Aulacophora wallacii Baly 1886

Aulacophora wallacii Baly 1886

(Figs 8, 16, 24, 31, 42, 55, 92, 107, 119, 133, 148, 162, 180, 183)

Aulacophora wallacii Baly, 1886: 15.

Rhaphidopalpa wallacei [sic]: Weise 1924: 78.

Material examined. TIMOR LESTE: 1♁*, 2♀ / Aileu, Sabouria, 8.715029S 125.58684E, 01, hand, leaf [of] zuc- chini, 4.iii.2017 A Guterres (NAQS); 2♀ / Ermera, Gleno, Talimoro, 8.72S 125.43E, on cucumber, 28.ii.2017, D Britton (NAQS); 1♀ */ Netende, Bobocase, Oecusse, 9:16:51S 124:22:50E, 23.ii.2005, G Bellis (AMS).

Description. Colour (Fig. 8). Head brownish-yellow, except apical half to two-thirds of labrum, and apices of mandibles, dark brown toblack, eyes black; antennae entirely brownish-yellow; pronotum and elytra entirely brownish-yellow; venter of prothorax entirely brownish-yellow; scutellum variable, brownish-yellow, brown, or dark brown with brown margins; mesanepisternum dark brown to black; mesepimeron brown to brownish-yellow, with dark brown lateral half; mesoventrite entirely brownish-yellow or laterally darker; metaventrite black; procoxae entirely brownish-yellow, or posteriorly slightly darkened; mesocoxae anteriorly yellowish-brown or brown, and posteriorly dark brown or black; metacoxae entirely black; remainder of legs brownish-yellow except meso- and metafemora black; median tergites dark brown to black, with pale posterior edges; pygidium with basal third dark brown and apical two-thirds brownish-yellow; abdominal ventrites 1–4 black; ventrite 5 with black basal band, extending apically at sides, remainder brownish-yellow.

Male: length 7.5 mm; frontoclypeus without arcuate ridges or densely setose patches; first antennomere expanded, with flat area in apical half defined by a ridge; antennae about 0.6x body length; antennomere 2 shortest, slightly less than one third length of 1, antennomere 1 longest, comparative lengths: 1> 5 = 11> 4 = 6> 8 = 9> 3 = 7 = 10> 2; length antennomere 5 about 3.2x width; antennomeres 3–7 slightly expanded to apices; antennomeres 3–11 each with 3–6 erect lateral setae, not forming a row; pronotal transverse depression almost straight, shallow at sides, broadest at middle; in lateral view convexity of anterior half of pronotum greater than posterior half, with anterior slope steeper than posterior slope; disc with pair of large pits anterior to transverse groove; elytra less shiny than pronotum, strongly microreticulate; elytral humeri with oval patch of about 30 erect and semi-erect setae; apical lobe ventrite V symmetrically sculptured, cavity gradually elevated to lateral margins; elongate cavity gradually deepened from base to two-thirds length, then gradually elevated to apical margin; tergite VIII bicornual with two long, thin, almost straight and acutely tipped rods, widely separated and extending from truncate apex of tergite; without lateral angular projections; penis thick and slightly sinuate in lateral view, with minutely hooked tip; extremely narrow and only slightly asymmetric in dorsal view, slightly contracted before apex, the contraction greater on the left side, with narrowly acute produced apex and smooth sides; ventral surface with parallel-sided flat ridge most of length.

Female as male, except: length 8.5 mm; antennae slightly thinner than male, antennomere 5 length 3.3x width, antennomere 8 length 3x width; transverse pronotal depression shallower; elytra without setal patch; pygidium swollen at middle, in dorsal view slightly elongate-triangular with sides slightly expanded before broadly rounded apex; pygidial apex without tubercle; venter of pygidial apex deeply concave; ventrite V without subapical lateral depressions, strongly reflexed at middle of apex, with deeply and narrowly U-shaped margin with a small median tooth; vaginal palpi elongate ovate, length about 3x width, with 8–9 pairs of setae in apical half; basal apodemes bent laterally near base, about 0.63 mm long; sternite VIII with tignum attached to pigmented and sclerotised posterior margin of the sternite with irregularly shaped dark and strongly sclerotised patches either side of base of tignum; posterior margin of sternite VIII strongly produced and narrowly truncate; apex of tignum membranous, broadly rounded, without band of deeper pigmentation; spermathecal shape falcate, collum abruptly demarkated from receptaculum, reflexed and twisted at an angle to plane of receptaculum, insertion point of gland (ramus) weakly produced; receptaculum hook-shaped with angulate interior bend and large beak-like appendix.

Diagnosis. Male: pronotal disc with pair of glands (Fig. 30), humeral setal patch present (Fig. 24), scutellum often dark, ventrite 5 with symmetrical excavation (Fig. 42), tergite 8 with two narrow prongs (Fig. 92), penis thin and constricted before apex with paired ridges on ventral surface (Fig. 119) and strongly sinuate in profile (Fig. 133). Female: frontoclypeus medially keeled, metafemora entirely dark brown (Fig. 8), apex of abdominal venter pale (Fig. 55), pygidium angularly produced but with blunt apex (Figs 55), apical margin of ventrite 5 with deep but small and medially toothed excavation (Fig. 55).

Notes. Baly (1886) noted the diagnostic black meso- and metafemora contrasing strongly with the brownishyellow tibiae, but overlooked the small patch of male humeral setae. He described the scutellum as black, but in the material to hand it varies from brownish-yellow to dark brown. This species is similar to A. indica and A. abdominalis, but besides the diagnostic characters given in the key, it is generally slightly larger than both.

Aulacophora wallacii is also similar to A. sulaksonoi Mohamedsaid, 2009, described from nearby Sumba. Both species have similar leg colour and pronotal shape. The most obvious means of differentiation is in the male genitalia. The penis of A. sulaksonoi is like that of A. indica, but larger, with a strong apical hook, whereas the penis of A. wallacii is almost symmetrical and narrow in dorsal view, deep-bodied in lateral view, with a small apical hook.

Distribution (Fig. 183) and biology. Aulacophora wallacii is endemic to Timor where it has only been collected on imported cucurbit food crops: zucchini (Cucurbita pepo) and cucumber (Cucumis sativus).