Insects - Southern Africa (identified for the 1st time on iNat or difficult to identify)'s Boletim

by @johan_bogaert

Original description in:
Péringuey, L. 1885. First contribution to the South-African Coleopterous Fauna. Transactions of the South African Philosophical Society.
https://zenodo.org/record/1447463/files/article.pdf

Tranlsated from Latin:
Ovate, black, with an impressed rostrum, with raised fringes; prothorax on both sides spinous, furnished with two raised dorsal ridges encompassing the carinula; elytra ovate, convex, warty, decorated with serially with rusty-scaly spots placed in rows.

Long. 19-23 mm. lat. 10-12 mm.
The rostrum is long, impressed in the middle; the lateral margins are raised and separated from the head by a deep arcuated impression.
The head is small, and has a longitudinal impression on the vertex, and is depressed on either side. The eyes are perpendicular, depressed, and have a thin superciliary ridge.
The prothorax is narrowed in front and behind, the sides are produced in an acute spine; it is strongly tuberculated above, and in the middle there is a deep cavity formed by two raised semi-tuberculated ridges interrupted in the middle, curved in the anterior and straight in the posterior part and with a small straight ridge in the middle. On each side of the disc, between the lateral spine and the median ridge, there is a conspicuous, elongated, squamose, ferruginous patch.
The elytra are ovate, very convex, slightly declivous at the apex, more elongated in the female than in the male. The sides are deeply punctured and the upper surface is dotted with small round granulelike tubercles irregularly disposed but forming however, two distinct lines on each elytron. The suture is dotted on either side with semiconspicuous tubercles. Squamose ferruginous dots are disposed in series more regular on the disc than on the sides.
The underside is black, with the sides of the abdominal segments, the pectus, coxae and the underside of the tibiae coated with cinnabarred scales.

Redescription and illustration in:
Haaf, E. 1957. Revision der äthiopischen und madagassischen Arten der Gattung Brachyeerus Ol. (Col. Cure.) Entomologische Arbeiten aus dem Museum G. Frey Tutzing bei München 8.
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/173065#page/155/mode/1up

Distribution: South Africa (Mpumalanga, KZN), Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, DR Congo, Congo.

iNat observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/205069607

Original description in:
Klug, J., 1835. Verzeichnis von Thieren und Pflanzen, welche auf einer Reise um die Erde, gesammelt wurden von A. Erman. Berlin
https://www.google.de/books/edition/Reise_um_die_Erde_durch_Nord_Asien_und_d/bYVZAAAAcAAJ?hl=de&gbpv=1&dq=cassida%20confinis&pg=PA48&printsec=frontcover

Redescription in:
Boheman, C. H., 1854. Monographia Cassididarum. Tomus secundus. Holmiae.
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/37920#page/266/mode/1up
Translated from Latin:
Rounded, slightly convex, slightly shiny, light green above, stramineous underneath; the last joint of the antennae is black; prothorax finely punctate on the back, wrinkled on the outside; the back of the elytra is often vaguely punctate; margin flattened, more evidently wrinkled-punctate; shoulders slightly prominent in front, slightly rounded.

Photo of adult in:
Coache, A., Rainon, B., 2020.
Contribution a la connaissance des Cassidinae du Benin (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae). Faunitaxys, 8(11).
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342211017_Coache_et_Rainon_2020_Contribution_a_la_connaissance_des_Cassidinae_du_Benin_Faunitaxys_811_1-53

Description and figures of immature stages in:
Muir, F. & Sharp, D. 1904. On the egg cases and early stages of some Cassididae. Transactions of the Entomological Society of London (1904): 1-23.
ootheca: https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/51001#page/44/mode/1u
Plate 2, fig 10, 11 https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/51001#page/979/mode/1up
larva & adult: https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/51001#page/49/mode/1up
Plate 4, fig 22a, 22b https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/51001#page/983/mode/1up

Host plant records: Ipomoea batatas, Ipomoea cairica, Ipomoea ficifolia, Ipomoea obscura, Ipomoea wightii, Merremia tuberosa

Distribution: Widespread in the Afrotropical region.

iNat observations:
adult: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/214399602
larva: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/210015303
pupa: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/214401224

Abdomen steel-blue, bare, except for a pair of lateral white spots on second and third segments. Mesonotum rather bare, with orange sides, and a large black cross on which is superimposed a pair of dull black spots. Antennae orange, third segment spindle-shaped. Femora black with orange tip; tibiae and tarsi orange.

Original description in:
Loew, H. 1858. Bidrag till kannedomen om Afrikas Diptera [cont.]. Öfversigt af Kongliga Vetenskapsakademiens Förhandlingar 15
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/54173#page/346/mode/1up
Translated from Latin:
Black, face, antennae, thorax, tibia and tarsus rusty-red, abdomen violaceous, segments 2 and 3 on both sides white-spotted, thorax marked with two black dots, wings black-gray.

Detailled description in:
Loew, H. 1860. Die Dipteren-Fauna Südafrika's 1. Abt
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/35325#page/133/mode/1up

Redescription and key in:
Londt, J. G. H. 1983. Afrotropical Asilidae (Diptera) 8. The genus Stiphrolamyra Engel, 1928, in southern Africa (Laphriinae: Laphriini). Annals of the Natal Museum 25
https://journals.co.za/doi/pdf/10.10520/AJA03040798_502

Distribution: South Africa (Northern Cape), Namibia
Type locality: 'Swakop', Namibia

iNat observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/215220329

Thorax ashy grey with yellow patches. Forewing with hook-shaped band in the middle. Male with elongated ectoprocts.
Original description & illustration in:
Péringuey, L. 1910. Description of a new or little known species of the Hemerobiidae (Order Neuroptera) from South Africa. Annals of the South African Museum. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/30489#page/469/mode/1up
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/30489#page/483/mode/1up

Head of a greyish colour slightly edged with flavescent, labrum, forehead, vertex, and legs flavous, antenne entirely black, broadening considerably towards the apex; thorax ashy grey, with four or five sub-flavescent patches on the discoidal part; abdomen sub-flavescent with longitudinal broad fuscous black bands; wings hyaline with the patches fuscous, cross veins sub-flavescent or light brown, speckles distinctly brown. Fore wings each with three cross bands and a sub-basal spot, the first, sub-median, and the second, post-median bands are incised inwardly somewhat in the shape of a hook in the male, but in the female the first one is not distinctly hooked; the third one is more or less sharply triangular, somewhat in the shape of an arrow, and connected at the upper basal part with the pterostigma which is flavescent for a very short distance and fuscous afterwards; on the basal part of the disk are a few spots; the hind
border has a continuous series of them, and the nervules of the costal space are speckled with brown at the base. Hind wings also with three cross bands corresponding to the position of those of the anterior wings, but broader and therefore better defined; the first one, also hooked, extends from the border to three-fourths of the width; the second extends over the whole width, is strongly zig-zagged, and even occasionally narrowly interrupted in the centre, the upper part abuts on the distinct, elongated, flavescent white pterostigma, the apical band encloses a narrow hyaline spot, the hind border is edged with continuous macules from half the length to the apical band. Head and thorax sparsely, abdomen densely mbut briefly bristly and hairy, the bristles black, the hairs whitish; legs bristly and spinose. The arcuate, dilated basal part of the clasping organs of the g has inwardly two parallel hairy lobes, filling half the circumscribed space.

Length of body 29-31 mm.; clasps of male 11 mm.; fore wings expanded 70-81 mm.

Hab. Cape Colony, Carnarvon (Wyk’s Vlei), G. Alston; Beaufort West (Hottentot River), A. R. Walker.

Distribution: Western South Africa, Namibia, Botswana.

iNat observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/214960869

Original description in:
Loew, H. 1858. Bidrag till kannedomen om Afrikas Diptera [part]. Öfversigt af Kongliga Vetenskapsakademiens Förhandlingar 14[1857]:
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/150443#page/393/mode/1up
Face greyish-pollinose, with a median black streak, shortened above; antennae black, the third joint round; thorax yellowish-hairy, scutellum fulvous, yellow-hairy. The abdomen of the male is very often black with the first segment and the base of the second, the following segments pale ferrugineous-rufous, the last segments darker brown; the abdomen of the female is shiny black, with three yellow bands on the second third and fourth segments, the band on the second segment are laterally widened, the bands on the third and forth segmens are equal and complete, covered very densely with yellow-white tomentum; the posterior margin of the fourth segment is marked with a yellowish-white band; the fifth segment of the female's basal band is very narrowly interrupted and white; the genitals of the male are black and shiny. Wings hyaline with a minute brown stigma.

Type locality: Cape of Good Hope

A very detailled description of the male's and female's abdominal pattern can be found in Loew 1860. Die Dipteren-Fauna Südafrika's 1. Abt
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/35325#page/343/mode/1up

Bezzi described a variety andersoni which is treated as a proper species in recent publications.

Distribution: Kenya, Tanzania, Congo, South Africa

iNat observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/106820741

The genus Glymmatophora ('Sculpturated' Millipede Assassin Bugs) was described by Carl Stål in 1853 (Stål, C. 1853. Nya genera bland Hemiptera. Öfversigt af Kongliga Vetenskaps-Akademiens Förhandlingar 10. https://archive.org/details/biostor-235032/page/n1/mode/2up ). 35 species of Glymmatophora are knowm from Africa. Glymmatophora submetallica Stål, 1853 is the type species of the genus.

Description by Stål 1855:
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/15969777#page/51/mode/1up
Dark steel-green; thorax, marginal spots on the abdomen, knees, tibiae and tarsi red, incisions on the thorax, the antennae and the base of the femora black. Length 19 mm, width 7 mm -
'Caffraria interior'

Female (after Horváth 1914): The whole head and the base of the femora are black. The segments of the connexivium are red with a black basal spot. The anterior lobe of the pronotum is marked with a black median vitta which is apically broader.

Type photo: http://www2.nrm.se/en/het_nrm/s/glymmatophora_submetallica.html

iNat observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/10828701

Reference:
Horváth, G. 1914. Reduviidae novae Africanae. Annales Historico-Naturales Musei Nationalis Hungarici 12: 109–145.
Key to females: https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/254702#page/146/mode/1up

Diagnosis from Zoia 2009: Legs black/metallic blue (not with reddish tibiae), sometimes with bronze or geenish reflections. Antennae black with articles 2 to 6 partially reddish. Elytra: punctures irregular, not or poorly arranged in longitudinal rows, in places separated by smooth logitudinal costae; each elytron with a longitudinal costa, starting from the humerus and almost reaching the elytral apex; elytral setae sparse, yellowish or whitish in colour, curved.

Original description in:
Chaphuis, F. 1874 - Tome dixième. Famille des Phytophages. In: Lacordaire T. & Chapuis F., Histoire
naturelle des Insectes. Genera des Coléoptères. Paris: I-IV
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/135375#page/337/mode/1up
Figure 3: https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/135369#page/297/mode/1up

Redescription & figures in:
Zoia, S. 2009. A revision of the genus Mecistes (Coleoptera Chrysomelidae). Memorie della Società entomologica italiana 88(1)
https://www.chrysomelidae.it/Chrysomelidae/pubblicazioni-pdf-scaricabili/63-Zoia2009.pdf

Distribution: South Africa , Botswana, possibly Namibia, DR Congo
Type locality: 'Cafrerie'

iNat observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/107431514

According to recent studies assembling the mitogenomes of Afrotropical species of Eristalinus, E. barclayi, E. quinquelineatus and E. fuscicornis form a species complex. „These results either question the taxonomic value of the morphological characters used to distinguish the three species, or illustrates a recent divergence, ongoing speciation, hybridization, or introgression.“ (Gontran Sonet, Yannick De Smet, Min Tang, Massimiliano Virgilio, Andrew Donovan Young, Jeffrey H. Skevington, Ximo Mengual, Thierry Backeljau, Shanlin Liu, Xin Zhou, Marc De Meyer, and Kurt Jordaens. First mitochondrial genomes of five hoverfly species of the genus Eristalinus (Diptera: Syrphidae). Genome. 62(10): 677-687. https://doi.org/10.1139/gen-2019-0009 )

Nonetheless, the two species E. barclayi and E. quinquelineatus are here presented follwing Bezzi's (1915) key and descriptions. A good number of specimens from South Africa fit into the descriptions of the species while there are some specimens that do not fit in very well. There are interesting specimens from Zimbabwe posted on iNat that are possibly such „hybrids“.

Both species can be easily told from the well known similar Stripe-eyed Lagoon Fly Eristalinus (Eristalodes) taenipos by the stong, contrasting, uniterrupted thorax stripes - blurred stripes, usually interrupted by the suture in E. taenipos

The easiest way to identify the two species is to compare them with photos on Pindip and type photos on GBIF.
E. barclayi:
Syntype male: https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/1055607406
Syntype female: https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/1836107228
https://www.pindip.org/eristalinus-barclayi

E. quinquelineatus:
Holotype female: https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/1055443362#occurrencePage_media
https://www.pindip.org/eristalinus-quinquelineatus

Both species occur all over Southern Africa and beyond. (However, it appears that E. barclayi has a soft spot for Cape Town gardens).

The well-known White-legged Toktokkie Dichtha cubica has been split into three species and a new genus was erected for them in:
Kamiński MJ (2024) New taxa of Afrotropical toktokkies (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Molurina) from the Natural History Museum of Basel. Zootaxa 5446(1): 77–87.
OPEN ACCESS.
https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5446.1.4.

Three species are now known and described:

Bouchardium cubicum (Guérin-Méneville, 1845) - Common White-legged Quadrate Toktokkie

• Shiny blackish, only antennae and legs with whitish tomentum
• Underside: Prosternal process (1) rounded (in lateral view).

• Elytra ampliated: Elytral disc relatively wide covering sides of epipleura in dorsal view. Elytral disc relatively flat. Elytra entirely black.
  Distribution: Northern South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe

Bouchardium chillygonzalesi Kamiński 2024 - Narrow Red-edged Quadrate Toktokkie

• Elytra with two red stripes along the sides of the disc, red edges of disc with corrugated margins.
• Underside: Prosternal process with elongate appendages.

• Elytra narrow: Elytral disc relatively narrow leaving sides of the epipleura exposed in dorsal view. Elytral disc relatively flat.
  Distribution: South Africa (North West), Zimbabwe,
  Type locality: Hartebeestpoort dam

Bouchardium mariae Kamiński 2024 - Wide Red-edged Quadrate Toktokkie

• Elytra with two red stripes along the sides of the disc, red edges with almost smooth margins
• Underside: Prosternal process rounded (in lateral view).

• Elytra ampliated: Elytral disc relatively wide covering sides of epipleura in dorsal view. Elytral disc distinctly convex.
  Distribution: Botswana, South Africa (Limpopo), Zimbabwe, Mozambique
  Type locality: Francistown, Botswana
  _________________________________________________________________________________________

(1) The prosternal process is a part in the middle of the prosternum, a posterior projection between the insertion of the forelegs. It has appendages on the tip only in B. chillygonzalesi