Podagricomela nigripes Medvedev (1993: 372), Medvedev (2002: 209 [key], 210), Zhang & Yang (2004: 273, 277).

DESCRIPTION

Length 3.43-3.72 mm, width 2.37-2.64 mm, 1.40-1.44 times longer than wide. General color brick red in life, fades to reddish brown to yellowish brown in preserved specimens (Fig. 1). Basal 3 or 4 antennomeres red-brown to yellow-brown, concolorous with dorsum; distal 7 or 8 antennomeres pitch-black. All legs piceous, except all coxae, trochanters concolorous with general color of body, distal tarsomeres tinted brown.

Head (Fig. 2) with vertex shiny, profusely minutely punctate, larger punctures sparse, unevenly distributed. Supracallinal sulcus, orbital sulcus deep and wide, almost straight. Transverse suprafrontal sulcus separating vertex from frontal ridge deeper than supracallinal sulcus. Antennal calli separated by a distance equal to 0.67-1.08 times diameter of antennal socket. Antennal callus wider than long, transverseoblique. Frontal ridge wider than long, convex between antennal sockets, anteriorly flat to concave. Frontoclypeal suture with a row of long setae, interrupted in middle. Labrum with 6 setiferous pores bearing long setae, arranged in a row of 3 each on either side. Labrum about 2 times wider than long, anterior margin with a small notch and a lobe covering notch, evident only in macerated specimens. Mandible with 5 denticles. Maxillary palpus 4-segmented; 2nd and 3rd palpomeres subequal; 3rd widest; 4th longest, shorter than 2 times length of 3rd. Labial palpus 3-segmented, 1st palpomere shortest, 2nd widest, 2nd and 3rd subequal in length. Antenna not reaching half of elytra over pronotum; proportionate length of antennomeres (n = 2; 1st onwards): 1: 0.52–0.53: 0.56–0.60: 0.60–0.72: 0.66–0.76: 0.70–0.92: 0.80–0.90: 0.83–0.92: 0.86–0.92: 0.86–0.92: 1.20–1.32.

Pronotum 0.96-1.02 mm long, 1.75-2.02 mm wide, 1.82-1.98 times wider than long. Pronotal disc densely punctured, density and size of punctures distinctly greater than those on vertex. Pronotal punctures much smaller than those on elytra, stronger laterally than medially. Lateral margin evenly curved, nearly as wide anteriorly as posteriorly. Anterolateral callosity transverse, projecting forward, with seta bearing pore on upper lateral face; anterior margin of callosity strongly curved (Fig. 3). Posterolateral callosity slightly projecting beyond lateral margin. Scutellum triangular, a little wider than long, shiny, minutely punctate.

Elytra widest at anterior one-third. Humeral callus with a shallow depression posteriorly. Fifth row of punctures (excluding scutellar row) forms a depression along mesal side of humeral callus. Sixth and 7th rows begin posterior to humeral callus; with a shallow depression posterior to humeral callus. Elytral punctures about 4–6 times stronger than pronotal punctures in middle of elytral disc. Distance between punctures in a row less than diameter of a puncture; width of elytral interstices generally more than diameter of a puncture in middle of disc; interstices minutely punctate. Maximum width of elytral epipleura slightly less than maximum width of profemur. Elytral epipleura slightly inclined outwardly in proximal one-third, distinctly outwardly inclined beyond one-third. Mesepimeron, metepisternum each with a row of very strong punctures.

Shortest width of prosternal intercoxal process more than shortest distance between anterior margin of prosternum to procoxal cavity. Prosternum and mesosternum with coarse punctures. Mesosternal intercoxal process with deeply emarginated posterior margin. Metasternum without bold punctures, except a few laterally. Metatibia with a sharp ridge all along its dorsal side. All 1st tarsomeres ventrally with plumose capitate setae in male, with plumose pointed setae in female.

Proportionate length of tarsomeres (n = 2; 1st onwards) in female: protarsomeres 1: 0.82–0.88: 1.00–1.12: 1.53–1.71; mesotarsomeres 1: 0.79–1.12: 0.84–1.18: 1.58–1.82; metatarsomeres 1: 0.64–0.81: 0.64–0.81: 1.16–1.38; in male: protarsomeres 1: 0.77–0.82: 0.94–1.00: 1.62–1.78; mesotarsomeres 1: 0.75–0.84: 0.85–0.89: 1.40–1.58; metatarsomeres 1: 0.68–0.74: 0.76–0.89: 1.20–1.53. Length—width ratio of tarsomeres (n = 2; 1st onwards) in female: protarsomeres 0.85–1.00: 0.82–0.88: 0.59–0.61: 2.90; mesotarsomeres 0.81–1.00: 0.88–0.95: 0.53–0.65: 2.82–3.33; metatarsomeres 1.00–1.32: 0.89: 0.55–0.63: 2.64–3.22; in male: protarsomeres 0.76–0.82: 0.78–0.82: 0.61–0.63: 2.75–3.56; mesotarsomeres 0.80–0.83: 0.77–0.89: 0.61–0.57: 2.66–3.00; metatarsomeres 0.90–1.19: 0.76–0.92: 0.65–0.72: 2.64–3.00.

Spermatheca with pump undifferentiated from receptacle; receptacle nearly 2 times longer than pump, pump forms acute angle with receptacle, outer side of receptacle concave, inner side convex; duct forms loop away from receptacle, sharply curved towards receptacle, not coiled (Fig. 7). Tignum channeled along middle, wider proximally, proximal end unsclerotized, narrowed in middle, distal end pointed, posterior margin of membranous portion forms a transverse sclerotized band (Fig. 8). Vaginal palpi fused in proximal three-quarters by membranous area; sclerotized laterally and posteriorly, narrowing towards posterior end, apex with a few short setae, long seta absent; both vaginal palpi together as long as wide (Fig. 9). Length of spermathecal receptacle 0.44 mm, length of tignum 0.63 mm, length of vaginal palpi 0.26 mm.

Aedeagus 0.97 mm long, in lateral view strongly curved, with acute apex (Fig. 4); in ventral view, parallel sided with rounded apex, ventral surface convex proximally, flat apically (Fig. 5); distal opening partially covered by a trifid lamina with longitudinal, sclerotized striations (Fig. 6). Arms of tegmen as long as stem.

DISTRIBUTION

Bhutan, India (West Bengal, Meghalaya), China (Xizang).

BIOLOGY

Described in Padmanaban et al. (1990), Rao et al. (2002), and Shylesha et al. (2003).

REMARKS

Podagricomela nigripes can be differentiated from the other 2 Indian species by the color of the dorsum. Dorsum is brick red to yellow brown in P. nigripes, whereas in P. decempunctata, dorsum is yellow with 5 black spots on the elytra. Apparently, this species is misplaced in Podagricomela. Podagricomela metallica Medvedev is distinctly larger (4.3 mm) than the other 2 species (3.20–3.72 mm), and its dorsum is metallic blue.

MATERIAL EXAMINED

Type material. PARATYPE ♂. Labels: (1) MagghalDhara/ 26-IV-1983 / 1,200 m (White label); (2) Darjeeling D. / India Bhakta B. (White label); (3) PARATYPUS/ Podagricomela nigripes / L Medvedev (Red label) (LMC).

Other material examined. 2♂, 1♀ Bhutan: env. Punakha/27.6058333°N, 89.8738333°E / 19-IX-2005 / 1,400 m / coll. K. Mahat, K. D. Prathapan (USNM); 10♂, 4♀ India: Meghalaya / Barapani / 25.6882222°N, 91.9180833°E / 993 m / 24-IX-2013 / coll. D. Prathapan & K. Shameem / Ex Citrus; 6 ♂ same locality and collectors, 21-IX-2013; India: West Bengal / Puntibari UBKV Campus / 26.3971389°N, 89.3857778°E / 35 m / 12-I-2017 / coll. K. D. Prathapan (BMNH, USNM, UASB, NBAIR, KAU).

COMMENTS

Except this species, all other species in Clitea are currently placed in Amphimela (Doberl 2010).

Throscoryssa citri Maulik (1928: 160), Clausen (1931: 1–13), Hoffmann (1935: 509), Chen (1936b: 383, 657), Gressitt & Kimoto (1963: 788), Scherer (1969: 8, 17, 227), Doberl (2010: 561).

ETYMOLOGY

Named after Samarendra Maulik, who originally described this species as T. citri.

COMMENTS

Maulik (1928) erected the monotypic genus Throscoryssa for a single species citri from Assam. Throscoryssa was synonymized with Clitea (Konstantinov & Prathapan 2008), which is a synonym of Amphimela Chapuis (Medvedev 2001). Bryant (1922) described Cercyonia citri from the Gold Coast in Africa as a serious pest of citrus plants. Scherer (1961) synonymized Cercyonia with Amphimela. As Amphimela citri (Maulik 1928) is a junior secondary homonym of Amphimela citri (Bryant 1922), a replacement name is proposed here as per article 60.3 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature 1999).