Bruchidius albosparsus Fahraeus 1839
Creators: name: Delobel, Alex
name: Ru, Bruno Le
name: Genson, Gwenaëlle
name: Musyoka, Boaz K.
name: Kergoat, Gael J.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2015
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Chrysomelidae
Bruchidius
Bruchidius albosparsus

description: Bruchidius albosparsus (Fåhraeus, 1839)
Bruchus albosparsus Fåhraeus, 1839:52.
Bruchus spadiceus Fåhraeus, 1839:54, syn. nov.
Bruchus advena Wollaston, 1870:26 (synonymy in Decelle 1972:236) Tuberculobruchus albosparsus (Fåhraeus): Decelle, 1951:180 Bruchidius albosparsus (Fåhraeus): Vayssière, 1961:244 Bruchidius spadiceus (Fåhraeus): Decelle, 1972:236
Material examined. Type (female) of Bruchus albosparsus: Republic of South Africa: “ Typus ” “Terra Caffrorum / Ecklon & Zeyher” “459 / 64” “111 / 73” [NHRS]; specimen in poor condition, both elytra detached from body, left one glued to abdomen, both posterior legs missing, last abdominal tergite lifted, genitalia missing. Type (female) of Bruchus spadiceus: Republic of South Africa: “ Typus ” “Br: spadiceus / Dej. / Prope b. sp.:Drège” “464 / 64” “112 / 73” [NHRS]; specimen with last abdominal tergite lifted, genitalia missing, antennae and legs complete.
Other material: Democratic Republic of Congo: 5♂, 4♀, Isangi Port, 00°46’52’’N, 24°16’25’’E, 383m, 03.v.2010, ex acacia seeds [2♂ 0 1610, 0 1710, specimen GK360 used for DNA extraction] (B. Le Ru) [CBGP, MNHN]. Kenya: 19♂ 31♀, Machakos, 01°50’09’’S, 37°26’24’’E, 1665m, 23.i.2008, ex Vachellia seyal seyal seeds [4♂ 0 2311, 0 2411, 0 2511, 0 8508, 2♀ 0 3511, 0 3611, specimen GK397 used for DNA extraction] (B. Le Ru) [CBGP, MNHN]; 13♂, 10♀, Nairobi, Icipe Campus, 01°13’13’’S, 36°53’38’’E, 1619m, 11.i.2008, ex Vachellia xanthophloea seeds [1♂ 0 7608, specimens GK398 and GK399 used for DNA extraction] (B. Le Ru) [CBGP, MNHN]; 3♂, 1♀, Gilgil, 00°23’45’’S, 36°18’45’’E, 2036m, 29.x.2007, ex Vachellia gerrardii seeds [1♀ 03011] (B. Le Ru) [MNHN]; 12♂, 12♀, Isinya, 01°40’23’’S, 36°51’07’’E, 1827m, ii.2002, ex Vachellia nilotica seeds [2♂ 0 3202, 0 3502, specimen Kg11=KE06 used for DNA extraction] (B. Le Ru) [CBGP, MNHN]; 1♂, 1♀, Magadi, 01°29’49’’S, 36°37’15’’E, 1748m, 06.i.2007, ex Vachellia seyal seyal seeds [1♂ 0 9307, specimen GK58 used for DNA extraction] (B. Le Ru) [CBGP, MNHN].
A small to medium-sized (1.7–2.7 mm) species, with a short ovate body, integument of lighter specimens yellowish red with brown markings, darker specimens mostly black, with yellowish red areas. Elytral base darkened, especially in humeral area, elytra with a common black spot beyond middle, not reaching apex, antennae (except central segments darkened in darker specimens), fore and middle legs yellowish red, hind legs reddish brown, with black coxae. Thoracic sternites and ventrites more or less extensively blackened medially. Last visible tergite yellowish red to reddish-brown with disc more or less darkened in female. Vestiture mainly whitish or yellowish, not completely covering integument, recumbent; areas of denser white hair: on pronotum, a longitudinal strip opposite scutellum, reaching to the first third of pronotum length, two very small spots about middle of disc, and sides, white; scutellum white; on elytra, white linear spots on interstriae 3, 5, 7, 9, and at mid-length on intervals 5, 7, 8, 9, separated by strips of blackish setae. On remaining interstriae, setation mainly yellowish. A black spot on suture between basal third and apical fourth. Upper parts of thoracic sternites with dense white setae. Last visible tergite with dense and uniform vestiture of whitish setae. Elytra with shallow protuberance bearing two small teeth at base of striae 3 and 4. Ventrite 1 with large basal circular area of thin, semi-erect setae.
Genitalia (Figs. 1–2). Median lobe slender, subcylindrical (w/l = 0.12), ventral valve subtriangular, moderately sclerotized, with acute tip, bearing on each side 2 to 4 (usually 3) setae; hinge sclerites linear, hardly sclerotized, or absent; internal sac proximally with a few sensilla, saccus almost smooth, with only a few minute and translucent spines. Basal strut without keel. Lateral lobes cleft to about half their length; apex of parameres with numerous long setae. Female genital tract without dorsal sclerite at entrance of bursa copulatrix, in some specimens one or a few minute spines are visible under phase contrast.
Biology. Material from Kenya was reared from seeds of a number of Mimosoideae: Vachellia gerrardii (Benth.) P.J.H. Hurter, V. nilotica (L.) P.J.H. Hurter & Mabb., V. seyal (Del.) P.J.H. Hurter, V. xanthophloea (Benth.) P.J.H. Hurter; material from Democratic Republic of Congo from an unidentified species of acacia. Reported in Senegalia senegal (L.) Britton and V. nilotica (as Acacia arabica) seeds in Sudan (Peake 1952). Bruchidius albosparsus was also reported (as B. spadiceus) from V. tortilis tortilis (Forssk.) Galasso & Banfi in Botswana (Ernst et al. 1989), from V. tortilis spirocarpa (Hochst. ex A. Rich.) Kyal. & Boatwr. and V. tortilis tortilis seeds in Israel (Vayssière 1961; Halevy, 1974), from S. cinerea (Schinz) Kyal. & Boatwr., V. davyi (N.E.Br.) Kyal. & Boatwr., V. k a r ro o (Hayne) Banfi & Galasso and V. luederitzii (Engl.) Kyal. & Boatwr. in Republic of South Africa and Zimbabwe (Van Tonder 1985), and from V. tortilis raddiana (Savi) Kyal. & Boatwr. and V. tortilis spirocarpa seeds in Tanzania (Lamprey et al. 1974; Pellew & Southgate 1984).
Discussion. Color differences between the types of B. spadiceus (body globally lighter, antennae entirely testaceous) and B. albosparsus (body darker, especially underside, antennae slightly darkened medially) fall well within the range of individual variation commonly observed in the genus. Hence the synonymy B. spadiceus = B. albosparsus.
Distribution. Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt (Shaumar 1963), Israel, Kenya, Namibia (Zacher 1936), Tanzania, Republic of South Africa, Saint Helena (Wollaston 1870), Sudan, and Zimbabwe.
description: Published as part of Delobel, Alex, Ru, Bruno Le, Genson, Gwenaëlle, Musyoka, Boaz K. & Kergoat, Gael J., 2015, Molecular phylogenetics, systematics and host-plant associations of the Bruchidius albosparsus (Fåhraeus) species group (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Bruchinae) with the description of four new species, pp. 451-482 in Zootaxa 3931 (4) on pages 456-458, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3931.4.1, http://zenodo.org/record/244566