Elytrogona bacca Boheman, 1850

Chaboo, Caroline S., 2000, Revision And Phylogeny Of The Caribbean Genus Elytrogona Chevrolat (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae: Stolaini), The Coleopterists Bulletin 54 (3), pp. 379-394 : 386-387

Elytrogona bacca Boheman

Figs. 3 , 8, 15

Elytrogona bacca Boheman, 1850: 441 [description]; Boheman, 1854: 25 [description]; Boheman, 1862: 193 [list]; Gemminger and Harold, 1876: 3638 [catalog]; Spaeth, 1914: 51 [catalog]; Blackwelder, 1946: 743 [checklist].

Elytrogona corallina: Gemminger and Harold, 1876: 3638 [nomen nudum, cited as ‘‘Mannerheim, in litt. ’’].

Elytrogona baccha: Leng and Mutchler, 1817: 458 [misspelling]; Blackwelder, 1946: 743 [checklist; incorrectly cited as a synonym of E. bacca ].

Diagnosis. The elytra are reddish brown and lack any maculation as in the other species.

Description. Length 7.4–9.9 mm; width 5.6–9.0 mm. Dorsum reddish­brown. Head, ventral surface and legs reddish­brown, antenna yellow. Pronotum edges smooth and hemispherical, posterior edge blackish; faint median groove; anterior margin straightish over head; prosternal collar well­defined, protuberant; prosternal process slightly inflated posteriorly with shallow anterior groove; posterior margin not projected at scutellum. Scutellum visible externally, shiny and smooth. Elytral base not broader than pronotum; anterior margin blackish; suture flat; explanate margins narrow and tapered posteriorly; punctation ( Fig. 3 ) similar on disc and explanate margins. Metasternum 3 times wider than long, distorted and concave. Spermathecal duct short, with 2–6 coils.

Type. Lectotype and one paralectotype, designated by Borowiec (1999). Locality label: ‘‘ Domingo,’’ Naturhistoriska Riksmusset, Stockholm, Sweden.

Specimens Examined. Lectotype and paralectotype, and eighty one specimens (males and females), with the following label data:

HAITI: coll. E. C. & G. M. Leonard (2, USNM); Gonaive Is. (3, USNM); Gonaives Is., August , coll. Eyerdam (8, MCZC); St. Marc , 10 March 1925 (1, USNM) ; Ennery, Ennery River , 1,000̍, 14 July 1956 , coll. B. & B. Valentine (1, SMCC); 10 mi SE Gonaives , 11 July 1956 (1, SMCC) ; Chatard, Dept. du Nord, 21 May 1959, coll. M. W. Sanderson (10, INHS); Port au Prince (9, FMNH; 4, MMUE; 1, USNM); Port au Prince , coll. Ehrenberg, (MNHUB); Port au Prince , 1–10 May 1908 , coll. M. Cameron (1, BMNH); Hinche , July , coll Eyerdam (1, MCZC); Marmelade, 14 May , coll. E. C. Leonard (1, USNM); St. Michel , December 1925 , coll. E. C. Leonard (1, USNM); Jean Rabel , February 1929 , coll. E. C. & G. M. Leonard (1, USNM); Reidi Haag (1, MMUE); Trou d’Eau, 19 November 1934 , coll. Darlington (1, USNM); La Gonave , 21 March 1931 , coll. F. E. Wickus (1, USNM); Atoite Is., Gonave , 18 March 1920 , coll. E. C. Leonard (2, USNM); Mt. Cabrite , 21 October 1924 , on Acacia , coll. Hoffman (2, USNM).

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: (1, MMUE) ; Prov. Barahona, 7 Km S. Cabral , 240 m Cabral­Polo Rd, 4 July 1992, Polo Magnetico, colls. M.A. & R.O. Ivie (14, MAIC) ; Domingo (3, BMNH; 2, LBC; 1, MMUE); Prov. Perdernales 24 Km N. Cabo Rojo , 610 m, 20 August 1988, wet forest, colls. M. Ivie, Philipps & Johnson (1, MAIC) ; Monte Cristi Prov., 5–9 Km N. Villa Elisa , 26 May 1992, coll. M. C. Thomas (3, FSCA) ; Monte Cristi Prov., 8 Km N Villa Elisa , 31 May 1994, coll. M. C. Thomas (1, FSCA) ; Monte Cristi, 8.2 Km N. Villa Elisa , 31 May 1994, coll. R. Turnbow (1, RHTC) .

Variation. One specimen was distinctly yellow, probably due to collecting and storage conditions.

Remarks. One specimen (SMCC) bears the label ‘‘beating branches in semi desert.’’ Several specimens (INHS) collected by S. W. Sanderson came with a handwritten note ‘‘to attach to the host label: Ipomoea nr. itiliacea,’’ and another (USNM) has the host data ‘‘on Acacia . ’’ These represent the first plant records associated with this genus, but they should be confirmed as hosts. Two specimens (AMNH) bear the label: ‘‘Athens, Ga.’’ Given the known distribution, I consider these mislabelled.

Figures

Figs. 1–7. 1–2) Profiles, scale bar = 2 mm; 1) Elytrogona gemmata, profile; 2) Stoiba swartzii, profile; 3–7) Elytral punctation, square = 1 mm2; 3) E. bacca; 4). E. bulla; 5) E. gemmata; 6) E. nigrodorsta; 7) E. quatuordecimmaculata.