Promecotheca Blanchard 1853: 312

Synonomys

Promecotheca Dejean 1836: 387 Nomen nudum.

Freycinetispa Gressitt 1960a: 71.

Type Species

Hispa cyanipes Erichson.

Diagnosis

Promecotheca can be distinguished by the following combination of characters:

• 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
• 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 all four angles, constricted apically and basally, lateral margin obsolete
• anterior margin of prosternumprosternum:
  contains two anterior coxal cavities
  not projecting forward, not partly covering mouth
• antennae ½ body length, filiform
• elytra without tooth in sutural angle
• hind leg long, slender

Description

Elongate; subparallel.

Head: large; not prolonged between antennae; labrumlabrum:
triangular, joined to the clypeus and the oral orifice
transverse, subemarginate; mandible robust, truncate; maxillary palps thick, pubescent, palpomere 1 very short, 2 and 3 obconic, subequal in length, 4 longer than 3; eyeeye:
elongate, slightly prominent, multifaceted; usually slightly kidney-shaped
large, convex, oblong-ovate.

Antenna: filiform; at least ½ body length; antennomere 1 subglobose; 2 obconic, shorter and more slender; 3 longer than 1 and 2 combined; 4 to 7 obconic, decreasing in length; 8 to 10 cylindrical, each shorter than 7; 11 longer than 10, rounded at apex.

Pronotum: cylindrical; convex; lateral margin obsolete; anterior margin slightly produced over head; with apical and basal constrictions plus strong tubercle between constrictions.

Scutellum: oblong, rounded at apex.

Elytron: lateral margin straight, smooth; exterior apical angle rounded; apex rounded, smooth; without tooth in sutural angle; with 8 regular rows of punctures, scutellar row absent; even interspaces subcostate.

Venter: prosternumprosternum:
contains two anterior coxal cavities
sinuate at base; mesosternummesosternum:
narrow between middle coxae, separated from metasternum by a transverse suture; forming the anterior part of the middle coxal cavities
twice as wide.

Leg: hind leg long, slender; femurfemur:
largest part of the leg; more or less cylindrical, attached at base to trochanter and at apex to tibia
without tooth.

Distribution

Australia, China, Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Tonga.

World Fauna

Described species: 33 (Staines 2012). Key: Liu 1936; Gressitt 1950, 1957b, 1960a; Gressitt & Kimoto 1963a.

Hosts

Areca, Balaka, Calamus, Caryola, Cocos, Elaeis, Livistona, Metroxylon, Nipa, Oreodoxa, Phoenix, Phytelephas, Pritchardia, Ptychosperma, Ravenala (Arecaceae); Flagellaria (Flagellariaceae); Heliconia (Heliconiaceae); Freycinetia, Pandanus (Bryantia) (Pandanaceae); Saccharum, Miscanthus (Poaceae); Alpinia (Zingiberaceae).

References

Blanchard, C. E. 1853. Voyage au pole sud et dans l'Océanie sur les corvettes l'Astrolabe et la Zélée: Exécuté par ordre du roi pendant les années 1837-1838-1839-1840 sous le commandement de M. Dumont d'Urville. Zoologie 4. Gide et J. Baudry, Paris.

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

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

Gressitt, J. L. 1957b. Hispine beetles from the South Pacific (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Nova Guinea n. s. 8:205‑324.

Gressitt, J. L. 1960a. Papuan-West Polynesian hispine beetles (Chrysomelidae). Pacific Insects 2:1-90.

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

Liu, G. 1936. Catalogue of the phytophagous beetles of China. Lingnan Science Journal 15(2):249-261.

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