Basilepta viridipennis (Motschulsky, 1860)

Prathapan, Kaniyarikkal D., Poorani, Janakiraman, Kumari, S. Amritha, Anuradha, C., Balakrishnan Padmanaban, & Thanigairaj, Ramalingam, 2019, Species composition and diagnoses of leaf- and fruit-scarring beetles (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae) infesting bananas and plantains (Zingiberales, Musaceae) in the Indian subcontinent, Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift 66 (2), pp. 179-202 : 179

Basilepta viridipennis (Motschulsky, 1860) Fig. 9

Nodostoma viridipenne Motschulsky, 1860: Motschulsky 1860: 177; Jacoby 1908: 349; Kimoto 1967: 69.

Nodostoma frontale : Baly 1867: 253; Medvedev 2006: 412 (synonymy).

Nodostoma occipitale : Jacoby 1908: 335-336; Kimoto and Gressitt 1982: 36 (synonymy).

Nodostoma haroldi : Jacoby 1908: 331 (new name for Nodostoma aeneipenne Baly); Kimoto and Gressitt 1982: 36 (synonymy).

Nodostoma aeneipenne : Baly 1867: 235; Jacoby 1908: 331 (synonymy)

Nodostoma haroldi var. apicipes : Jacoby 1892: 87; Jacoby 1908: 331.

Basilepta viridipenne : Medvedev 2006: 412.

Basilepta viridipennis : Moseyko and Sprecher-Uebersax 2010: 639.

Basilepta occipitalis : Moseyko and Sprecher-Uebersax 2010: 639.

Material examined.

Type material of Nodostoma occipitale Jacoby: 62590/ Type (red bordered circular label)/ Doherty/ Tenesserim, Mergui/ Fry Coll. 1905-100/ Nodostoma occipitale Jac., Type (blue label)" ( BMNH). Other material: Fea/ Birmah, Carin Cheba/ Fry Coll. 1905-100/ NHMUK0114016244, 1 ex; Doherty/ Tenesserim, Javoy/ Fry Coll. 1905-100/ NHMUK014016300, 1 ex ( BMNH).

Remarks.

Basilepta viridipennis ( Fig. 9 ) has been erroneously reported in the literature as a pest of banana in the Indian Subcontinent (India and Bangladesh), and Waterhouse (1993) also listed it as a major pest of banana in Southeast Asia. All reports of its occurrence in northeastern India ( Das and Baruah 2018), Bangladesh ( Ahmed 1963; Zahan et al. 2001, 2003, 2004; Rahman et al. 2004), and Thailand ( Wongsiri 1991) are most likely to refer to B. subcostata . The type of N. occipitale Jacoby ( Fig. 9a, b ) ( BMNH, examined), a synonym of B. viridipennis , has only a superficial resemblance to B. subcostata and can be easily separated from the latter by the pronotum forming an obtuse angle posterolaterally ( Fig. 9b ) and its lateral margins abruptly converging anteriorly in almost a straight line. Besides, pronotal punctures in B. viridipennis are smaller than average elytral punctures and finely and more closely impressed on lateral part and more sparsely and finely so on median and anterior parts. Basilepta viridipennis is of variable coloration and includes reddish, brownish, bluish, greenish, violaceous, and blackish forms. Medvedev (2006) designated a lectotype for N. viridipenne and synonymised Basilepta frontalis (Baly) with it, as he found the types of both species were identical.

Distribution.

India, Nepal, Myanmar (= Burma), Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Hainan, Malaya, Sumatra.

Figures

Figure 9. Basilepta viridipennis (Jacoby). a, b. Syntype of Nodostoma occipitale Jacoby, a synonym of B. viridipennis (BMNH); c, d. Colour forms of B. viridipennis.