A remarkable new species of Euragallia from Peru (Insecta, Hemiptera, Cicadellidae, Agalliini), including the description of a peculiar structure of the male genitalia

A new species of Euragallia Oman, 1938 from Peru (Pasco Department) is described and illustrated. Euragallia batmanisp. n. can be distinguished from the other species of the genus by the very posteriorly pronounced male pygofer, with an apical hook-like projection, and by the well-developed dorsal area of the aedeagal base, resembling the open wings of a bat. With the addition of Euragallia batmani sp. n., the number of Euragallia species is increased to 21. Only one additional species of the genus is recorded from Peru (Euragallia prion Kramer, 1976). A comparison between the new species and Euragallia prion is provided. A conspicuous structure, which connects the subgenital plates to the styles, is described in detail and named.     

New species,new genera,and new records in Cerambycidae from Peru (Coleoptera)

Three new species and two new genera of longhorn beetles are described from Peru: Cosmoplatus polis n. sp. (Pteroplatini), Hemilocallia grishami n. gen., n. sp. (Calliini) and Arabela ramirezi n. gen., n. sp. (Hemilophini). Esmeralda laetifica Bates, 1869 (Prioninae), Stratone transversalis (Chevrolat, 1862) (Cerambycinae), Gymnocerina cratosomoides (Bates, 1862) (Lamiinae), and Trachysomus verrucosus (Olivier, 1795) (Lamiinae) are new records for Peru.     

First Quaternary fossil record of Polyplacophorans from southern South America

A diverse assemblages of well-preserved polyplacophoran shell plates is present in Holocene marine deposits along the Beagle Channel, Tierra del Fuego (54°S). They represent the first fossil Quaternary report of polyplacophorans from southern South America. The taxa include Callochiton puniceus (Couthouy MS, Gould), Plaxiphora aurata (Spalowsky), Plaxiphora sp., Tonicia atrata (Sowerby), Tonicia calbucensis Plate, Tonicia chilensis (Frembly), and Tonicia lebruni de Rochebrune. The presence of these taxa in a transitory area between the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans suggests that, in the recent past, the Beagle Channel acted as a path that facilitated faunal dispersion between the two oceans. These records also show an apparent stability of these faunas over a period of several thousand years (from ca. 7500 years BP to present).     

A new species of Amblyodus Westwood, 1878 (Coleoptera, Melolonthidae, Dynastinae) from South America

A second species of Amblyodus Westwood, 1878, Amblyodus castroi sp. n., is described from the northern South America based on 12 specimens from Brazil and Peru (Amazonian subregion). The new species is here compared with the type species of the genus, Amblyodus taurus Westwood, 1878 and both species and their male genitalia are illustrated. Diagnostic characters for the genus are discussed, especially the metatibial teeth. A distribution map including the type species and the new species is provided. The genus Amblyodus is recorded for the first time from Peru and from Brazil states of Pará and Rondônia.     

A new Veturius (Veturius) of the “cephalotes” group from southern Colombia,Putumayo (Coleoptera: Passalidae)

A new species of Veturius (Veturius) Kaup from southern Colombia, Putumayo, lowland forests, is described and illustrated. V. paya n. sp. belongs to the South American “cephalotes” species group and is sister species of V. cephalotes (Le Peletier & Serville, 1825). Both species are distinguished by few characters of the head and thorax. They seem to be allopatric close to the western distributional limits of V. cephalotes. The endemism of V. paya n. sp. corresponds to a geographic vicariance in the axis of the Amazon Basin. An overview is given on the phylogeny and the chorology of the completed “cephalotes” species group.     

Two new species of Edmockfordia García Aldrete (Psocodea, ‘Psocoptera’, Epipsocidae), from Valle del Cauca,Colombia, and description of the female E. chiquibulensis García Aldrete

Two new species of Edmockfordia García Aldrete, from Valle del Cauca, Colombia, and the female of Edmockfordia chiquibulensis García Aldrete, are described and illustrated. A key to the species of Edmockfordia is included; the genus was previously known only from Belize. The genus is re-diagnosed to include female characters. The distribution of the genus is considerably widened, from Belize to northeastern South America.     

Insect herbivores foraging on seedlings in an unlogged rain forest in Guyana: spatial and temporal considerations

About 9,000 individuals of sap-sucking and leaf-chewing insects, representing 345 species, were collected from 10,000 seedlings belonging to 5 rainforest tree species in an unlogged forest in Guyana. For the 40 most common species, it was possible to estimate their host specificity, diurnal activity, seasonal distribution, spatial aggregation, abundance and body weight. Most species were generalists but more specialised species tended to show a higher spatial aggregation, a more restricted diurnal activity and a higher seasonality. Although insect abundance was highest at the onset of the long wet season in May, seasonal amplitude was not pronounced. The combined effects of host and rainfall explained 14.5% of the total variance in insect seasonality, which was poorly explained by the leaf production of seedlings. The spatial distribution of insects was often aggregated and, overall, explained by host effect, production of young foliage, number of conspecific trees within a radius of 50m, and number of dead seedlings at each collecting station. However, these variables explained only 7% of the variance in spatial distribution. The lack of notable influence of leaf production and other important variables recorded at the collecting stations suggests that the seedlings represent a marginal food resource for most of the insect species collected.     

Taxonomic notes on the small resin bees Hypanthidioides subgenus Michanthidium (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae)

As part of ongoing investigations on anthidiine bees, the type of Anthidium albitarse Friese was found to be conspecific with one of the two species of the small resin bees Hypanthidioides subgenus Michanthidium. The new combination, Hypanthidioides (Michanthidium) albitarsis, is the oldest name, resulting in Gnathanthidium sakagamii Urban as a new junior synonym. The previously unknown male of the second species, Hypanthidioides ferrugineus, is described and figured, including the genitalic structure and associated sterna. Males and females of Hypanthidioides ferrugineus have been collected from flowers of Cuphea sp. (Lythraceae).