Melanterius costipennis Lea, 1905

Pinzón-Navarro, Sara V., Jennings, Debbie & Oberprieler, Rolf G., 2017, Host associations of Melanterius Erichson (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Cleogonini), with a diagnosis and delimitation of the genus and description of five new species, Zootaxa 4298 (1), pp. 1-77 : 16

Melanterius costipennis Lea, 1905

( Figs. 28–29 )

Melanterius costipennis Lea, 1905: 223

This large species was described from Hobart in Tasmania but also occurs in Victoria and New South Wales. It can be recognised mainly by its orange pronotal and elytral setae, which on the pronotum form a loose, curved band stretching from the basal corners mesad towards the apex but not meeting there but running down the side of the anterior margin, and on the elytra forming small irregular clusters. Other salient features include the costate odd interstriae (except 3 and 5 not costate at base) and interstriae 3 having a shiny callus just behind the base. The body of the penis ( Fig. 29 ) is distinctively broadening apicad in dorsal view but slightly constricted at the apex, which is bilobed, and has a pair of large, complex endophallic sclerites at the base.

The species is usually reared from galls incited by Uromycladium rust fungus on Acacia species, such as A. dealbata , A. implexa and A. salicina , and it has also been collected on A. decurrens (specimens in ANIC). Whether its larvae only develop in rust fungus galls or also in seeds appears unknown. We collected adults mainly on A. mearnsii ( Tables 1, 2), but not specifically from rust galls or seeds.

Figures

FIGURES 28 – 31. Dorsal view of habitus and aedeagi of Melanterius costipennis Lea and M. inconspicuus (Lea). 28 – 29: M. costipennis; 28: male (Tasmania, Hobart); 29: aedeagus (Victoria, Cobden). 30 – 31: M. inconspicuus; 30: male (New South Wales, Yengo NP); 31: adeagus (New South Wales, Yengo NP).