Weevils of Monte Grappa Biosphere Reserve
Abstract
An annotated catalogue of Coleoptera Curculionoidea of “Monte Grappa” Biosphere Reserve is presented. The 528 species surveyed, divided into 7 families and 283 genera and subgenera, include the 265 species already known, plus the 263 are reported for the first time for the area.
Faunistic, chorological and ecological information is given for all the species together with 1.015 illustrations of distinctive species, collecting techniques and selected habitats.
In addition the database of 20.000 specimens collected can be found at: doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7497691
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From May, 17 th to 24 th the weevil fauna of several localities in the surrounding area of Stúrovo (southern Slovakia) was investigated. 12 sites were visited by all participants. Despite a rather good level of previous knowledge, the species lists for all sites could be improved considerably. The total number of the recorded species is 360 and includes the families Anthribidae (6 species), Apionidae (48), Attelabidae (1), Curculionidae (292), Dryophthoridae (1), Nanophyidae (4), Erirhinidae (1) and Rhynchitidae (7). There were two sites with a speciose Ceutorhynchinae and one site with a speciose Tychius fauna. Important species of the sites are highlighted, and the most important species of all searched sites are commented on separately. In many cases host plant relations were also recorded, but although there was a targeted search effort, the host plant of Hypera cumana remains unknown.
In tropical environments, and especially tropical rainforests, a major part of pollination services is provided by diverse insect lineages. Unbeknownst to most, beetles, and more specifically hyperdiverse weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea), play a substantial role there as specialized mutualist brood pollinators. The latter contrasts with a common view where they are only regarded as plant antagonists. This study aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of what is known about plant-weevil brood-site mutualistic interactions, through a review of the known behavioral, morphological and physiological features found in these systems, and the identification of potential knowledge gaps. To date, plant-weevil associations have been described or indicated in no less than 600 instances. Representatives of major plant lineages are involved in these interactions, which have emerged independently at least a dozen times. Strikingly, these mutualistic interactions are associated with a range of convergent traits in plants and weevils. Plants engaged in weevil-mediated pollination are generally of typical cantharophilous type exhibiting large, white and fragrant flowers or inflorescences and they also show specific structures to host the larval stages of their specialist pollinators. Another characteristic feature is that flowers often perform thermogenesis and exhibit a range of strategies to separate sexual phases, either spatially or temporally. Conversely, lineages of brood-site weevil pollinators present numerous shared behavioral and physiological traits, and often form multispecific assemblages of closely related species on a single host; recent studies also revealed that they generally display a high degree of phylogenetic niche conservatism. This pollination mutualism occurs in all tropical regions, and the contrasts between the known and expected diversity of these systems suggests that a wide range of interactions remain to be described globally. Our early estimates of the species richness of the corresponding weevil clades and the marked pattern of phylogenetic niche conservatism of host use further suggest that weevil-based pollination far exceeds the diversity of other brood-site mutualistic systems, which are generally restricted to one or a few groups of plants. As such, weevil pollinators constitute a relevant model to explore the emergence and evolution of specialized brood-site pollination systems in the tropics
The mature larva of the weevil species Orobitis cyanea (Linnaeus, 1758), one of only two Palaearctic members of the supertribe Orobitiditae, is re-described, while the pupa is described for the first time. The biology of this species was studied at two sites in Germany. It was reared from seed capsules of Viola canina L. (Violaceae), and feeding holes were observed on V. riviniana Rchb. Adults of Orobitis cyanea and O. nigrina Reitter, 1885, specialists of Viola , show a well-developed escape mechanism, to which contribute a smooth surface, a rounded, nearly spherical body shape, and a seed-imitating thanatosis behaviour. The molytine weevil Leiosoma cribrum (Gyllenhal, 1834), the only other known weevil specialist of Viola in Europe, has a smooth surface, also, and is the most spherical species of the genus. The unique characters of the larva and pupa of Orobitis cyanea are discussed in regard to the systematic position of this taxon.
The subgenus Liophloeus Weise, 1894 of Liophloeus Germar, 1817 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Entiminae: Polydrusini) consists of five morphologically similar species traditionally diagnosed based on the shape of the aedeagus. However, traits of the genital apparatus exhibit substantial and overlapping inter-and intraspecific variation. All five species have the same ecological requirements and occur in central and eastern Europe, mostly in montane areas. The focus of this work was to verify the taxonomic status and validity of Liophloeodes species using a combination of molecular and morphometric techniques. Specimens were collected from the entire distribution range and initially assigned to a species according to the aedeagal shape. Genetic diversity and phylogeny of the subgenus were studied using three molecular markers (two ribosomal, 28S-D2 and ITS2, and one mitochondrial, COI). Moreover, several morphological characters were used for multivariate morphometric analyses. Finally, presence and prevalence of bacterial en-dosymbionts among species were investigated. Phylogenies based on ribosomal markers suggest that traditional species are correctly delimited, whereas COI phylogeny suggests hybridization and introgression occurring between Liophloeodes species. Morphometric analyses confirmed low interspecific diversity. Two major bacterial endosymbionts, Rickettsia and Wolbachia, were detected in many populations. We argue that Liophloeodes consists of young lineages whose evolution and diversification was possibly mediated by cyclic climate change events.
Polyphagous broad nosed weevils (Curculionidae: Entiminae) constitute a large and taxonomically challenging subfamily that contains economically significant agricultural pests worldwide. South Africa is a hot-spot for biodiversity and several species of indigenous and endemic genera of Entiminae have shifted on to cultivated plants, with some being phytosanitary pests. The sporadic pest status of many species (where the species has an occasional economic impact on the agricultural industry, but is not encountered often enough that is is readily recognisable by researchers and agricultural extension workers) and the presence of pest complexes and cryptic species represent an identification challenge to non-specialists. Furthermore, no comprehensive identification tools exist to identify immature stages that may be found in crops/soil. In this paper, a curated barcoding database with 70 COI sequences from 41 species (39 Entiminae, 2 Cyclominae) is initiated, to assist with the complexity of identification of species in this group. ‡ § | |
The genus Brachysomus Schoenherr, 1823 is reviewed. A comparative morphological study of adults from 56 Brachysomus species is provided. Redescriptions, diagnoses and identification keys are given. Descriptions of two new species are provided: B. (s. str.) podlussanyi sp. n. from Greece and B. (s. str.) pseudosetiger sp. n. from Bulgaria, which appear to be closely related to B. (s. str.) mihoki Penecke, 1914. Females of B. (s. str.) longipterus Białooki, 2007 are described. The
poorly known B. (Hippomias) moczarskii Penecke, 1924 is restored from synonymy with B. (H.) oertzeni Faust, 1889.
New synonyms: B. (s. str.) echinatus (Bonsdorff, 1785) = B. (s. str.) hirsutus Iablokoff-Khnzorian, 1958 syn. n. New combinations: Brachysomus (s. str.) lituratus (Reitter, 1884) comb. n. from Foucartia Jacquelin du Val, 1854; Eurosphalmus tenuicollis (Yunakov, 2006) comb. n. from Brachysomus, Eurosphalmus cribrarius (Białooki, 2007) comb. n. from Brachysomus, Nanomias skodai (Białooki, 2007) comb. n. from Brachysomus, and Chiloneus bonnairei (Hoffmann, 1942) comb. n. from Brachysomus. Lectotypes are designated for: Strophosomus hirtus Boheman, 1845; Brachysomus ornatus Stierlin, 1892; B. bensae Stierlin, 1893; Platytarsus fasciatus Stierlin, 1899; and P. setiger Gyllenhal, 1840. For each species, all known localities are presented on a distribution map. Ecological preferences of Brachysomus species are specified. First records of Brachysomus (s. str.) fremuthi Košťál, 1991 from Romania, B. (Hippomias) carpathicus Košťál, 1992 from Serbia, and B. (H.) ponticus Apfelbeck, 1898 from Greece are given.
Two new species of the weevil genus Rhamphus from Italy are herein described: R. bavierai n. sp. (Sicily) and R. hampsicora n. sp. (Sardinia). Both are morphologically and from a molecular perspective close to R. oxyacanthae (Marsham, 1802) and R. monzinii Pesarini & Diotti, 2012. Aside from a diagnostic description and a synoptic key, distribution data and notes on the host plants of the four species are reported. Whereas R. monzinii can be distinguished by several morphological characters, the other three species are morphologically very similar to each other and separable only by the combination of a few subtle characters. On the contrary, a preliminary molecular study revealed substantial divergences of mtCOI from 6.2 to 14.9% between the species, confirming the importance of an integrative taxonomy.
Squamapion gardinii n. sp. from Italy, France and Spain (♂♀; type locality: Italy: Liguria: Genoa Province: Genova-Quinto al Mare: Rio San Pietro), associated with Thymus vulgaris L., is described. Squamapion solariorum (Wagner, 1908) n. stat., upgraded to species rank from subspecies of Squamapion consors (Desbrochers des Loges, 1875), is redescribed (holotype ♀ examined). New chorological records for Squamapion minutissimum (Rosenhauer, 1856) and Squamapion serpyllicola (Wencker, 1864) are also given; the latter species is recorded for the first time from Italy and Romania. A provisional key is provided to the species of Squamapion, related to Squamapion atomarium (Kirby, 1808), present in the Mediterranean region.
The genus Rhopalapion Schilsky, 1906 is revised and its name is applied to Apionidae with elongate body, elongate antennal club and strong sexual dimorphism in the length of rostrum, whose biology is related to Malvaceae belonging to the genus Alcea L., 1753. The morphological study of various populations hitherto attributed to Rhopalapion longirostre (Olivier, 1807) allowed the identification of a further species, Rhopalapion celatum n. sp. (♂♀, type locality: S-Iran: Fars Province: Pâsârgâd: vicinity tomb of Cyrus), distributed in Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. Lectotype (♂) of Apion longirostre Olivier, 1807 is designated. The following new combinations are proposed for the species formerly assigned to Rhopalapion: Pseudaspidapion leptorostre (Voss, 1959) n. comb. and Harpapion coelestipenne (Voss, 1962) n. comb. The genera Anacrapion Mazur, 2011 and Lopatinapion Friedman, 2013 are provisionally removed from the tribe Malvapiini Alonso-Zarazaga, 1990 and considered members of the supertribe Aspidapiitae Alonso-Zarazaga, 1990 with no tribal attribution.