Diabrotica palpalis Jacoby

Species name

Diabrotica palpalis Jacoby 1887: 520

Type locality

Panama, Volcan de Chiriqui

Type depository

BMNH, lectotype, female, verified

Synonyms

hybrida Jacoby 1887: 561, nomen nudum

Diagnosis

Body length 6.9-7.0 mm. Body width 3.5-3.6 mm. Head basic color black. Antennae moniliformmoniliform:
(here) antennae with bead-like, slightly elongate and swollen antennomeres
, uniformly yellow. Maxillary palpi black or chestnut, penultimate joint of maxillary palpi strongly incrassate, 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 or mustard yellow, quadrate, weakly bifoveate, with wide shallow foveae, shagreened with minute wrinkles. Scutellumscutellum:
small, usually triangular shield between the bases of elytra
black or amber brown. Elytra yellow or rufous, maculatemaculate:
(here) marked by maculae or patches of a different shape and size, usually clearly separated from each other
, with short black lines or small spots, one sutural (near scutellumscutellum:
small, usually triangular shield between the bases of elytra
), one humeral, one in middle and two behind middle of each elytronelytron:
<em>(pl. elytra)</em> the fore highly sclerotized wing of beetle
. Elytral epipleura completely yellow, sutural anglesutural angle:
the posterior angle or apex of the elytron near the suture
of elytra round, punctation scattered, fine. Abdomen yellow. Legs yellow.

Known distribution

Panama

Host plants

Unknown

Remarks

Jacoby (1887) wrote in the diagnosis of D. palpalis: "?. Antennae with short and robust joints; palpi strongly incrassate. ?. Antennae and palpi of normal structure." We studied the type and paratypes of D. palpalis in BMNH collection. The female type matches the Jacoby's description of male. Antennae in female type are moniliformmoniliform:
(here) antennae with bead-like, slightly elongate and swollen antennomeres
with short and robust joints, palpi strongly incrassate. Paratypes include two females and one male. Female paratypes are quite different from the female type in antennaantenna:
<em>(pl. antennae)</em> a pair of a relatively long segmented appendages on the front or upper side of beetle head
and palpus structure. Their antennae are filiformfiliform:
slender antennae with antennomeres of similar shape
and palpi are not incrassate. Antennae and palpi of the male paratype are the same as in female paratypes. So, paratypes of D. palpalis definitely belong to another species. We are unable to find any specimens in the Jacoby's collections in BMNH and in MCZ matching the female type of D. palpalis .

Potential problems with identification

Diabrotica palpalis Jacoby is similar to D. pl1n. They can be separated by the following features: penultimate joint of maxillary palpi is not incrassate in D. pl1n, but strongly incrassate in D. palpalis; elytra with three black spots on each elytronelytron:
<em>(pl. elytra)</em> the fore highly sclerotized wing of beetle
, one on basalbasal:
of or pertaining to the base, as in the first, or basal segment of an appendage; opposite of apical
part of elytra and two behind the middle in D. palpalis, while only one small black spot is behind the middle on each elytronelytron:
<em>(pl. elytra)</em> the fore highly sclerotized wing of beetle
in D. pl1n; humeral vittae occupy nearly the full length of elytronelytron:
<em>(pl. elytra)</em> the fore highly sclerotized wing of beetle
in D. pl1n, but only short humeral spots present in D. palpalis; scutellumscutellum:
small, usually triangular shield between the bases of elytra
is yellow in D. pl1n, but black or amber brown in D. palpalis .