Origin of the brushborder in the differentiating midgut of Melasoma saliceti (Chrysomelidae, Coleoptera) embryos

The embryonic development of Melasoma saliceti takes eight days at room temperature. At the beginning of the 5th day the endoderm cells have already formed a unilayered epithelium of the midgut primordium. The midgut epithelium is formed by flat cells that are not connected by specialized intercellular junctions. Large vesicles can be seen in dilated intercellular spaces of the epithelium. Cytoplasmic projections, similar to microvilli, appear in the vesicles. During the 5th day ofdevelopment, the vesicles grow and become enclosed by the intercellular junctions of a zonula adherens type. During the 6th day of development the cell junctions surrounding the vesicles become transformed into a septate type. On the 8th day of development the vesicles come close to the apical sides of the midgut cells and open towards the yolk. At the same time the microvilli spread over the apical surface of the midgut primordium to form the regular brushborder of the larval midgut. In the species studied the vesicles appear to "prefabricate" the apical surfaces of the future midgut epithelium.     

Larval phases and ecology of Chrysolina (Pezocrosita) sahlbergiana (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae)

Larvae of four instars are described in the little known leaf-beetle species Chrysolina sahlbergiana Jacobson from the Minusinsk Depression. Artemisia spp. is recorded as its host plant. Short setae on small scleroids distinguish the described larva from those of other species of the subgenus Pezocrosita. According to this character, this larva is closely related to larvae of species of the arcto-alpine subgenera of Chrysolina Motsch. Ch. sahlbergiana is regarded as a trans-Sayan, depression-steppe petrophilous species.     

A new species of the genus Chrysolina Motschulsky, 1860 from Turkey (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Chrysomelinae)

A new leaf beetle species, Chrysolina (Lopatinica) kabalaki sp. n., from Northeast Turkey is described and compared with closely related species. Habitus and male genitalia of the species are photographed. A key is provided for the species.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:89CEE108-138D-4D38-837D-A8C3682BB773     

The morphology of larvae and systematics of the leaf-beetles Chrysolina tundralis and Chrysolina roddi (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Chrysomelinae)

The 1st- and 4th-instar larvae of Chrysolina tundralis and Ch. roddi and the egg of the latter species are described for the first time; the instar-related changes of the larval morphology are discussed. The 4th-instar larva of Ch. tundralis is very similar to that of Ch. septentrionalis, but differs in the smaller sclerite-like plates of the abdominal segments and wider spaces between them (4–7 times as wide as a sclerite-like plate). The 4th-instar larva of Ch. roddi is very similar to that of Ch. pedestris, but differs in the dark brown coloration of the body and a fewer number of setae (9–12) in the dorsolateral areas of the meso- and metathorax. Data on the habitats and host plants of the larvae are given.     

Host plant selection of Chrysolina clathrata (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) from Mpumalanga, South Africa

Hyperaccumulated elements such as Ni may defend plants against some natural enemies whereas other enemies may circumvent this defense. The Ni hyperaccumulator Berkheya coddii Roessler (Asteraceae) is a host plant species for Chrysolina clathrata (Clark), which suffers no apparent harm by consuming its leaf tissue. Beetle specimens collected from B. coddii had a whole body Ni concentration of 260 μg/g dry weight, despite consuming leaf material containing 15 100 μg Ni/g. Two experiments were conducted with adults of this beetle species: a no-choice experiment and a choice experiment. In the no-choice experiment we offered beetles foliage of one of four species of Berkheya: B. coddii, B. rehmannii Thell. var. rogersiana Thell., B. echinacea (Harv.) O. Hoffm. ex Burtt Davey, and B. insignis (Harv.) Thell. The two former species are Ni hyperaccumulators (defined as having leaf Ni concentration > 1 000 μg/g) whereas the latter have low Ni levels (< 200 μg/g) in their leaves. Masses of beetles were monitored for 6 days. Choice experiments used growing stem tips from the same Berkheya species, placed into Petri dishes with five Chrysolina beetles in each, and the amount of feeding damage caused on each of the four species was recorded. Beetles in the no-choice experiment gained mass when offered B. coddii , maintained mass on leaves of the other Ni hyperaccumulator ( B. rehmannii var. rogersiana ), and lost mass when offered non-hyperaccumulator leaves. In the choice test, beetles strongly preferred B. coddii to other Berkheya species. We conclude that C. clathrata may be host-specific on B. coddii.     

Decrease in feeding niche breadth of Melasoma lapponica (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) with increase in pollution

We studied host-plant preference and performance of the leaf beetle, Melasoma lapponica, around Severonikel smelter situated in Monchegorsk, Russia. The breadth of feeding niche (Smith's measure) based on both field counts and preference tests decreased with an increase of ambient SO₂ concentration, but showed no relationship with either metal pollutants or beetle population densities. In heavily polluted plots (mean annual SO₂ concentrations 400–1000 g/m³) the beetles concentrated on Salix borealis, Whereas in moderately and slightly polluted plots they used other willow species as well. No difference in survival was revealed between M. lapponica fed with leaves of S. borealis from heavily and sloghtly polluted plots. However, performance of larvae fed with Salix caprea and S. Phylicifolia was significantly lower when leaves were collected from heavily polluted plots. In these plots beetles clearly preferred S. borealis, the only species assuring high survival of M. lapponica under strong pollution impact. Decrease in preference of two less favourable hosts, S. caprea and S. phylicifolia, with increase in pollution can therefore be considered as an adaptive response of M. lapponica to pollution-induced changes in host-plant quality.     

Geographical variation and diversification in the flightless leaf beetles of the Chrysolina angusticollis species complex (Chrysomelidae, Coleoptera) in northern Japan

Geographical variation and differentiation of flightless leaf beetles of the Chrysolina angusticollis species complex were analysed. Nine morphological groups were recognized on the basis of metric characters relating to body size, shape of hind wing and shape of male genitalia, and binary characters relating to females' elytral surface and larval pubescence. The nine groups were essentially parapatric or allopatric to each other. Five groups occupied a continuous geographical range each, whereas another four groups were disjunctively distributed. Morphometric distance and geographical distance between populations were significantly correlated. Analyses based on 13 allozyme loci demonstrated that six out of the nine morphological groups were further divided into more than one genetically distinct group each. Genetic similarity between populations was significantly correlated with morphometric similarity and geographical closeness. Disjunctively distributed populations of a single morphological group more often resembled geographically adjacent populations of different morphological groups than geographically remote populations of the same group. In a morphological group that occupied a wide continuous range, remote populations substantially differed genetically from each other. The results suggest that there exist at least 19 morphologically and/or genetically differentiated units in the C. angusticollis complex in northern Japan. The C. angusticollis complex is likely a superspecies composed of a number of semispecies. We postulate that the diversification of this species complex might have resulted from the repeated range contraction and expansion during the ice ages. Movement of tension zones that separate two adjacent forms might contribute to enhance their geographical differentiation.  © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2008, 93 , 557–578.     

Characterization and chromosome location of satellite DNA in the leaf beetle Chrysolina americana (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae)

This paper is the first record of the satellite DNA of the specialized phytophagous genus Chrysolina. The satellite DNA of Chrysolina americana is organized in a tandem repeat of monomers 189 bp long, has a A + T content of 59.6 % and presents direct and inverted internal repeats. Restriction analysis of the total DNA with methylation sensitive enzymes suggests that this repetitive DNA is undermethylated. In situ hybridization with a biotinylated probe of the satellite DNA showed the pericentromeric localization of these sequences in all meiotic bivalents. The presence of this repetitive DNA in other species of the genus was also tested by Southern analysis. The results showed that this satellite DNA sequence is specific to the C. americana genome and has not been found in three other species of Chrysolina with a different choice of host plants than in the former. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Mitochondrial DNA Phylogeny and the Evolution of Host-Plant Use in Palearctic Chrysolina (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae) Leaf Beetles

The genus Chrysolina consists of specialized phytophagous leaf-beetles (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae) with feed on several plant families. There is no explicit phylogenetic hypothesis available for this genus, which includes 65 subgenera and more than 400 species with a wide distribution. We obtained 839-bp sequence data from the 16S rDNA and cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) mitochondrial genes. Thirty Chrysolina taxa representing eight host–plant affiliations, two species of the closely related genus Oreina, and two outgroups were sampled. These data sets were used separately and combined to obtain the mitochondrial cladogram of the group using maximum-parsimony and maximum-likelihood criteria. The results were compared to current proposals for Chrysolina systematics that are based on morphological, ecological, and karyological data. The trees obtained were in the most part congruent with the proposed ancestral association of Chrysolina to Lamiaceae based on chromosome number in several lineages. A minimum of five host-plant switches from the ancestral state inferred at the family level and two at the subclass level suggests the absence of parallel evolution of beetles and their host plants. Another switch leading to oligophagy at the family level was deduced to have occurred in the lineage of the subgenus Chrysolina s.str. Received: 22 May 1998 / Accepted: 16 September 1998     

New leaf-beetle species (Coleoptera,Chrysomelidae) from China: IX

The following new species are described from Chinese provinces Gansu, Sichuan, and Yunnan, based on the material from the Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, where the types are deposited: Zeugophora nigroaerea sp. n. (Zeugophorinae), Cryptocephalus pseudosplendens sp. n. (Cryptocephalinae), Chrysolina kippenbergi sp. n., Ch. irinae sp. n., Ch. sinica sp. n., Ch. nixiana sp. n., Ch. yunnana sp. n., Oreomela fulvicornis sp. n., O. multipunctata sp. n. (Chrysomelini), Geinula cheni sp. n., and Furosawaia continentalis sp. n. (Galerucini).     

New leaf-beetle species (Coleoptera,Chrysomelidae) from China: VIII

Chrysolina baoshanica sp. n., Ch. amica sp. n., Ch. baimana sp. n., Ch. sergeyi sp. n., Ch. korotjaevi sp. n., Ch. volkovitshi sp. n., Ch. aeruginosa kabana subsp. n., and Phratora belousovi sp. n. from Chinese provinces Gansu, Sichuan, and Yunnan are described. Types of the new species are deposited in the Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg.     

Strictly parapatric distribution of flightless leaf beetles of the Chrysolina angusticollis species complex (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae) in the vicinity of Sapporo, northern Japan

In the southwestern suburbs of Sapporo, northern Japan, the flightless leaf beetle Chrysolina angusticollis species complex is represented by three phenotypically distinct forms which are distributed in a strictly parapatric manner. Boundaries between the forms usually coincided with narrow topographic barriers such as streams and cliffs, and areas with low density of host plants. In only four out of 237 sites was more than one form discovered in sympatry. In these exceptional sites, putative hybrid individuals were also found. This stricdy parapatric distribution and coincidence of boundaries with topographic barriers suggest that the boundaries are tension zones, i.e. hybrid zones maintained by dispersal of native individuals from outside of the zones and selection against hybrids in the zones.     

叶甲亚科一新属及两新种记述（鞘翅目：叶甲科）

记述中国叶甲亚科1新属:玉龙叶甲属Yulongedon gen.nov.,包括2新种:靓玉龙叶甲Y.formosus sp.nov.,宝藏神玉龙叶甲Y.jambhalai sp.nov.。     

New species of leaf-beetles (Coleoptera,Chrysomelidae) from China: X

New species of the subfamily Chrysomelinae, Chrysolina maximi from Yunnan Province, Ch. nesterovae, Ch. matruelis, and Ch. mikhailovi, Yunnaedon foveatus and Yu. belousovi, Oreomela magnifica and O. geae, all from Sichuan, Taipinus kabaki and T. magnus from Shaanxi, and also two new species of the subfamily Galerucinae, Meristoides rugosa and M. obscura spp. n. from Sichuan, are described.     

New species of Leaf-beetles (Coleoptera,Chrysomelidae) from China: XI

New species of the subfamilies Megalopodinae (Temnaspis humerosa sp. n.), Chrysomelinae [Chrysolina furialis sp. n., Ch. oxanae sp. n., Ch. pingchuana sp. n., Oreomelina (Oreomelina) obtusa sp. n., O. (Oreomelina) splendens sp. n. from Sichuan], and Galerucinae (Liroëtis obliquevirgata sp. n. from Sichuan, Hyphaenia lutescens sp. n. from Chongqing, H. potanini sp. n. from Sichuan, and H. kabaki sp. n. from Shaangxi) are described.     

Chromosomal analysis of Leptinotarsa and Labidomera species (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

Chromosomes were examined from 13 Leptinotarsa species: L. decemlineata, L. texana, L. defecta, L. juncta, L. rubiginosa, L. haldemani, L. tumamoca, L. peninsularis, L. behrensi, L. heydeni, L. lineolata, L. typographica, and L. undecimlineata. With the exception of L. undecimlineata, which has 2n=32+XO, all other species have the basic chromosome number 2n=34+XO. Of two Labidomera species also examined, L. clivicollis has 2n=32+XO and L. suturella has 2n=30+XO. Idiograms showed that the majority of the autosomes are submetacentric. All species have a large submetacentric X chromosome. Meiotic pairings were regular with both closed and open bivalents. Chiasma frequencies varied considerably among species and even between populations. No distinct correlation was evident when chromosome numbers and chiasma frequencies were compared with host plant association and geographic distribution patterns of Leptinotarsa species.     

Genetic analysis of feeding preference in two related species of Altica (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Alticinae)

Abstract 1. Genetic analysis of feeding preference can make an important contribution to our understanding of the evolution of host‐plant selection in phytophagous insects. Two closely related flea beetles, Altica viridicyanea (Baly) and Altica fragariae Nakane, with separate host plants [Geranium wilfordii Maxim. and Duchesnea indica (Andrews) Focke respectively] were hybridised to analyse the inheritance mode of feeding preference. 2. Adult hybrid F₁ (A. viridicyanea female × A. fragariae male) preferred G. wilfordii to D. indica in two‐choice tests, regardless of which plant they had fed on as larvae. Adults of one backcross to A. fragariae preferred D. indica to G. wilfordii, and the two backcrosses to A. viridicyanea consumed only a very small percentage of D. indica. Adult females of F₂ showed no significant preference, whereas males of F₂ showed slight preference for G. wilfordii over D. indica. 3. Both the mean feeding preference and the segregation pattern of beetles indicate that the feeding preference of A. viridicyanea and A. fragariae for G. wilfordii and D. indica, respectively, is mainly controlled by a major dominant autosomal gene (or several genes). 4. The variance between feeding preference and oviposition preference of female F₂ indicate that the two behaviour traits of Altica species are controlled by different gene(s).     

Chromosomes of sixteen European species ofLongitarsus flea-beetles (Coleoptera,Chrysomelidae)

Sixteen species ofLongitarsus have been chromosomally surveyed, showing a continuous range of even numbers from 2n=26 to 2n=32 chromosomes. Among the total of twenty-three known species, about 40% display a 14+Xy male karyotypic formula, the possible modal and most primitive one for the genus. The current taxonomy of species groupings is in good agreement with the chromosome numbers in some cases, but not in others. Also, there is no interrelationship between chromosome numbers and foodplant selection. The number of large bivalents at metaphase I is generally negatively correlated with the diploid value, suggesting the possible role of centric fusions coupled to shifts in the amount of chromatin as the main chromosomal changes in the evolution ofLongitarsus. The karyotypes of a few studied species are composed of metacentric chromosomes, some of them of rather large size, and a minute y-chromosome. A possible example of polymorphism for the chromosome number inL. nigrofasciatus is reported and briefly discussed.     

New species of leaf beetles (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae) from China: VI

Smaragdina schereri sp. n., Chrysolina jiangi sp. n., Ch. geae sp. n., Ch. gansuica sp. n., Sclerophaedon daccordii sp. n., Neophaedon sichuanicus sp. n., Oreomela inflata sp. n., Xingeina nigrolucens sp. n., Shaira hemipteroides sp. n. and Calomicrus atroviridis sp. n. from Sichuan, Gansu, and Yunnan provinces of China are described. Types of the new species are deposited in the Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg.