Agra grace Erwin, 2010

Erwin, Terry L., 2010, Agra, arboreal beetles of Neotropical forests: pusilla group and piranha group systematics and notes on their ways of life (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Lebiini, Agrina), ZooKeys 66, pp. 1-28 : 6-8

Agra grace Erwin sp. n. Figs 1 4 10

Holotype:

Perú: Madre de Dios, Pakitza, Tachigali Trail /47, 324m, "11.9352°S, 71.3039°W," 6 October 1991 (T.L. Erwin & M.G. Pogue)(NMNH: BIOLAT 012952, female).

Derivation of specific epithet.

The epithet " grace " is an eponym, based on the given name of the Peruvian Ornithologist, Grace Servat, who has shared the bird-infested Amazon and Andes with me for many years, including two of the known localities of this species, including the type locality.

Proposed English vernacular name.

Grace’s Elegant Canopy Beetle.

Diagnosis.

With the attributes of the genus and species-group as described above and small sized for the pusilla group. Adults with blue integument; head behind eyes and prothorax with metallic reflections. Frons laterad unicarinate and very finely rugose. Occiput not punctate, some fine rugae present. Elytra with moderately lobed apex in female, more so in male. Hind coxae of male multisetiferous.

Description.

( Figs 1 , 4 ). Size: Very small, ABL = 5.71 - 6.1 mm, SBL = 4.77 - 6.67 mm, TW = 1.44 - 1.66 mm. Color: Head and pronotum bright blue, body metallic blue; antennae and mouthparts piceous, scape and antennomeres 2 and 3 with slight metallic blue reflections. Luster: Shiny metallic, elytra somewhat matte. Head: ( Fig. 1 ) Labrum moderately elongate and truncate apically. Frons medially raised and smooth, laterally depressed, unicarinate, not rugose. Gena slightly tapered with broadly rounded corners to constricted neck in both sexes. Occiput not punctate, some fine rugae present. Prothorax: Slightly broader medially, flared basally; surface with dense coarse punctures, some setiferous; lateral elongate callous with single row of punc tures, along middle. Pterothorax: Elytron ( Fig. 1 ) markedly convex, intervals slightly costate, interneurs of rows of somewhat laterally ovate punctures, apex truncate, barely oblique, apical dentation asymmetric, lateral tooth broad, obtuse, sutural apex not produced. Metasternum sparsely setiferous in both sexes. Legs: Normal. Abdomen: Abdominal sterna III to VII of both sexes moderately and bilaterally setiferous; sternum VII of both sexes barely emarginate, corners rounded. Male genitalia: Phallus ( Fig. 4 ) elongate and narrow with ostium not elongate, extended to about 1/3 the length of phallus, apex a small rounded lobe. Parameres small, left twice the size of the right, both broadly rounded. Female ovipositor: Stylomere 2 as in Agra notpusilla ( Fig. 7 ).

Dispersal potential.

These beetles are macropterous and are probably capable of flight; they are swift and agile runners.

Way of life.

Adults are found in the canopy of rainforest trees; known larvae of this genus ( Arndt et al. 2001) are found under the bark of these trees, however they must also roam on the surface, as they have been collected by insecticidal fogging techniques in the very early morning before first light. Members of Agra grace occur at lowland altitudes in the Amazon Basin. Adults are active in September - October, the transition season between dry and wet seasons. The holotype was fogged from a medium-sized tree with lianas and suspended dead leaves; the area fogged was from 2 meters up to 15 meters in the tree. The Ecuadorian paratype was fogged from a mixed canopy consisting of the trees Pseudolmedia laevis (Ruiz & Pav.) J.F. Macbr., Protium cf. nodulosum , and Eschweilera cf. coriacea . The Peruvian paratype was fogged from a species of the tree genus Pouteria .

Other specimens examined.

Ecuador: Orellana, 1 km S Onkone Gare Camp, Entomology Transect, 216m, "0.6569°S, 76.4527°W," 7 October 1994 (T.L. Erwin, et al.)(NMNH: ADP 087438, male paratype). Perú: Madre de Dios, Pakitza, 324m, "11.9352°S, 71.3039°W," 9 September 1988 (T.L. Erwin & B.D. Farrell)(NMNH: BIOLAT 008430, male paratype).

Geographic distribution.

( Fig. 10 ). This species is currently known from Perú and Ecuador.

Notes.

Males are smaller than females.

Figures

Figure 1. Agra grace Erwin, sp. n., dorsal aspect (BIOLAT 012952).

Figure 7. Agra notpusilla Erwin, sp. n., female stylomeres (dorsal aspect) (ADP 058647).

Figure 10. Distribution map of the species of the pusilla group. Names marked with a "? " do not have precise localities on the specimen label (s).

Figures 3 - 6. 3 Agra cruciaria Erwin, sp. n., male genitalia (dorsal, ventral, left lateral aspects) (ADP 070044) 4 Agra grace Erwin, sp. n., male genitalia (dorsal, ventral, left lateral aspects) (ADP 087638) 5 Agra pseuopusilla Erwin, sp. n., male genitalia (dorsal, ventral, left lateral aspects) (ADP 070045) 6 Agra pusilla Chaudoir, sp. n., male genitalia (dorsal, ventral, left lateral aspects) (ADP 060087).