Cephaloleia Chevrolat 1836: 30

Synonomys

Cephalolia Blanchard 1845: 162, not Weise.

Uhmannispa Monrós & Viana 1947: 172.

Type Species

Hispa nigricornis Fabricius.

Diagnosis

Cephaloleia can be distinguished by the following combination of characters:

• the lateral margins of the pronotumpronotum:
  occupies all of dorsal part of the prothorax; in anterior angles or posterior angles there may be a small tubercle or pore with a seta
  and the elytra without long, stiff spines
• the head without a frontal horn
• the pronotumpronotum:
  occupies all of dorsal part of the prothorax; in anterior angles or posterior angles there may be a small tubercle or pore with a seta
  with a seta in each anterior angle, quadrangular
• the apex of the elytra without a tooth-like projection
• the elytra without costae, parallel-sided,
• head with clypeusclypeus:
  usually quadrangular, elongate; joined to the labrum
  very small, mouthparts not projecting forward, interantennal carina not distinct, maxillary palps with palpomeres 2 and 3 smaller than 1
• antennae with 11-antennomeres, filiform, antennomeres 1 and 2 not globular

Description

Body elongate, rather parallel-sided (rarely oval), flat or moderately convex.

Head: small; eyes oval, convex, finely faceted, slightly prominent; labrumlabrum:
triangular, joined to the clypeus and the oral orifice
rather large, anterior margin rounded; maxillary palps with palpomere 1 short, 2 oblong conic, 3 shorter than 1 or 2, 4 subequal in length to 2, truncate at apex.

Antenna: filiform, slightly thickened at apex.

Pronotum: quadrangular, square or transverse; frequently widest just behind apical angle; usually margined laterally, sometimes canaliculate; basal margin bisinuate or occasionally biangulate.

Scutellum: short; pentagonal or triangular.

Elytron: variable in form and color; with 10 puncture rows plus a short scutellar row; very narrowly margined.

Venter: prosternumprosternum:
contains two anterior coxal cavities
strongly contracted between coxae, truncate at base; mesosternummesosternum:
narrow between middle coxae, separated from metasternum by a transverse suture; forming the anterior part of the middle coxal cavities
short, transverse; metasternum larger; suture between abdominal sterna 1 and 2 often obsolete medially (at least in middle).

Leg: short; femurfemur:
largest part of the leg; more or less cylindrical, attached at base to trochanter and at apex to tibia
dilated in middle; tibiatibia:
variable in length; joins femur and tarsus
short, dilated toward apex, obliquely truncate at apex; tarsi wide, short; claws divaricate.

Distribution

Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guyana, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, México, Nicaragua, Panamá, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad, and Venezuela.

World Fauna

Described species: 212 (Staines & García-Robledo in press). Key to species: Uhmann (1936) covered 29 species in his collection; Monrós & Viana (1947), Argentina; Staines (1996, 1998, 2008, 2009); Staines & García-Robledo (in press).

Hosts

Goeppertia, Heliconia (Heliconiaceae); Calathea, Ischnospihon, Maranta,Pleiostachya, Renealmia (Marantaceae); Canna (Cannaceae); Costus (Costaceae); Musa (Musaceae); Astrocaryum,Bactris, Chamaedorea, Corozo, Cocos, Diplothemium, Elaeis, Geonoma, Thrinax (Arecaceae); Chujquea, Panicum, Pharus, Saccharum (Poaceae); Ananas, Pitcairnia (Bromeliaceae); Caesalpinia (Caesalpiniaceae); Cordyline (Agavaceae); Vitex (Verbenaceae); Carex (Cyperaceae); Elleanthus, Epidendrum, Oerstedella (Orchideaceae).

References

Blanchard, C. E. 1845. Histoire des insectes, traitant de leurs moeurs et de leurs métamophoses en général, et comprenant une nouvelle classification fondée sur leurs rapports naturels. Vol. 2. Paris. 524 pp.

Chevrolat, L. A. A. 1836. pp. 385-503, In Dejean, P. F. M. A., Catalogue des Coléoptères de la collection de M. le comte Dejean. 3rd ed., Paris. 503 pp.

Monrós, F. and M. J. Viana. 1947. Revisión sistemàtica de los Hispidae Argentinos (Insecta, Colep. Chrysomeloid.). Anales de Museo Argentino Ci Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia" 42: 125‑324.

Staines, C. L. 1996. The genus Cephaloleia (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) in Central America and the West Indies. Special Publication No. 3 of the Revista de Biología Tropical. 87 pp.

Staines, C. L. 1998. A new species of Cephaloleia Chevrolat (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Hispinae) from Costa Rica. Proceedings of the Washington Entomological Society 100:672-673.

Staines, C. L. 2008.A new species of Cephaloleia Chevrolat, 1837 (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae) from Dominica. Insecta Mundi 0030:1-4.

Staines, C. L. 2009. Generic reassignment of species in the tribe Cephaloleiini Chapuis, 1875 (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae). Insecta Mundi 0107:1-4.

Staines, C. L. & C. García-Robledo. in press. The genus Cephaloleia Chevrolat, 1836 (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae). Zookeys

Uhmann, E. 1936. Schlüssel der mir bekannten Cephalolia-Arten (Col. Chrys.). 65. Beitrag zur Kenntnis der Hispinen. Revista de Entomología Rio de Janeiro 6: 481‑485.