Dercetina azumai Kimoto & Gressitt, 1966

Lee, Chi-Feng & Bezdek, Jan, 2013, Revision of the genus Dercetina from Taiwan and their similar species, with description of a new species from Myanmar (Insecta, Chrysomelidae, Galerucinae), ZooKeys 323, pp. 1-33 : 2-5

Dercetina azumai Kimoto & Gressitt, 1966

Dercetina azumai Kimoto & Gressitt, 1966: 534 (Japan: Iriomote island); Kimoto 1969: 66 (Taiwan); Kimoto 1989a; 260 (Taiwan).

Type series.

Dercetina azumai : Holotype ♀ (KUEC): "RYUKYU IS. Iriomote I. Ushiku-mori 11.III.1964 / S. Kimoto Collector / Japan-U. S. Co-op. Sci. Programme (yellow label) / HOLOTYPE DERCETINA AZUMAI J. L. GRESSITT (red label)".

Material examined.

TAIWAN: 1♂, Kaoshiung, Chuyunshan trail, 1.III.2009, leg. U. Ong (TARI); 1♀, Kaoshiung, Taoyuan, 3.VII.2009, leg. S.-F. Yu (TARI); 5♂♂, 12♀♀, Kaoshiung, Tengchih (= Shihshan trail), 2-5.VI.2008, leg. C.-F. Lee (TARI); 3♂♂, 16♀♀, same locality, 2.X.2008, leg. M.-H. Tsou (TARI); 6♀♀, same locality, 1-3.X.2008, leg. M.-H. Tsou (TARI); 1♂, 1♀, same locality, 5.II.2009, leg. M.-H. Tsou (TARI); 1♂, 1♀, same locality, 26.V.2009, leg. C.-F. Lee (TARI); 1♂, same locality, 4.VII.2011, leg. M.-H. Tsou (TARI); 1♀, Pingtung, Jinshuiying, 12.IV.2012, leg. C.-F. Lee (TARI); 2♀♀, Pingtung, Tahanshan, 22.I.2009, leg. S.-F. Yu (TARI); 1♀, same locality, 24.I.2009, leg. M.-H. Tsou (TARI); 1♀, same locality, 8.V.2009, leg. U. Ong (TARI); 1♂, same locality, 21.VII.2009, leg. J.-C. Chen (TARI); 6♂♂, 14.VIII.2011, leg. Y.-T. Wang (TARI); 1♀, same locality, 6.VI.2012, leg. C.-F. Lee (TARI); 1♂, same locality, 19.VII.2012, leg. C.-F. Lee (TARI); 2♂♂, Taitung, Motien, 23.VI.2010, leg. S.-F. Yu (TARI); 1♂, same locality, 19.VI.2011, leg. C.-F. Lee (TARI).

Diagnosis.

Dercetina azumai is similar to Dercetina shirozui with metallic green elytra but differs by the yellowish brown head, prothorax, meso- and metathoracic ventrites (in contrast with metallic green head, prothorax, meso- and metathoracic ventrites in Dercetina shirozui ).

Redescription.

Color (Figs 1-2) yellowish brown except eye black; antennomeres III-XI dark brown; elytron metallic green or blue. Head shagreened and impunctate. Pronotum transverse, 1.4-1.5 times wider than long, disc with a pair of deep fovea, and scattered prominent and fine punctures; lateral margin sinuate, narrowed posterior, anterior margin slightly concave, posterior margin slightly rounded. Elytra more or less widened posterior, apex convergent rounded, 1.6-1.7 times longer than wide, disc with densely prominent punctures; epipleurae with scattered prominent prunctures.

Male. Length 4.9-5.6 mm, width 2.1-2.4 mm. Antenna filiform (Fig. 5), ratio of length of antennomeres III to XI about 1.0: 1.6: 1.6: 1.6: 1.6: 1.3: 1.2: 1.1: 1.4; ratio of length to width of antennomeres III to XI about 3.9: 6.4: 6.1: 6.0: 6.2: 5.1: 4.8: 4.1: 5.1. Penis (Fig. 7) extremely slender, about 8.9 times longer than wide, parallel-sided, basally widened, apex pointed; tectum membranous, with scattered stout membranous setae; weakly curved in lateral view (Fig. 8); endophallic sclerite elongate, about 0.7 times as long as penis, apex curved in lateral view, bifurcate, with a cluster of dense setae near apex; a pair of hooked dorsal slclerite connected at apical 1/5, an elongate sclerite between dorsal sclerite and ventral sclerite, connected at apical 1/3; ventral sclerite with base deeply bifurcate.

Female. Length 5.5-6.8 mm, width 2.6-3.3 mm. Ratio of length of antennomeres III to XI about 1.0: 1.7: 1.6: 1.6: 1.5: 1.4: 1.3: 1.3: 1.5; ratio of length to width of antennomeres III to XI about 3.8: 6.3: 6.1: 5.9: 5.6: 5.1: 4.9: 4.9: 5.7 (Fig. 6). Sternite VIII (Fig. 9) weakly sclerotized laterally and apically, with scattered setae along lateral and apical margin, spiculum extremely slender. Spermathecal receptaculum (Fig. 11) weakly swollen; pump narrow and moderately curved, apex broadly rounded; spermathecal duct long, strongly curved, deeply projecting into receptaculum. Gonocoxae (Fig. 10) widely connected at middle, about 4.4 times longer than wide, curved inwards at apical 1/3, with one long seta at apical 1/3, eleven setae at apex.

Host plants.

Myrsinaceae : Embelia lenticellata Hayata; Saxifragaceae : Hydrangea angustipetala Hayata.

Distribution.

Japan (Iriomote island) and Taiwan. This species occurs in mountains (1000-2000 m) of southern Taiwan (Fig. 12) but locally abundant.