Diabrotica lacordairei Kirsch

Species name

Diabrotica lacordairei Kirsch 1883: 199

Type locality

Bogota, Colombia

Type depository

MTD, lectotype, female, verified

Synonyms

morosa Jacoby 1887: 503 (figure and part of description, Panama records = lacordairei Kirsch)

Diagnosis

Body length 7.5-9.0 mm. Body width 4.1-4.5 mm. Head basic color black. Antennae filiformfiliform:
slender antennae with antennomeres of similar shape
, bi- or tricolored, antennomeres 1-3 yellow, upper sides darkened, antennomeres 4-8 brussels brown, antennomeres 9-10 light cadmium, antennomereantennomere:
"segment" of antenna, more or less clearly separated
11 brussels brown. Maxillary palpi black or piceous, labrumlabrum:
the "upper lip" of beetles, a movable sclerite joined under clypeus
black. Pronotumpronotum:
the notum of the prothorax with highly sclerotized pronotal disc
yellow, mustard yellow or buff yellow, transverse, nonfoveate, not shagreened or with minute tubercles. Scutellumscutellum:
small, usually triangular shield between the bases of elytra
piceous or black. Elytra yellow or rufous, with three black bandsbands:
(here) transverse maculae on the beetle elytra
, connected into four ring-shape maculae on each elytronelytron:
<em>(pl. elytra)</em> the fore highly sclerotized wing of beetle
, three of them on the discdisc:
the middle, more uniform area of a structure (usually elytra or pronotum) which is visible dorsally
and one on the side before the middle. Elytral epipleura completely black or tinged with piceous, sometimes apicalapical:
of or pertaining to the apex; opposite of basal
half infuscated. Sutural anglesutural angle:
the posterior angle or apex of the elytron near the suture
of elytra dentiform, punctation dense, fine. Abdomen yellow or pygidium (at least the apexapex:
<em>(pl. apices)</em> the far distal end of a structure; opposite of base
) black. Tarsi and tibiae black or chestnut. Femora bicolored, apexapex:
<em>(pl. apices)</em> the far distal end of a structure; opposite of base
(approximately 1/3) is darkened with black or brown, or from 1/2 to 2/3 is darkened with black or brown. Aedeagusaedeagus:
the main sclerotized part of the male genitalia; "aedeagus" is used here instead of "median lobe of aedeagus"
symmetric, with five internal sac scleritessclerites:
(here) the sclerotized hooks, spines or plates in the internal sac
.

Known distribution

Panama, Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador

Host plants

Unknown

Remarks

The lectotype and paralectotype of D. lacordairei in the Kirsch collection in MTD are females. We studied a long series of specimens (about 20) in the BMNH collection identified as 'lacordairei' and a series of specimens (11) in the MCZ collection identified as 'consentanea' (because on the handwritten label in the USNM collection J.L. Krysan noted that D. consentanea Baly is a possible synonym of D. lacordairei Kirsch). We studied the type of D. consentanea, female in the BMNH collection. At least 17 of studied specimens match with Kirsch's (1883), Jacoby's (1887) and Baly's (1890) descriptions of D. lacordairei. They are morphologically very similar to female types of D. lacordairei and D. consentanea too. However, the color of pygidium is black in all males and in a few females. Neither Kirsch, nor Jacoby and Baly mentioned black pygidium in D. lacordairei. It is the only feature distinguishing these male specimens from the type of D. lacordairei . We studied the female from Panama with yellow pygidium. No substantial differences were found between this female and the female type of D. lacordairei. Therefore, we assume that black pygidium is a color variety in D. lacordairei and we treat the males with black pygidium as the males of this species.

Potential problems with identification

Diabrotica lacordairei Kirsch is similar to D. morosa Jacoby. They can be separated by the following features: in D. lacordairei procoxaprocoxa:
the first segment of fore legs
, mesocoxamesocoxa:
the first segment of middle legs
, mesosternummesosternum:
ventral plate of the mesothorax
, mesepisternummesepisternum:
anterior part of the mesothoracic pleuron before the pleural suture
, mesepimeronmesepimeron:
posterior part of the mesothoracic pleuron
and metepimeronmetepimeron:
posterior part of the metathoracic pleuron, in <em>Diabrotica</em> longitudinally extended between the lateral edge of the metacoxa and the elytron, usually more or less covered by elytron epipleura
are yellow; but in D. morosa procoxaprocoxa:
the first segment of fore legs
, mesocoxamesocoxa:
the first segment of middle legs
, mesosternummesosternum:
ventral plate of the mesothorax
, mesepisternummesepisternum:
anterior part of the mesothoracic pleuron before the pleural suture
and mesepimeronmesepimeron:
posterior part of the mesothoracic pleuron
are black or brussels brown, metepimeronmetepimeron:
posterior part of the metathoracic pleuron, in <em>Diabrotica</em> longitudinally extended between the lateral edge of the metacoxa and the elytron, usually more or less covered by elytron epipleura
black or darken with brown (from yellow ocher to amber brown). D. morosa is more slender and substantially smaller than D. lacordairei.