Agrilus auroguttatus Schaeffer 1905

Hespenheide, Henry A., Westcott, Richard L. & Bellamy, Charles L., 2011, Agrilus Curtis (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) of the Baja California peninsula, México, Zootaxa 2805, pp. 36-56 : 43-44

Agrilus auroguttatus Schaeffer 1905 , Revalidated status

(Figs. 34–36)

Only a single specimen is known from the peninsula, beaten from Quercus sp. at the end of August in the Sierra de La Laguna, BCS. Agrilus auroguttatus has been considered a synonym ( Hespenheide 1979) and later ( Hespenheide and Bellamy 2009) a subspecies of A. coxalis Waterhouse 1889 (Figs. 31–33), but on further study we now conclude that they are distinct species. Although A. coxalis has been recorded from southern California ( Westcott 2005, Coleman and Seybold 2009), this population should be treated as A. auroguttatus ; A. coxalis s. str. has been found only in Mexico, Guatemala, and perhaps Honduras. The senior author only recently had males of A. auroguttatus available for study, and when genitalia of specimens from the California population were compared with those of A. coxalis from Chiapas, México, consistent differences were observed (cf. Figures 33 and 36). In addition to differences in genitalia, the elytral pubescent spots of A. coxalis are typically smaller (<0.25 mm in width) and very pale yellow or white, whereas those of A. auroguttatus are larger (> 0.25 mm in width) and distinctly dark golden orange in the Arizona and California populations, although they are pale in the BCS specimen. The disjunct distributions and consistent genitalic and morphological differences given above all recommend considering A. auroguttatus and A. coxalis as separate species. Until recently, A. auroguttatus had been known only from southeastern Arizona, and had rarely been collected. Coleman and Seybold (2009) reported A. auroguttatus (as A. coxalis ) to be causing widespread damage and death to oaks in San Diego Co., California, where, because of its sudden appearance, large numbers, and apparent mortality to its host, it was assumed to have been introduced. Although there are no current records from adjacent BCN, it is likely to spread there soon.

Agrilus blandus Horn 1891 (Figs. 61–62)

Although this species was recorded from Isla Cedros ( Blaisdell 1925), which is part of BCN, nevertheless it has been unknown from the peninsula itself. The following records are all from BCN: 21 mi SE Ojos Negros, 17-VII- 55, J.P. Figg-Hoblyn; Sierra Juárez (CAS); 11 mi SW Sawmill, 5200’, 16-VII-69, S.C. Williams, V.F. Lee (CAS); N. Sierra Juárez, Mezquita, 1400 m, 6.VII-75, B.K. Dozier (FSCA); Sa. San Pedro Mártir, ± 5 mi S Mike’s Sky Ranch, 1280 m, 16-VII-77 (RLWE); Sa. Juárez, El Progreso; 8.6 mi W La Zapopita [near Valle de Trinidad]; Sa. San Pedro Mártir, 3.9 mi E Castillo; 12.3 mi SE Santo Tomás, 800’, on Eriogonum sp., 30-VI-73 & 4-VII-75; Sa. San Pedro Mártir, Rcho. El Coyote, 3600’, 1-VI-74; Sa. San Pedro Mártir, El Encino; 10 mi S Ensenada, VIII (SGWC); 9 mi E Ojos Negros, 915 m, Eriogonum , 27-V-89 (RLWE); Carr. 3, 21 km SSE Héroes Independencia, 1070 m, 22-VI-93 (RLWE). Aside from the Isla Cedros record, this insect has been known only from California. Adults have been taken on Eriogonum fasciculatum Benth. (Polygonaceae) , and reported by Nelson and Westcott (1976) as reared from E. elongatum Benth.