthona fall into five species-groups. Members of the bombayensis species-group resemble those of the kanaraensis species-group because of their yellow color. Species in the bombayensis species-group can be separated from the kanaraensis species-group by their smaller size (members of kanaraensis speciesgroup are distinctly larger, 1.8–2.4 mm), the anterofrontal ridge medially is much lower than the frontal ridge (anterofrontal ridge high, as high as frontal ridge, especially in middle in the kanaraensis species-group), the elytral punctures are arranged in nearly regular rows (elytral punctures confused in the kanaraensis species-group), the spermatheca has an ovoid receptacle (receptacle oblong in kanaraensis species-group), and the spermathecal duct forms a loop away from the receptacle (not so in the the kanaraensis species-group).