WindsorDonald M.DuryGuillaume J.Frieiro-CostaFernando A.Susanne LanckowskyPasteelsJacques M.Subsocial Neotropical Doryphorini (Chrysomelidae, Chrysomelinae): new observations on behavior, host plants and systematics1Zookeys19920132013332719310.3897/zookeys.332.5199 Doryphora reticulata http://species-id.net/wiki/Doryphora_reticulata Fabricius, 1787Remarks.

Recent observations by F.F. reveal clearly that maternal care is expressed by Doryphora (Megistomela) reticulata (Fabr.) in the cerrado of south-central Brazil (Fig. 5) (see also photo in Chaboo 2011). Photographs of this species in the Boqueirão Biological Reserve, Minas Gerais of Brazil (elevation 1200 m; 21°20.76'S, 44°59.49'W) in 2005 clearly show behaviors strikingly similar to that observed in Doryphora paykulli in Panama. Females oviposit on the underside of partially-expanded, apical leaves of Prestonia tomentosa (Apocynaceae) (Fig. 1e, f). Larvae emerge and are tightly straddle-guarded by the female (Fig. 1g), but unlike Doryphora paykulli and Doryphora sp. near punctatissima, no larval cannibalism of eggs was observed. Larvae guarded by the mother continued to feed on leaves and strip cortex, eventually descending to the ground tended by the mother prior to pupating nearby in the soil (Fig. 1h). Indeed, of the many Chrysomelinae species associated with Solanaceae and other plant families studied at Serra do Japi and other sites near Campinas in Central Brazil (Table 1), Doryphora reticulata is the only species in which mothers are known to actively guard their larval brood. Inferences regarding subsocial habits in Platyphora conviva (Reid et al. 2009) are incorrect according to J. Vasconcellos-Neto (personal communication, 2013). Further, ongoing studies in the eastern lowlands of Bolivia by one of the authors (D.W.) have found no evidence of maternal care occurring in any of 16 species of Doryphorini.

Bayesian Consensus tree of 472 bp COI sequences obtained for 12 species of Central and South American Solanaceae-feeding Doryphorini and one outgroup. For nodes with less than 100% support, Bayesian values are placed above node, Maximum Likelihood bootstrap values below the node, while asterisks (*) indicate nodes with different taxon placement under ML analysis and thus are not strictly comparable.

Maternal care providing Doryphora species, a Doryphora paykulli female with eggs and first instar larvae under an apical leaf of Prestonia seemanii (photo by S.L.) b female straddling a mix of first and second instar larvae (photo by S.L.) c Doryphora paykulli larvae moving to a new leaf followed by their mother (photo by S. Van Bael) d Doryphora paykulli larvae stripping the cortex of their host while descending in pairs to pupate, (photo by D.W.) e Doryphora reticulata ovipositing under apical leaf of Prestonia tomentosa in Central Brazil (photo by F.F.) f Doryphora reticulata larvae on the natal leaf (photo by F.F.) g female Doryphora reticulata stradding first instar larvae (photo by F.F.) h Doryphora reticulata female tending fully-developed larvae at the base of the food plant just prior to pupating underground (photo by F.F.).

Apocyanaceae and Solanaceae feeding taxa mentioned in the text, collection and host plant information, life history characteristics, accession numbers and references.

Chrysomelinae speciesLocationHost Plant Family1Host Plant SpeciesLarval Group DefenseMaternal CareReproductionGenbank Accession NumbersReferences
Doryphora paykulli (Stål, 1859)Gamboa, Panama Province, PanamaApoPrestonia seemannii Miers (subfamily Apocynoideae)aggregatedyesoviparous-new observation
Doryphora reticulata (Fabricius, 1787)Boqueirão Reserve, Minas Gerais State, BrazilApoPrestonia tomentosa R. Br. (subfamily Apocynoideae)aggregatedyesoviparous-new observation
Doryphora sp. near Doryphora punctatissima (Olivier, 1790)El Porvenir, Meta Province, ColombiaApoPrestonia isthmica Woodson (subfamily Apocynoideae)aggregatednooviparous-Eberhard 1981
Eugonycha melanostoma (Stål, 1859)Serra do Japi, Jundiaí, São Paulo State, BrazilSolSolanum sp.aggregatednolarviparous-Vasconcellos-Neto and Jolivet 1994
Platyphora amabilis (Baly, 1859)Yasuní, Orellana Province, EcuadorSolSolanum sp.???AY055517new observation
Platyphora anastomozans (Perty, 1832)Serra do Japi, Jundiaí, São Paulo State, BrazilSolSolanum bullatum Vell., Solanum muritianum (Scopoli), Solanum sancta-catarine Dunal, Solanum megalochiton Mart., Solanum rufescens Sendt.aggregatednolarviparousKF251110, KF251111Vasconcellos-Neto and Jolivet 1994
Platyphora aulica (Olivier, 1807)Montagne de Kaw, Roura Commune, French GuianaSolSolanum rugosum Dunal, Solanum torvum Sw.solitarynolarviparousKF251112, KF251113new observation
Platyphora conviva (Stål, 1858)Serra do Japi, Jundiaí, São Paulo State, BrazilSolSolanum spp.aggregated2,3nolarviparous-Medeiros and Vasconcellos-Neto 1994, Vasconcellos-Neto and Jolivet 1994
Platyphora fasciatomaculata (Stål, 1857)Ijuí, Rio Grande do Sul State, BrazilSolSolanum mauritianumaggregatednolarviparous-Medeiros et al. 1996
Platyphora microspina Bechyné, 1954Cerro Campana, Panama ProvinceSolMarkea megalandra (Dunal)aggregatedyeslarviparousKF251120new observation
Platyphora nigronotata (Stål, 1857)Serra do Japi, Jundiaí, São Paulo State, BrazilSolSolanum bullatum, Solanum muritianum, Solanum sancta-catarine, Solanum megalochitonaggregatednolarviparousKF251121Medeiros 1991
Platyphora nitidissima (Stål, 1857)Serra do Japi, Jundiaí, São Paulo State, BrazilSolSolanum bullatumaggregatednolarviparous-Medeiros and Vasconcellos-Neto 1994, Vasconcellos-Neto and Jolivet 1994
Platyphora quadrisignata (Germar, 1824)Serra do Japi, Jundiaí, São Paulo State, BrazilSolSolanum variabile Mart., Solanum fastigatum Willdaggregated2nolarviparous-Medeiros and Vasconcellos-Neto 1994, Vasconcellos-Neto and Jolivet 1994, Medeiros et al. 1996
Platyphora selva Daccordi, 1994La Selva Biological Station, Heredia Province, Costa RicaSolSolanum (Witheringia) heteroclita.aggregatedyeslarviparous-Choe 1989
Platyphora sphaerica (Jacoby, 1903)Serra de Baturite, Fortaleza, BrazilSolSolanaceae, 2 spp.solitarynolarviparousAY055529Termonia et al. 2002
Platyphora vinula (Stål, 1858)Ijuí, Rio Grande do Sul State, BrazilSolSolanum sp. aff. Solanum megalochiton, Solanum sancta-catarinaeaggregatednolarviparous-Medeiros et al. 1996
Proseicela antennalis (Kirsch, 1883)Reventador, Napo Province, EcuadorSolSolanum sp.???KF251114, KF251115new observation
Proseicela bicruciata Jacoby, 1880Yanayacu Biological Station, Napo Province, EcuadorSolSolanum abitaguense S. KnappaggregatedyeslarviparousKF251116, KF251117new observation
Proseicela crucigera (Sahlberg, 1823)Serra do Japi, Jundiaí, São Paulo State, BrazilSolSolanum decompositiflorum Sendtn.aggregatednolarviparous-Medeiros 1991, Medeiros and Vasconcellos-Neto 1994)
Proseicela flavipennis (Erichson, 1847)Reventador, Napo Province, EcuadorSolSolanum abitaguense S. Knapp???KF251118, KF251119new observation
Proseicela sp. n. “Yasuni”Yasuní, Orellana Province, EcuadorSolCuatresia sp.aggregatedyeslarviparousKF251126, KF251127new observation
Proseicela spectabilis (Baly, 1858)Río Malo & Reventador, Napo Province, EcuadorSolSolanum abitaguense S. Knapp, Solanum sp. (sect. Dulcamara)aggregatedyeslarviparousKF251122, KF251123new observation
Proseicela vittata (Fabricius, 1781)Montagne de Kaw, Roura Commune, French GuianaSolSolanum morii S. KnappaggregatedyeslarviparousKF251124, KF251125new observation
Stilodes modesta Jacoby, 1882Cerro Campana, Panama Province, PanamaMalBanisteriopsis sp.aggregatednooviparousAY055522new observation

1 Apo=Apocynaceae, Ast=Asteraceae, Sol=Solanaceae, Mal=Malpighiaceae

2=nocturnally active

3=larvae cut and cover themselves with trichomes

1 Apo=Apocynaceae, Ast=Asteraceae, Sol=Solanaceae, Mal=Malpighiaceae

2=nocturnally active

3=larvae cut and cover themselves with trichomes

ChabooC (2011) Defensive Behaviors in Leaf Beetles: From the Unusual to the Weird. In: VivancoJMWeirT (Eds) Chemical Biology of the Tropics.Springer Berlin Heidelberg: 59-69. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-19080-3_4EberhardWG (1981) The natural history of Doryphora sp. (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae) and the function of its sternal horn.Annals of the Entomological Society of America74: 445-448.Vasconcellos-NetoJJolivetP (1994) Cycloalexy among chrysomelid larvae. In: JolivetPCoxMLPetitpierreE (Eds) Novel Aspects of the Biology of Chrysomelidae.Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands: 303-309. doi: 10.1007/978-94-011-1781-4_23MedeirosLVasconcellos-NetoJ (1994) Host plants and seasonal abundance patterns of some Brazilian Chrysomelidae. Novel Aspects of the Biology of Chrysomelidae. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 184–189.MedeirosLFerroDMafra-NetoA (1996) Association of Chrysomelid beetles with solanaceous plants in the south of Brazil. In: JolivetPCoxML (Eds) Chrysomelidae biology.SPC Academic Publishing, Amsterdam: 339-363.MedeirosL (1991) Aspectos da interação entre especies de Chrysomelinae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) e plantas da familia Solanaceae na Serra do Japi, Jundiai, SP. MSc thesis, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil: Universidade Estadual de Campinas.ChoeJC (1989) Maternal care in Labidomera suturella Chevrolat (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Chrysomelinae) from Costa Rica.Psyche96: 63-68. doi: 10.1155/1989/62318TermoniaAPasteelsJMWindsorDMMilinkovitchMC (2002) Dual chemical sequestration: a key mechanism in transitions among ecological specialization.Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B269: 1-6. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2001.1859ReidCAMBeatsonMHasenpuschJ (2009) The morphology and biology of Pterodunga mirabile Daccordi, an unusual subsocial Chrysomeline (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae).Journal of Natural History43: 373-398. doi: 10.1080/00222930802586016