Meligethes (Meligethes) elytralis Audisio, Sabatelli & Jelinek 2015

Meligethes (Meligethes) elytralis Audisio, Sabatelli & Jelínek, 2015

Examined material. China, SICHUAN, XIANgCHENg COUNTY, 3800–3900 m A.S.L., 29.003889° 99.931944°, 19.vI.2017, LIU & AUDISIO LgT, ON Rosa sericea LINDLEY (ROSACEAE), 3 ♂, 4 ♀, AND TWO THIRD-INSTAR LARvAE (NWAU, CAR-MZUR, NMPC, ARCC); 3100–3400 m A.S.L., 28.994444° 99.918056°, 19.vI.2017, LIU & AUDISIO LgT, ON R. sericea, 2 ♂, 2 ♀ (NWAU, CAR-MZUR, NMPC, ARCC); 2800–2900 m A.S.L., 28.946389° 99.806667°, 19.vI.2017, LIU & AUDISIO LgT, ON R. sericea, 1 ♂, 1 ♀ (NWAU, CAR-MZUR).

Distribution. SW CHINA (SICHUAN); pREvIOUSLY ONLY KNOWN fROm THE fEmALE HOLOTYpE COLLECTED IN SICHUAN (AUDISIO et al. 2015) (FIg. 5A).

Host-plants. ALL SpECImENS HAvE bEEN COLLECTED, WITH ASSOCIATED LARvAE, ON fLOWERINg SHRUbS Of Rosa sericea, WHICH IS CHARACTERIZED bY WHITE fLOWERS TYpICALLY WITH fOUR pETALS (UNUSUAL fOR A mEmbER Of THE ROSE fAmILY), AND LONg, fLAT AND TYpICALLY REDDISH TO bROWN LARgE AND WIDE THORNS (FIg. 3b). R. sericea IS A COmmON mIDDLE AND HIgH ALTITUDE SpECIES, WIDESpREAD fROm SW CHINA TO NE INDIA AND N MYANmAR. THE SpECIES IS pRESENT IN A WIDE vARIETY Of DIffERENT mONTANE HAbITATS (2000–4400 m; LU et al. 2003). WEI et al. (2008) RECENTLY TREATED THE TAXONOmIC pRObLEmS INvOLvINg R. sericea AND ALLIED TAXA. THE ObSERvATIONS AbOvE AppEAR TO CONfIRm THAT WITHIN CHINESE MELIgETHINAE SOmE STRICTLY ENDEmIC AND ONLY LOCALLY DISTRIbUTED SpECIES ARE fREqUENTLY ASSOCIATED AS LARvAE WITH WIDESpREAD fLORAL HOST SpECIES; AND THESE TAXA ARE ONLY RARELY ASSOCIATED WITH STRICTLY ENDEmIC AND LOCAL HOST TAXA (SEE ALSO DISCUSSION AbOUT SpECIATION AND HOST-SHIfT IN AUDISIO & ANTONINI 2015). Meligethes (M.) elytralis SEEmS TO bE CONfINED, AS WELL AS ITS SISTER SpECIES Meligethes (M.) tryznai AUDISIO, SAbATELLI & JELÍNEK, 2015, TO NW YUNNAN (FIg. 5A), IN HIgH ALTITUDE HAbITATS (3000–3900 m) WHERE THE LARvAL HOST-pLANTS gROW AT THE EDgE Of SEmIfORESTED HAbITATS.

Taxonomic remarks. DESpITE AN EXTERNAL SImILARITY TO M. tryznai fROm YUNNAN, THIS SpECIES IS WELL- CHARACTERIZED bY ITS pECULIARLY SHApED fEmALE ELYTRAL ApEX, WHICH IS mARKEDLY pROLONgED INTO A bLUNT bUT DISTINCT LObE (FIg. 1b; ELYTRAL ApEX IS ARCUATELY TRUNCATE IN bOTH SEXES IN M. tryznai AND ALL OTHER RELATED SpECIES Of THE M. binotatus SpECIES COmpLEX). THE pREvIOUSLY UNKNOWN mALE Of THIS SpECIES IS ALSO CHARACTERIZED bY DISTINCTIvE gENITALIA, EXHIbITINg A STRONgLY ELONgATE AND pECULIARLY bOTTLE-NECK SHApED AEDEAgAL ApEX, COmbINED WITH A pECULIARLY LONg AND DEEpLY INCISED TEgmEN (FIgS. 2A, b). THE OvIpOSITOR Of THIS SpECIES IS CHARACTERISTIC DUE TO ITS pECULIARLY WIDE TRUNCATED ApEX (FIg. 15N IN AUDISIO et al. 2015).