University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Center for Systematic Entomology, Gainesville, Insecta Mundi Florida 2014 Notes on the tiger beetles (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae) of Argentina. 117. Contribution towards the knowledge of Cicindelidae Jürgen Wiesner Wolfsburg, Germany, [email protected] Aligi Bandinelli Sezione di Zoologia, Museo di Storia Naturale Università di Firenze, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/insectamundi Wiesner, Jürgen and Bandinelli, Aligi, "Notes on the tiger beetles (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae) of Argentina. 117. Contribution towards the knowledge of Cicindelidae" (2014). Insecta Mundi. 882. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/insectamundi/882 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. INSECTA MUNDI A Journal of World Insect Systematics 0377 Notes on the tiger beetles (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae) of Argentina. 117. Contribution towards the knowledge of Cicindelidae Jürgen Wiesner Dresdener Ring 11 D-38444 Wolfsburg, Germany Aligi Bandinelli Sezione di Zoologia, Museo di Storia Naturale Università di Firenze Via Romana 17 I-50125 Firenze, Italy Date of Issue: September 12, 2014 CENTER FOR SYSTEMATIC ENTOMOLOGY, INC., Gainesville, FL Jürgen Wiesner and Aligi Bandinelli Notes on the tiger beetles (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae) of Argentina. 117. Contribution towards the knowledge of Cicindelidae Insecta Mundi 0377: 1-66 ZooBank Registered: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:2FF424D6-2A84-441E-A211-9983D9CFA1A7 Published in 2014 by Center for Systematic Entomology, Inc. P. O. 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Contribution towards the knowledge of Cicindelidae Jürgen Wiesner Dresdener Ring 11 D-38444 Wolfsburg, Germany [email protected] Aligi Bandinelli Sezione di Zoologia, Museo di Storia Naturale Università di Firenze Via Romana 17 I-50125 Firenze, Italy [email protected] Abstract. Distributional records of the 71 tiger beetle species and subspecies known for Argentina are given together with a key and habitus photos (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae). Brasiella (Brasiella) cuyabaensis Mandl, 1970 and Brasiella (Gaymara) rotundatodilatata (Horn, 1925) are reported as new for the fauna of Argentina. Brasiella (Brasiella) stamatovi (Sumlin, 1979) is transferred to Cylindera (Plectographa), becoming C. (P.) stamatovi (Sumlin), new combination. Cylindera (Plectographa) siccalacicola (Sumlin, 1979) is placed into synonymy under Cylindera (Plectographa) hassenteufeli (Mandl, 1960), new synonymy. A lectotype is designated for Cylindera (Plectographa) patagonica bergiana (Horn, 1895). Key words. Coleoptera, Cicindelidae, Argentina, faunistic data, systematics Introduction Early in the 20th Century 52 taxa of tiger beetles were recorded from Argentina (Bruch 1911). Eighty one years later, the number increased by only five to 57 (Wiesner 1992). Currently, 71 taxa representing 65 species are now recorded as occurring in Argentina. With the support of Sebastian Bolle, Munro, Buenos Aires, in the late 1990s the first author received several tiger beetles from Argentina. The second author made several collecting trips in the last nine years (2004 – 2013) with the aim of increasing the knowledge of the tiger beetle fauna of the northern regions of the country (La Rioja, Santiago del Estero, Córdoba, Corrientes, San Juan, Catamarca, Santiago del Estero, Tucumán, Salta, Jujuy, Buenos Aires, Santa Fé, and San Luis). The northern provinces of Argentina are characterized by a wide variety of habitats: mountains streams; semi-desert highlands with many salt flats; remnants of old salted lagoons in the Andean area; temperate and subtropical forests (Yungas) in the hills and low mountains of the pre-cordillera; pastures and cultivated fields on the east plains, with vast salt flats (like Salinas de Mascasin, Salinas Grandes y Salinas de Ambargasta) with temporary water pools, generally dry in summer; rivers which dry up during summer and large rivers (Paraná and Uruguay rivers) flowing toward the Atlantic Ocean; and lakes whose dimensions differ from small to large depending on season of the year, such as Laguna Mar Chiquita, a salt water lake with a surface area that ranges from 2,000 to 4,500 sq.km. The wide variety of habitats supports a high diversity of arthropod species, including tiger beetles. Methods and Materials Collecting methods used by the second author included direct netting during the day and light trap- ping and direct searching on ground with a flashlight at night. Light trapping was performed using a simple yet effective lighting system consisting of a plain white cloth approximately 1.5 meters wide by 1.8 meters high, kept in position by two vertical poles and four tie rods. The lights themselves consisted of two extra-white color (6,500 °K) 35 W fluorescent compact lamps, fed by an inverter connected to a car battery. The intensity and color of the light are similar to that provided by a portable generator feeding 1 2 • INSECTA MUNDI 0377, September 2014 WIESNER AND BANDINELLI a 250 W mixed-light lamp. A normal car battery in good condition can provide enough power to run the system for 5 hours. A total of 400 hours of light trapping was conducted. The light trap proved to be effective especially for individuals of the genera Odontocheila Laporte de Castelnau, Pentacomia (s. l.) Bates and Brasiella (s. l.) Rivalier. Other genera with nocturnal habits, such as Phaeoxanta Chaudoir and Tetracha (s. l.) Hope were not directly attracted by lights, even though they were regularly found in close proximity of the light. The typical collecting method for these beetles was to walk around illuminating the soil with a flashlight. Generally, nocturnal tiger beetles are most active during the first hours after sunset, with decreased activity throughout the rest of the night. This behaviour is especially apparent with all species of Tetracha (s. l.). At every site where the genus was observed, individuals come out in big number as the sun began to set, and were fully active for approximately the next half hour. As the evening progressed their number decreased with only a few individuals being