Diabrotica selecta Jacoby

Species name

Diabrotica selecta Jacoby 1887: 528

Type locality

Guatemala, Volcan de Agua

Type depository

BMNH, lectotype, male, verified

Diagnosis

Body length 6.5-7.8 mm. Body width 3.3-3.6 mm. Head basic color orange or rufous. Antennae filiformfiliform:
slender antennae with antennomeres of similar shape
, bi- or tricolored, antennomereantennomere:
"segment" of antenna, more or less clearly separated
1 deep malachite green, antennomeres 2-3 cinnamon brown, antennomeres 4-11 orange rufous. Maxillary palpi yellow or mars yellow, labrumlabrum:
the "upper lip" of beetles, a movable sclerite joined under clypeus
mars yellow. Pronotumpronotum:
the notum of the prothorax with highly sclerotized pronotal disc
green or deep malachite green, subquadrate, deeply bifoveate, shagreened with microsculpture narrow, long meshes. Scutellumscutellum:
small, usually triangular shield between the bases of elytra
yellow, orange rufous or amber yellow. Elytra green, maculatemaculate:
(here) marked by maculae or patches of a different shape and size, usually clearly separated from each other
with three fuzzy-edged round sulphur yellow or yellow ocher maculae on each elytronelytron:
<em>(pl. elytra)</em> the fore highly sclerotized wing of beetle
. Elytral epipleura completely green, sutural anglesutural angle:
the posterior angle or apex of the elytron near the suture
of elytra obtuse-angled or dentiform, punctation scattered, fine. Abdomen yellow or pale olivine. Tarsi yellow or orange rufous, tibiae yellow or orange rufous, femora deep malachite green. Aedeagusaedeagus:
the main sclerotized part of the male genitalia; "aedeagus" is used here instead of "median lobe of aedeagus"
symmetric, with four internal sac scleritessclerites:
(here) the sclerotized hooks, spines or plates in the internal sac
.

Known distribution

Guatemala

Host plants

Unknown

Remarks

Two males from Cerro Zunil in the BMNH represent Jacoby's variety of D. selecta. After study of genitalia in one of these males we found that internal sac armament is quite different from D. selecta. Therefore, we treat it as a separate, not yet named species, D. s2n.

Potential problems with identification

D. selecta is very similar to D. s2n and D. sexmaculata. D. selecta is more slender than two other species and it differs in the shape and positions of the spots on the elytra. The head in D. selecta is orange or rufous, but green in D. sexmaculata.