Diabrotica viridifasciata Jacoby

Species name

Diabrotica viridifasciata Jacoby 1887: 507

Type locality

Panama, Volcan de Chiriqui

Type depository

BMNH, lectotype, male, verified

Synonyms

duplicata Jacoby 1887: 519 (type locality: Panama, Volcan de Chiriqui; type depository: BMNH, lectotype, male, verified)

Diagnosis

Body length 5.7-7.3 mm. Body width 2.8-3.5 mm. Head basic color black. Antennae filiformfiliform:
slender antennae with antennomeres of similar shape
, uniformly yellow. Maxillary palpi black, yellow, chestnut or yellow ocher, labrumlabrum:
the "upper lip" of beetles, a movable sclerite joined under clypeus
black or chestnut. Pronotumpronotum:
the notum of the prothorax with highly sclerotized pronotal disc
yellow, light cadmium or ochraceous-orange, subquadrate, weakly bifoveate, with wide shallow foveae, not shagreened. Scutellumscutellum:
small, usually triangular shield between the bases of elytra
yellow or amber yellow. Elytra yellow or rufous, with three black bandsbands:
(here) transverse maculae on the beetle elytra
, or elytra maculatemaculate:
(here) marked by maculae or patches of a different shape and size, usually clearly separated from each other
with five sharp-edged maculae on each elytronelytron:
<em>(pl. elytra)</em> the fore highly sclerotized wing of beetle
. Color of maculae and bandsbands:
(here) transverse maculae on the beetle elytra
black or metallic black green. Elytral epipleura completely yellow. Elytra not sulcatesulcate:
bearing the carinae or ridges on the elytron
. Sutural anglesutural angle:
the posterior angle or apex of the elytron near the suture
of elytra round, punctation scattered, fine. Abdomen yellow or yellow ocher. Legs yellow or yellow ocher. Internal sac of aedeagusaedeagus:
the main sclerotized part of the male genitalia; "aedeagus" is used here instead of "median lobe of aedeagus"
with five scleritessclerites:
(here) the sclerotized hooks, spines or plates in the internal sac
.

Known distribution

Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela, Colombia

Host plants

Unknown

Remarks

The internal sacs in male types of D. viridifasciata and D. duplicata have been examined. There are no differences in the internal sac armament in both species. The maculae on the D. duplicata elytra are definitely remnants of the reduced bandsbands:
(here) transverse maculae on the beetle elytra
in D. viridifasciata . There are no substantial differences in the body shape and other morphological features in both species. The ranges of the both species overlap. Hereby we treat D. duplicata as synonym of D. viridifasciata.

Potential problems with identification

Diabrotica viridifasciata Jacoby is very similar to D. pulchra (Sahlberg), D. venancia Bechyné and D. relicta Suffrian. They can be separated by the following features: there are four bandsbands:
(here) transverse maculae on the beetle elytra
on the elytronelytron:
<em>(pl. elytra)</em> the fore highly sclerotized wing of beetle
of D. pulchra, but only three in D. viridifasciata; the tibiatibia:
<em>(pl. tibiae)</em> the forth part of the beetle leg articulated with femur on the one side and with tarsus on the other side
in D. venancia and D. relicta are black, but yellow in D. viridifasciata.