Chaeridiona Baly 1869b: 380

Synonomys

Choeridiona Gemminger & Harold 1876: 3609 (misspelling).

Type Species

Chaeridiona metallica Baly.

Diagnosis

Chaeridiona can be distinguished by the following combination of characters:

• body wedged-shaped
• lateral margin of 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 elytra without long, stiff spines
• head without frontal horn between antennae, vertexvertex:
  occupies the area behind and between the eyes
  without erect headpiece, labial palps absent or with 1 palpomere
• antennae not thickened apically, apical 4 antennomeres similar to other, antennomere 3 little longer than 1 or 2
• pronotum pronotum:
  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 seta in each anterior angle
• elytra with costae or tubercles, exterior apical angle rounded or with small tooth
• apex of elytra without tooth-like projection

Description

Small; body wedge-shaped; coarsely punctate, punctures may coalesce, punctures in regular rows on elytra; 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 tooth in each anterior angle; color brown to dark red, many with a metallic green or blue sheen.

Head: projecting forward from between eyes; angulate in front; maxillary palpomere 1 small, 2-3 subequal in length, short, 4 as long as 1-3 combined; mentum oblong, laterally constricted; ligula inserted on dorsal side of mentum, base invisible, apex large, subquadrate, longer than mentum; labial palps absent or with 1 palpomere; clypeusclypeus:
usually quadrangular, elongate; joined to the labrum
more or less conically raised in middle.

Antenna: robust; more than ½ length of body; antennomeres cylindrical; I thicker than others, rounded.

Pronotum: subcylindrical; lateral margin narrowly margined; anterior angle with tooth.

Elytron: combined, much wider than base of 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
; dilated apically; apex obliquely truncate; sutural angle rounded, emarginate; coarsely punctate-striate; alternate interspaces with flattened carinae.

Leg: moderately long, relatively slender; unarmed; tarsomere 1 short, 2 wider, 3 widest and longest, 4 exceeding lobes of 3; tarsal claws long, distinct.

Distribution

China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam.

World Fauna

Described species: 9 (Staines 2012). Key: Maulik 1919, Gressitt 1950, Gressitt & Kimoto 1963a, Chen et al. 1986, Kimoto 1999, Staines 2007c.

Hosts

Commelina (Commelinaceae); Boesenbergia, Curcuma, Zingiber (Zingiberaceae).

References

Baly, J. S. 1869b. Descriptions of new genera and species of Hispidae; with notes on some previously described species. Transactions of the Entomological Society of London 363-382.

Chen, S. H., P. Y. Yu, C. H. Sun, C. H. T'an, & Y. Zia. 1986. Fauna Sinica (Insecta: Coleoptera: Hispidae). Science Press, Beijing. 653 pp.

Gemminger, M. & B. von Harold. 1876. Catalogus Coleopterum hucusque descriptorum, synonymicus et systematicus. Williams & Norgate, London. Vol. 12:3479-3822.

Gressitt, J. L. 1950. The hispine beetles of China (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Lingnan Science Journal 23(1-2):53-142.

Gressitt, J. L. & S. Kimoto. 1963a. The Chrysomelidae (Coleopt.) of China and Korea. Part 2. Pacific Insects Monograph 1B:301‑1026.

Kimoto, S. 1999. Chrysomelidae (Coleoptera) of Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. VI. Hispinae. Bulletin of the Institute of Comparative Studies of International Cultures and Societies 23: 59-159.

Maulik, S. 1919. Hispinae and Cassidinae of India, Burma and Ceylon. The fauna of British India. Taylor & Francis, London. 439 pp.

Staines, C. L. 2007c. A review of the genus Chaeridiona Baly (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae). Zootaxa 1521:19-29.

Staines, C. L. 2012. Tribe Oncocephalini. Catalog of the hispines of the world (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae). http://entomology.si.edu/Collections_Coleoptera.html