AnimaliaColeopteraCoccinellidaeNestor-ArriolaJorge IsmaelToledo-HernándezVíctor HugoSolísÁngelGonzálezGuillermoVětrovecJaroslavThe Brachiacantha Dejean, 1837 (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae) of Central AmericaZookeys1632021102415719610.3897/zookeys.1024.56927F886EDA4-33A4-5187-A44E-0FF2DE2E287C Brachiacantha bipartita MulsantFigures 5, 33–36 Brachyacantha bipartitaMulsant, 1850: 521. Crotch 1874: 211. Brachyacantha westwoodiiGorham, 1894: 185 (in part). Leng 1911: 305 (in part). Brachiacantha bipartita: Booth and Pope 1989: 369. Nestor-Arriola and Toledo-Hernández 2016: 826.Material examined.

Costa Rica • 1♂; San José; 1000–1200 m. a. s. l.; Ago 1980; N. L. H. Krauss leg. (USNMNH). Guatemala • 1♀; Antigua; Oct 1965; L. H. Krauss leg. (USNMNH).

Diagnosis.

Body oval. Elytron orange. Head pale yellow in males, black in females. Males with pronotum black except lateral and anterior margins pale yellow to yellowish white (Fig. 5). Male genitalia with penis guide shorter than parameres, symmetrical, sides convergent at apical ⅓ (Fig. 34); parameres curved, wide at base, narrowed to apex, apex acute, setae arising from the apex and the convex side margin (Fig. 33); penis curved in basal ½, apex with long slender alae (Fig. 36), basal capsule crested, apex long and slender (Fig. 35).

10.3897/zookeys.1024.56927.figures5-8EF3B3721-B82B-5536-9FCC-C47B1CF3EA29

Brachiacantha sp. 5Brachiacantha bipartita, female 6Brachiacantha aperta, female 7Brachiacantha isthmena sp. nov. 8Brachiacantha cachensis.

https://binary.pensoft.net/fig/520867
Natural history.

This species has been collected on coffee plants (Coffea sp.).

Distribution.

Mexico and Central America. New record to Costa Rica and Guatemala.

Discussion.

This species is easily recognizable by the orange elytra without maculation. The only species similar to B. bipartita is B. westwoodii, but B. westwoodii is much larger and has the pronotum almost entirely orange with only a basal black macula (Nestor-Arriola and Toledo-Hernández 2016). The material was identified following the description of Mulsant (1850) and considering the information of Booth and Pope (1989).

10.3897/zookeys.1024.56927.figures33-36CD318C7C-6649-5C95-8E92-79423C39B526

Brachiacantha bipartita, male genitalia 33 Tegmen, lateral view 34 Tegmen 35 Penis 36 Penis apex.

https://binary.pensoft.net/fig/520873
CrotchGR (1874) A Revision of the Coleopterous Family Coccinellidae.Janson EW, London, 311 pp. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.8975LengCW (1911) The species of Brachyacantha of North and South America.Bulletin American Museum of Natural History30: 279333.BoothRGPopeRD (1989) A review of the type material of Coccinellidae (Coleoptera) described by F.W. Hope, and by E. Mulsant in the Hope Entomological Collections, Oxford.Insect Systematics & Evolution20(3): 343370. https://doi.org/10.1163/187631289X00366Nestor-ArriolaJIToledo-HernándezVH (2016) Revisión de las especies del género Brachiacantha Dejean, 1837, (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) pertenecientes al grupo 3 de Leng.Entomología Mexicana3: 824830.MulsantME (1850) Species de Coléoptères trimères sécuripalpes.Annales des Sciences Physiques et Naturelles, d’agriculture et d’industrie Lyon2: 11104. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.8953