Diario del proyecto Insects - Southern Africa (identified for the 1st time on iNat or difficult to identify)

Easily distinguished by its blood-red abdomen, the orange-coloured elytra, with a broad irregular black sutural mark, and also by the hind part of the prothorax not being narrowed at the shoulders.

Type locality: Limpopo valley

Original description in:
Boheman, C. H. (1857). Insecta Caffraria annis 1838-1845 a J.A.Wahlberg collecta amici auxilios sultus descripsit. Coleoptera.
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/48646#page/58/mode/1up

Rediscription & illustration in:
Westwood, J. O. (1874). Thesaurus entomologicus Oxoniensis: or, Illustrations of new, rare, and interesting insects, for the most part contained in the collections presented to the University of Oxford by the Rev. F.W. Hope ... with forty plates from drawings by the author.
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/49351#page/48/mode/1up
Plate 8, fig. 10: https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/49351#page/253/mode/1up

iNat observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/198064287

Males come in winged and unwinged forms, females are always wingless.

Alate male:
Antennae black; apical segments with dense greyish pubescence. Basal segment of antennae feebly curved in basal half, strongly constricted at extreme base.
Head (except anteriorly laterally) reddish, smooth, except, at base of antennal tubercles, striate.
Pronotum anteriorly laterally (except acetabula) suffused with reddish. Anterior lobe of pronotum concave anteriorly; lateral angles feebly produced, broadly rounded, dorso-ventrally compressed. Anterior lobe narrowly sulcate throughout and somewhat broadly depressed in basal half; posterior lobe much wider than anterior lobe; posterior lateral angles very broadly rounded; surface smooth, except anteriorly and laterally minutely sulcate.
Scutellum reddish. Lateral scutellar spines feebly curved; median spine very feeble.
Legs reddish; femora basally, trochanters, suffused with black. Claws piceous. Anterior femora moderately incrassate, with irregular, short tubercles on lower surface.
Hemelytra extending to apex of abdomen. Corium and membrane dull black; base of costa of corium reddish. Wings infumate, iridescent.
Pleura, sterna, except mesosternum anteriorly suffused with reddish, abdomen black.

Apterous male:
Head about twice as long as anterior lobe of pronotum. Ocelli absent.
Anterior margin of pronotum angulately concave. Anterior lobe a little wider than posterior lobe, narrowly sulcate in basal half and somewhat depressed at anterior end of sulcus; lateral margins feebly rounded; posterior lobe narrowly sulcate medially: except posteriorly.
Scutellum truncate apically.
Abdomen with connexival segments and segment 7 irregularly striate.
Colour as in alate male.

Female:
Similar in structure to apterous male except that the dorsal surface of the head is smoother and only obscurely striate. The striations on segment 7 of the abdomen are much less strong.

Original description with figures in:
Miller, N. C. E. (1950). New genera and species of Reduviidae (Rhynchota) from Southern Rhodesia. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 120(2), 189–264. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1950.tb00947.x
https://sci-hub.ee/https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1096-3642.1950.tb00947.x

Photos of types (BMNH):
https://data.nhm.ac.uk/dataset/56e711e6-c847-4f99-915a-6894bb5c5dea/resource/05ff2255-c38a-40c9-b657-4ccb55ab2feb?q=Maraenaspis+vorax&view_id=6ba121d1-da26-4ee1-81fa-7da11e68f68e&filters=order%3AHemiptera%7Cfamily%3Areduviidae%7CcollectionCode%3Abmnh%28e%29&field=associatedMediaCount&value=

Recorded from Zimbabwe and South Africa.

iNat observation:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/105354587

Original description in:
Bericht über die zur Bekanntmachung geeigneten Verhandlungen der Königl. Preuss. Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin. 1853
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/109942#page/374/mode/1up

Detailed Description of the male in:
Schaum, H. (1862) Hemiptera, Halbflügler, pp. 35–56. In: Peter's Reise nach Mossambique, Zoologie, V.
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/103636#page/76/mode/1up
Tranlated from Latin & German:

Thorax above rufous, scutellum and abdominal margins green, hemelytra black, underneath cyan, shiny, tarsi dark reddish-brownish.

The top of the head is green, with some transverse wrinkles. The basal part of the antennae black (follwing antennomeres missing from the specimen). The anterior lobe of the pronotum is red-yellow, the posterior lobe red, the cross-shaped impression dark green, the longitudinal sulcus only extends to the middle of the posterior lobe, separated by the transverse sulcus. The two-pointed scutellum is green, with irregular wrinkles. The hemelytra are velvet-black, the anterior half of the margin is green. The laterally protruding edges of the abdomen are of the same color. The underside is metallic blue. The hairs on the tip of the tibiae and the tarsi are fox-red, the tarsi are reddish at the base and darker towards the tip.

Description of female in:
Horva´th, G. 1914. Reduviidae nova africanae.Annales Historico-Naturales Musei Nationa-lis Hungarici 12: 109–145
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/254702#page/143/mode/1up

Translated from Latin:
Head above marked with an oblong, dark brownish-reddish spot, the vertex between the eyes twice as wide as an eye length. Antennae with very short hairs and also some long erect hairs, the first joint
1/5 shorter than the head, glabrous, the second article scarcely longer than the first article and the third article nearly 3/4 longer. Pronotum a little wider than long, base almost twice as wide as apex, anterior lobe rounded-narrowed anteriorly, posterior lobe scarcely wider than anterior lobe, but half shorter, lateral margins of the same color, with distinct lateral impressions. Tip of scutellum truncate, apical teeth obsolete. Rudiment of elytra, metanotum and the abdomen above black-greenish metallic, the dorsal segments (with the exception of the last segment) smoothed, with five apical grooves furnished with a distinct posterior margin, all sutures crenulate; connexivium transversely wrinkled. Front femora about 2.4 times as long as high. Body length 20-21 mm.

Distribution: Recorded from Namibia, Mozambique, South Africa and East Africa.

iNat observation:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/136021308

Diagnosis: Elytra with the posterior patch connected with the suture and reaching nearly the outer margin

Original description in:
Fairmaire, L. 1894. Coléoptères de l'Afrique intertropicale et australe. Annales de la Société Entomologique de Belgique, 38
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/12853648#page/340/mode/1up

Description in English in:
Peringuey, L. 1896. Descriptive catalogue of the Coleoptera of South Africa. The Coleoptera of South Africa. Part II. Carabidae. Transactions of the South African Philosophical Society, 7
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/36877514#page/298/mode/1up
Ovate, ampliate behind, moderately convex, hardly shining, rufous with the elytra more yellowish, and having a subquadrate scutellary black patch, and also a large transverse one past the middle, reaching nearly outer margins, and connected with the basal one by the sutural band, there is also an oblong humeral black spot on each side and the sinuation of the posterior margin is moderately well defined; the antennae, with the exception of the first joint, the knees, tibiae, and tarsi are black; head closely punctured with small transverse impressions between the antennae; palpi black; prothorax transverse, short, with the sides rounded, finely and closely punctured, finely rugose, slightly striate in the middle of the disk, with the outer sides somewhat broadly depressed with the margin raised, and the posterior one oblique on each side with the angles acute and straight; scutellum ogival with the apex acute, punctulate; elytra moderately ample, broadly truncate behind, finely striate on the upper part, striae smooth and intervals plane, with moderately close punctures; under side almost smooth, femora moderately thick, tibiae with a moderate groove. Length 9 mm.

iNat observation:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/198057370

Diagnosis: Totally red, with the legs black.

Original description in:
Boheman, C.H. 1848. Insecta Caffraria annis 1838-1845 a J. A. Wahlberg collecta. Pars I, Fascic. I, Coleoptera (Carabici, Hydrocanthari, Gyrinii et Staphylinii)
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/37989#page/64/mode/1up

Type locality: Durban

Description in English in:
Peringuey, L. 1896. Descriptive catalogue of the Coleoptera of South Africa. The Coleoptera of South Africa. Part II. Carabidae. Transactions of the South African Philosophical Society, 7
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/36877514#page/297/mode/1up

Head very dark red, closely plicate lengthways; antennas and palpi black; prothorax broader than long by one-third, with the outer sides straight and rounded in the anterior angles, finely plicate, dark brick-red, with the outer margins lighter; elytra brick-red, not very shining, subelongate, gradually ampliated from below the humeral part to a little past three-fourths of the length where they are nearly one-fourth wider than at the base, a little convex, striate with the striae narrow, faintly punctured, and the intervals plane, broad, and each one with one series of shallow punctures; under side pale red, legs and tarsi black, teeth of claws long. Length 9 mm.; width 5 mm.

Photos of museum specimen on GBIF: https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/3031181044

iNat observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/150228379

.

This species has been described as Astata tetragramma by Chaudoir and by Peringuey and is now considered a junior synonym of Lebia picipennis Motschulsky, 1864. (Lebia picipennis was described as having all black elytra without large yellow spots). The synonymy relationships of these and related species may not yet have been conclusively clarified.

Original description of Astata tetragramma in:
Chaudoir, M. Monographie des lébiides (Continuation). Bulletin de la Société Impériale des Naturalistes de Moscou, 44 (1-2): 1-87
Head and thorax more or less dark brick red, elytra dull black, usually decorated each one or two testaceous-yellow, rather large rounded spots and a third much smaller one in the middle of the base.
The two anterior spots are sometimes missing, and often, the elytra are completely black. [...]
Epipleura and underside of the body are a slightly brownish-yellow, the antennae light brown with the first three articles more yellow, as are the palps and legs; in these, the femora are a shade lighter than the rest.
Type locality: Natal

Description of four-spotted type in English in:
Peringuey, L. 1896. Descriptive catalogue of the Coleoptera of South Africa. The Coleoptera of South Africa. Part II. Carabidae. Transactions of the South African Philosophical Society, 7
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/36877446#page/293/mode/1up
Antennae rufescent, with the three basal joints pale red; head and prothorax brick-red, and both very rugose; prothorax a little broader in the anterior part than behind; elytra nearly twice as broad as the prothorax, subparallel, striate, with the striae narrow and smooth and the intervals very convex, black, with two yellow, subquadrate patches on each elytron, a narrow macula at the base and the median part of the edge of the outer margin yellowish red; the anterior dorsal patch begins at about one-fourth of the length, reaches about the median part and extends from the second to the fifth striae, and the posterior one, slightly smaller than the anterior and close to the apex, extends on the first, second, third, and fourth intervals; under side and legs brick-red. Length 9 mm.; width 4 mm.
Habitat: Durban, Natal
Illustration of elytral pattern:

iNat observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/9009167

Original description in:
Stål, C. 1853. Nya Hemiptera från Cafferlandet - Öfversigt af Kongliga Vetenskaps-Akademiens Förhandlingar tionde årgången 10.
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/54170#page/235/mode/1up

Type locality: Natal

Redescription in:
Stål, C. 1865. Hemiptera Africana, vol 1.
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/35344#page/234/mode/1up
Translated from Latin:

Sordide whitish-straw-coloured, densely and distinctly black-punctured above, dots distantly scattered with brown. Less densely brownish-ferrugineous-punctured underneath, on ventral disc, and on the central line running through thorax and scutellum (tip even smooth). Antennae pale-testaceous, the middle of the third, fourth, and fifth joints brown or black. The lateral edges of the anterior thorax and the costal edge of the corium are immaculate, costal edge of corium smoothed and calloused. Scutellum near the base in the middle brown-spotted. Membrane gray-hyaline, scattered with brown; a small black spot on both sides of the anterior margin of the metasthetia. Connexivium black-spotted. Legs unspotted. The basal spine of the abdomen produced almost to the anterior coxae. The middle lobe towards the top of the head is scarcely enlarged.

Photo of type: http://www2.nrm.se/en/het_nrm/f/anubis_fuscoirroratus.html

iNat observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/198370297

This species is best told from similar Ocnodes species by location and examination of the underside.
Ocnodes virago is easily recognisable by the abdominal setal brush on the ventrites that also occurs in females. (In Ocnodes scrobicolle even the male is without a distinct setal brush).

Original description in:
Koch C. 1952. Die Tenebrioniden des südlichen Afrikas XIII. Vorstudien zu einer Monographie der Molurini, 3. (Col. Tenebrionidae). Entomologische Arbeiten 3.

Tranlation from German:
Very closely related to the previous species [torosum] and distinguised by the following features.
Shape broader, but very variable, often with broadly rounded elytra as in scrobicolle often more elongated-ovate as in torosum. Pronotum wider in the middle, with almost parallel sides, straight and only very slightly narrowed towards the back. Sculpture very similar to that of scrobicolle subsp. simulans, on the disc with smoothed, densely packed, but transverse and jagged, teardrop-like grains or wrinkles running into one another, which mostly change into coarse and flat dots towards the base, more pronounced towards the sides becoming raised, irregular compact wrinkles. Proepisternum smooth and glabrous, more or less densely grained inside. Elytra shiny, punctuation extremely fine and scattered, the punctures disappearing on the apical slope. Punctuation on middle and hind femora distally dense, less rough and merged transversely. In the male, the front leg spot small, about the same size as in scrobicolle, closer to the middle of the femur and moved to the inner edge. The three basal abdominal ventrites have a strong setal brush on the disc, which extends sparsely to the metasterum and the middle of the penultimate ventrite. In the female, the metasternum and the two basal discal sternites also have a very short-haired, but dense reddish-brown setal brush, which extends sparsely onto the third ventrite.
Length 21-35 mm.

Illustrated in Koch C. 1952.
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/49571901#page/379/mode/1up

Distribution: Zimbabwe (Victoria Falls, Zambezi, between Limpopo und Zambezi); Zambia (Livingstone); Botswana (Gemsbok Pan, Damara Pan, Kaotwe, Chobe River, Maun, Tsotsorogo Pan, Kuke Pan, Gomodimo, Kuring-Kuru, Tondoro, Okavango); Namibia (Ovamboland: Oshikango, Damaraland: Sandfontein and upper Auob River); Southern Angola.

iNat observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/141405310

Genus description (Eteocles) in:
Stål, C. 1866. Hemiptera Africana, vol 4.
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/35350#page/427/mode/1up
Translated from Latin:
Body oval, compressed. The head is broad, as broad as the thorax, very blunt, not prominent in front of the eyes, the vertex is very short, the eyes are much wider; the frons is generally long and broad, the base truncated; with a convex clypeus, without carina. The thorax is obtusely rounded anteriorly, the base truncate. The scutellum is a little longer than the thorax. Tegmina mostly decumbent, broad, a little longer than broad, a little exceeding the apex of the abdomen, convex, irregularly reticulated, with a distinct clavus, corium half shorter, costal margin rounded, costa enlarged, widened below before the middle. No alae at all. Legs short; hind tibiae with one spine; the first joint of the hind tarsi is the shortest.

Original description (Hysteropterum globulare) in:
Walker F. 1858 - Homoptera. Descriptions of new species from various genera. In: Walker F. 1858 - Insecta saundersiana: or characters of undescribed insects in the collection of William Wilson Saunders, 1858. p. 30-56.
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/25015#page/56/mode/1up
Testaceous. Vertex very short; front transverse, smooth, slightly convex, without elevated borders; face triangular. Thorax with two impressions on each side. Prothorax slightly arched. Mesothorax triangular. Fore wings convex, smooth, shining, nearly oval, rounded at the tips, deflected almost vertically; interior border more convex than the costa.

Description by Stål (Eteocles faecarius) in Stål, 1866
Dirty-yellowish; forehead minutely brown-dotted; the sides of the thorax furnished with some granules; the costal edge of tegmina is dirty-strawcoloured before the middle, areoles slightly margined with brown. Length 3mm.
Cape.

Illustration in:
Melichar L. 1906 - Monographie der Issiden. (Homoptera). Abhandlungen der K. K. Zoologisch-botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien. Wien 3: 1-327.
https://www.zobodat.at/pdf/AZBG_3_4_0001-0327.pdf

iNat observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/64228689

Easily identified by the granulose-punctate elytral surface.

Original description & illustration in:
Westwood, J. O. 1875. Descriptions of new Heteromerous Coleoptera. Transactions of The Royal Entomological Society of London 23
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14674108#page/246/mode/1up
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14674108#page/489/mode/1up

Translated from Latin:
Black, minutely punctate; elytra ovate, marginated, base glabrous, shiny; mesonotum exposed above, convex and punctate; medium-sized, thick legs; front tibiae with elongated slender spur (calcarium), with a blunt tip; hind tibiae curved, external apical angle produced and obliquely truncated.

Type locality: Maputo, Mozambique

The head and pronotum are finely and closely punctured; the latter is very convex, regularly rounded at the sides, which are finely marginated, the greatest width being across the middle, with the posterior angles rounded off, and two slight impressions near the hind margin; the exposed part of the mesonotum in the place of a broad scutellum is strongly punctured; the extreme base of the elytra is raised towards the suture and glossy, the remainder being very finely and minutely granulose-punctate; the sides are margined, and on the disc of each are very faint traces of two longitudinal striae; the anterior tibiae are broad, slightly curved and flattened, with a longitudinal impression on the upper side ; the terminal calcar is elongated, narrow and rounded at the tip; the hind tibiae are rather curved, with the outer apical angle considerably and broadly produced and truncate. The body beneath is black, polished and punctured, the middle part of each ventral segment being densely covered with minute punctures and clothed with pitchy-brown, velvet-like plush, less distinct on the terminal segment; the prosternum between the anterior coxae has its lateral margins thin and slightly raised, and with a slender smooth impressed line down the middle.

This species is illustrated in:
Kamiński et al (2019). A catalogue of the tribe Sepidiini Eschscholtz, 1829 (Tenebrionidae, Pimeliinae)
Figure 39: https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/34241/zoom/fig/11/

iNat observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/196836454