Luciola roseicollis Pic 1933

Luciola roseicollis Pic, 1933

Luciola roseicollis Pic 1933: 109. McDermott 1966: 112 partim. Fu et al. 2010: 15 partim.

Type. Not located.

Diagnosis. In the absence of any reliably identified specimens this diagnosis is based on Pic’s original description. 7 mm long. With thorax rosy red, mesoscutellum yellow; elytra black; having a distinct costa (“in disco distincte costatis”).

Remarks. Pic’s (1933) description relied on color patterns but he did highlight the presence of a (?single) elytral costa or ridge which is a feature of the genus Curtos Motschulsky (see Ballantyne et al. 2019) and indicated the similarity of this species to Luciola impolita Olivier, which has subsequently been assigned to Curtos. Curtos is also known to have distinctive dorsal punctation but Pic described the elytral punctation as “minute et dense punctatis”. We are unable to interpret what Pic intended in his description of the elytral apices as “depressis”.

Assignment to the genus Luciola sensu lato is made under the same provisions as outlined above.

Fu et al. (2010) confused the issue in referring to Luciola roseicollis Pic, 1933. While their description of color patterns followed the 1933 format, they incorrectly referenced Pic’s (1933) description of the abdomen as possibly being that of a female. Pic (1935) had described the abdomen as truncated and slightly emarginate which suggested a female.