Omophoita albicollis (Fabricius)

Clark, Shawn M., Lillrose, Tiffany & Belo Neto, Luiz A., 2013, Leaf Beetles of the Cayman Islands (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), Insecta Mundi 2013 (279), pp. 1-41 : 26-27

Omophoita albicollis (Fabricius)

( Figure 19)

Chrysomela albicollis Fabricius 1787: 76 .

Chrysomela leucopicta Gmelin 1790: 1692 .

Diagnosis. The greatly enlarged hind femora, together with the rather globosely swollen terminal portion of the distal tarsomere of each hind leg, distinguish the two species of this genus from other chrysomelids known to occur in the Cayman Islands. The elytra of O. albicollis ( Fig. 19) are dark with pale maculae, and the postmedian oblique macula is longer and more slender than in maculate specimens of O. cyanipennis ( Fig. 20). Two of the specimens examined have only faint, but still discernible, maculae and are separable from the immaculate form of O. cyanipennis only upon close inspection.

Material examined. Cayman Islands, Grand Cayman, Boatswain Point , 20-XII-1975, E. J. Gerberg (1, FSCA) ; Cayman Islands, Grand Cayman , East End, VIII-1964, E. J. Gerberg (1, FSCA) ; Cayman Islands, Grand Cayman , East End, 18-VIII-1964, E. J. Gerberg (6, FSCA) ; Cayman Islands, Grand Cayman , West Bay, 17-VIII-1964, E. J. Gerberg (2, BYUC; 6, FSCA) .

Extralimital distribution. Antigua, Barbados, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Trinidad, and the Virgin Islands ( Blake 1931).

Plant associations. In Puerto Rico, this species feeds on Heliotropium indicum L. ( Boraginaceae ), on Ludwigia (Onagraceae) , and on Clerodendron aculeatum (L.) Schlecht., Phyla nodiflora (L.) Greene, and Stachytarpheta indica (L.) Vahl. (all Verbenaceae ) ( Virkki 1980).

Comments. Citing unpublished data from the University of Puerto Rico Agricultural Experiment Station, Virkki (1980) mentioned the occurrence of this species on Grand Cayman. Later ( Virkki 1982), he cited Blackwelder’s catalog, erroneously giving the date of publication as 1948, although the true date is 1946, and reported the distribution of this species to include Grand Cayman. In actuality, the Blackwelder catalog did not list O. albicollis from the Cayman Islands.