Apteropilo chrysocome Elston, comb. n.

Apteropilo chrysocome (Elston) comb. n.

(Figures 2, 4, 17)

Pylusopsis chrysocome Elston 1929: 352.

Type material examined. Holotype: Victoria: Gembrook, Jun. 1927, C. Oke, ‘ Pylusopsis chrysocome, 4558, Elston Type’, (A.H. Elston Collection, K 209312) (AMS). Paratype: Victoria: Belgrave, 19 Apr. 1922, C. Oke, ‘ Pylusopsis chrysocome, Elston Co-Type’, (A.H. Elston Collection, K 209313) (1, AMS).

Other material examined. Victoria: 6.1 km ESE of Tanjil Bren, 590m, 37.50S 146.12E, wet sclerophyll forest, 29 Jan.–10 Feb. 1987, FMHD #87–244, A. Newton & M. Thayer, flight intercept (window) trap, ‘ Pylusopsis chrysocome’ [J.F. Lawrence determination label], ‘compared with holotype’ [pink card] (1, ANIC).

Description. Total length: 5.0– 6.7 mm.

Head: Cranium black-brown; palpi, labrum and anterior half of clypeus dark reddish-brown to orangebrown, antennae with scape and pedicel dark reddish-brown, A3–10 black, A11 off-white; frons, vertex and genae behind eyes densely distributed with network of pitted and semi-wrinkled punctation, clypeus mostly smooth; antennae with pedicel shorter than A3, club about as long as combined length of A2–8.

Thorax: Prothorax slightly transverse (length to width ratio = 0.94:1), black-brown, turning reddish-brown along anterior margin; pronotal disc mostly covered by a dense network of pitted punctation, and with several smooth (glabrous) regions as follows: a post-basal Y-shaped area with a separate curved area at either side, then anterior to this, two large circular discs; lateral tubercles steep in basal half, slightly less steep in apical half; paralateral and discal seta-bearing pits conspicuously larger than other punctation (Fig. 2). Pterothoracic sterna deep reddish-black; elytra (length to width ratio = 1.91:1) bright orange, basal half with inconspicuous callositous deposits forming a pale X-shaped pattern, within this, at each side, a laterally positioned black spot. Legs: femora and tibiae black-brown, tarsi black-brown to orange-brown, pulvilli yellowish.

Abdomen: Ventrites bright orange.

Vestiture: Head and pronotum similarly vested with long erect black setae and short semi-decumbent orange setae which occasionally forms small tuft-like swirls; elytral disc with long erect sparsely distributed orange setae, and more densely vested with short orange setae arranged in swirls within apical half and along edges of callositous deposits and forming tufts upon the humeral tubercles, plus a small black laterally positioned setal-tuft near the middle.

Remarks. Only three specimens are known to me. A specimen from Millgrove, Victoria, mentioned by Elston (1929), was not located. Specimens incorrectly illustrated as P. chrysocome by Kolibáč (2003) are described below as A. humerofuscus sp. n. and A. raldae sp. n.

Apteropilo chrysocome is easily distinguishable from other orange coloured Apteropilo by its larger size, its heavily punctate head and pronotum, and by the central position of the black spot on each elytron.

Biology. Adults have been collected during January–February, April and June. A specimen from Tanjil Bren was obtained from a flight interception trap in wet sclerophyll forest. Apteropilo chrysocome bears an extraordinary, potentially mimetic, resemblance to beetles of the genus Lemodes Boheman (Anthicidae).

FIGURES 10–16. Male terminalia: (10–11) A. pictipes: (10) tegmen; (11) phallus; (12–13) A. clarinotus: (12) tegmen; (13) phallus; (14) A. humerofuscus, tegmen; (15) A. raldae, phallus; (16) A. clarinotus, spicular fork. Scale bars = 0.1mm.