Platypria (Platypria) Guerin-Meneville 1840a: 139

Synonomys

Lobacantha Kirby 1837: 227 (suppressed name, ICZN Opinion 376, 1955).

Type Species

Hispa echidna Guérin-Méneville.

Diagnosis

Platypria (Platypria) 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 with long, stiff spines
• antennae with 9-antennomeres
• 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
  without spines on anterior margin
• elytra with lateral margin expanded at humeri and after middle with translucent patches

Description

Body broad; elongate; subconvex; color yellowish to brown with darker markings; total length 4.2 to 7.2 mm.

Head: small broad; labrumlabrum:
triangular, joined to the clypeus and the oral orifice
transverse, very short; eyeeye:
elongate, slightly prominent, multifaceted; usually slightly kidney-shaped
elongate, oval.

Antenna: filiform; ½ body length; with 9-antennomeres; antennomere 1 subincrassate; 2 obconic, ½ length of 1; 3 longer than 1 and 2 combined; 4 to 8 decreasing in length; 9 slightly longer than 8, rounded at apex.

Pronotum: transverse; lateral margin rounded with forward projecting, sharply palmate lamina with translucent patches; anterior angle rounded, without spines; anterior margin straight; posterior angle acute; posterior margin straight; surface punctate.

Scutellum: broadly triangular.

Elytron: lateral margin sinuate; exterior apical angle rounded; apical margin rounded; lateral and apical margins with continuous broad lamina with large palmate expansion with translucent patches at humerus and behind middle; humerus angulate, dentate; with 8 rows of punctures plus scutellar row; disc with tubercles and spines.

Distribution

Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Guinea, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam.

World Fauna

Described species: 20 (Staines 2012). Key: Weise 1905f; Maulik 1919; Uhmann 1954h; Gressitt 1950, 1957b, 1960a, 1960b; Gressitt & Kimoto 1963a; Würmli 1978 [this key as a number of flaws in it]; Kimoto 1999.

Hosts

Mallotus sp. (Euphorbiaceae); Cajanus, Desmodium, Erythrina, Mucuna, Pueraria, Tephrossa (Fabaceae); Myrica (Myricaceae); Oryza (Poaceae); Hovenia, Palirus, Zizyphus (Rhamnaceae); Dolichos, Rubus, Sesbania (Roseaceae); Uncaria (Rubiaceae).

References

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. 1960b. Hispine beetles from New Caledonia (Chrysomelidae). Pacific Insects 2:101‑123.

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

Guérin‑Méneville, F. E. 1840a. Description de cinq espèces d'Hispes, formant une division distincte dans ce genre. Revue zoologique 3:139-142.

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.

Kirby, W. 1837. in J. Richardson, Fauna Boreali‑Americana. Part 4, Insects. 325 pp.

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

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

Uhmann, E. 1954h. Coléoptères Chrysomélides Hispinae. 148. Beitrag zur Kenntnis der Hispinae (Coleopt. Chrysomelidae). Mémoires de l'Institut Français d'Afrique Noire No. 40. La Réserve Naturelle Intégrale du Mont Nimba Fascicule II:175-198.

Weise, J. 1905f. Bemerkungen über Hispinen. Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift 1905:317‑320.

Würmli, M. 1978. Revision der Gattung Platypria: Die Arten der Orientalischen und Australischen Region (Platypria s. str.). Bollettino della Societa entgmologica italiana 110:210-223.