A Revision of the New World Species of Cryptolestes Ganglbauer (Coleoptera: Cucujidae: Laemophloeinae)
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University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Center for Systematic Entomology, Gainesville, Insecta Mundi Florida March 1988 A Revision of the New World Species of Cryptolestes Ganglbauer (Coleoptera: Cucujidae: Laemophloeinae) M. C. Thomas West Virginia Department of Agriculture, Charleston, WV Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/insectamundi Part of the Entomology Commons Thomas, M. C., "A Revision of the New World Species of Cryptolestes Ganglbauer (Coleoptera: Cucujidae: Laemophloeinae)" (1988). Insecta Mundi. 495. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/insectamundi/495 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Center for Systematic Entomology, Gainesville, Florida at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Insecta Mundi by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Vol. 2, no. 1, March 1988 INSECTA MUNDI 43 A Revision of the New World Species of Cryptoles tes Ganglbauer (Coleoptera: Cucuj idae: Laemophloeinae) M.C. Thomas Pest Identification Laboratory West Virginia Department of Agriculture Charleston, WV 23505 Abstract lar genera. Of the genera most closely allied to Cyp tolestes, Planolestes Lefkovitch seems to be adequately The New World species of Cryptolestes Ganglbauer defined and distinct (Lefkovitch 1957), but Microbrontes are revised and keys, diagnoses, descriptions, and il- Reitter, LRptophloeus Casey, and Dysmerus Casey pose lustrations are provided for the 13 non-economic spe- some problems. cies. Six stored products species of the genus are also According to Lefkovitch (1958b), Mimobrontes is keyed and illustrated. Two species, Laemophloeus pube- ". well differentiated from Cryptolestes and from other scens Casey and L. bicolor Chevrolat, are reassigned to . Laemophloeinae..." Yet, my examination of the type Cryptolestes. Eight new species are described: C. dissimu- species of Microbrontes, M. laemophloeoides Reitter, has latus (southwestern United States); C. dybasi (Florida); C. failed to reveal any differences of apparent generic im- mexicanus (Mexico and Guatemala); C. capillulus (Brazil); portance between it and Cryptolestes uncicornis (Reitter) C. spatulifer (Argentina); C. trinidadensis (Trinidad); C. or C. punctatus (LeConte). C. uncicornis was described as anzpiyacus (Peru); and C. calabozus (Venezuela). Cyp a Microbrontes but Lefkovitch (195813) assigned it to Cryp- tolestes uncicornis (Reitter) is revived from synonymy tolestes, noting that it ". possesses the distinguishing under C. punctatus (LeConte), C. schwarzi (Casey) is re- . features of Cyptolestes .. ." Neither Microbrontes laemoph- vived from synonymy under C. weisei (Reitter), and four loeoides nor Cryptolestes uncicornis or C. punctatus possess specific names are synonymized: C. quadratus (Casey) the accessory genital sclerites that occur in males of all [ = C. uncicornis (Reitter)]; C. extricatus (Casey) and C. species of Cyptolestes for which the genitalia have been adumbratus Casey [ = C. punctatus (LeConte)]; and illustrated. However, a species described below from Laemophloeus concavus (Reitter) [ = C. bicolor (Chevrolat)]. Argentina (and clearly related to uncicornis and puncta- Cyptolestes horni (Casey) and C. disseptus Casey are re- tus) possesses a single genital sclerite, while several moved from Cryptolestes and reassigned to Rhabdoph- other Neotropical species described here also lack geni- loeus Sharp. Lectotypes are designated for Laemophloeus tal sclerites. Several of these species also have narrowly geminatus LeConte, Cryptolestes adunzbratus Casey, and open anterior coxal cavities and a broadly rounded in- Laemophloeus quadratus Casey. tercoxal process and may not be congeneric with C. fer- Introduction rugineus, the type species of Cryptolestes, which has closed anterior coxal cavities and a shallowly emargi- Because of the economic importance as stored pro- nate intercoxal process (Fig. 1). However, both of these ducts pests of several species, this is perhaps the tax- character states are also present in C. uncicornis and C. onomically best-known genus of the family. However, punctatus (Fig. 2), and I am assigning these species to taxonomic problems remain to be solved, especially in Cyptolestes pending a worldwide study of Cyptolestes determining the generic limits of Cyptolestes and simi- M.C.Thomas: Cryptolestes Pages 43-65 44 INSECTA MUNDI Vol. 2, no. 1, March 1988 and related genera. but are not dealt with further here. Both Banks (1979) Other genera which seem to be weakly distin- and Reid (1942a) incorrectly labelled the sclerotizations guished from Cryptolestes (as presently understood) are of the internal sac of various Cryptolestes species as the Leptophloeus Casey, the type of which is Laemophloeus an- aedeagus and parameres, which have less value in dis- gustulus LeConte, and Dysn~erusCasey, the type of tinguishing species than do the structures of the inter- which is D. basalis Casey. Lefkovitch (1959a) distinguish- nal sac. ed adults of Leptophloeus from those of Cryptolestes by As with their taxonomy, the biology of the stored their subcylindrical body and 5-5-5 male tarsal formula. products species of Cyptolestes has been intensively in- Lefkovitch (1962) described several African species that vestigated and is among the best-known of the Coleop- possessed 5-5-4 tarsi and placed them in a species group tera. For further details on the biology and ecology of separate from the bulk of Leptophloeus species. However, those species, see Ashby (1961); Barker &Johnson(1968); the male of Leptophloeus angustulus has 5-5-4 tarsi and Barnes & Kaloostian (1940); Bishop (1959); Borden et al. possesses genital sclerotizations similar to those of some (1979); Corbett et al. (1937); Currie (1967); Davies (1949); species of Cryptolestes. And some species of Cyptolestes Dolinski & Loschiavo (1973); Dyte (1961,1966); Finlayson possess a 5-5-5 male tarsal formula, so that the only (1950a, 1950b); Freeman (1952, 1962); Gupta & Sinha major distinguishing characters separating adults of (1960); Howe (1943); Lefkovitch & Currie (1967); Lef- kptophloeus from those of Cryptolestes appear to be the kovitch & Milne (1963); Lefkovitch (1959b, 1962d,1962e, subcylindrical body and concomitant narrowing of the 19620; Loschiavo & Sinha (1966); Lucas & Oxley (1946); intercoxal process of sternum 111. Additionally, I have Payne (1946); Rilett (1949); Sinha (1961,1965); Sinha et al. seen specimens of an undescribed species from the (1962); Smith (1962,1965,1966,1972); Surtees (1963,1964, western United States that strongly resembles C. fer- 1965); Tuff & Telford (1964); Watters (1969); Williams rugineus in general habitus, even to the laterally ex- (1954); Wojcik (1969). panded mandibles in the male, but would be assigned The biology of the non-economic species of Cryp- currently to Leptophloeus because of its subcylindrical tolestes is almost completely unknown, except that, like body and narrow intercoxal process of sternum 111. It most laemophloeines, they occur under bark of hard- may be that some of these character states, e.g., laterally wood logs and are apparently fun@vorous. However, expanded mandibles and possession of genitalic scler- Lefkovitch [1965a] reported that C. capensis and C. fer- otizations in both males and females, are ancestral for rugineus are ". actively though not exclusively preda- all or most of these genera and are subject to secondary to ry..." Individuals of one of the new species described loss. Adults of Dysmerus are distinguished from those of below have been reported to feed on scale insects, and Cyptolestes by their subcylindrical bodies, bizarrely at least some members of Leptophloeus and Dysmerus modified male antenna1 scapes, and the lateral attach- have been recorded as predators of bark beetles. ment of the pedicel to the scape in both sexes (Lef- In some species of Cryptolestes the last larval instar kovitch 1958). spins a silken cocoon in which to pupate (Roberts & Clearly much more work needs to be done in Cryp- Rilett 1953). They are apparently unique among Coleop- tolestes and related genera to adequately delineate the tera because the silk is produced from epidermal glands characters that define the generic groupings. It is cer- on the prosternum. tainly premature to begin splitting up Cryptolestes into Four species of Cryptolestes, ferrugineus (Stephens), subgenera, as Iablokoff- Khnzorian (1977) has done, turcicus (Grouvelle), pusillus (Schonherr), and ptrsilloides when the limits of the genus as a whole are still unclear. (Steel and Howe), are important stored products pests of Lefkovitch arranged the economic species in groups nearly worldwide distribution (Howe & Lefkovitch based on patterns of sexual dimorphism and humidity 1957). Three others, capensis (Waltl), ugandae Steel and requirements (Lefkovitch 1965b) and their predilection Howe, and klapperichi Lefkovitch, are also known from towards predation, cocoon characteristics, and resist- stored products but are of more limited distribution. ance to methyl bromide fumigation (Lefkovitch 1965a). Cryptolestes capensis occurs in the countries bordering the The taxonomy and identification of the stored pro- Mediterranean (Howe and Lefkovitch 1957). Laemo- ducts species of Cryptolestes have been the subjects of phloeus rotundicollis Casey, described from South numerous papers, among which are: Banks (1979); Biege Carolina, was synonymized with capensis by Lefkovitch