Chalcophorella (Stigmatophorella) escalerae (Abeille de Perrin, 1904)

(Figs 22–27, 45, 50)

Buprestis Escalerae Abeille de Perrin (1904): 212 (original description).

Chalcophorella escalerae: Kerremans (1909): 78 (as synonym of C. bagdadensis); Obenberger (1924): 15 (noted); Obenberger (1926): 143 (catalogue); Théry (1926): 67 (as synonym [‘var.’] of C. quadrioculata); Théry (1930): 45 (in synonymy [‘var.’] of C. quadrioculata); Mandl & Pochon (1957): 326 (noted); Modarres Awal (1997): 134 (catalogue); Borumand (2002): 29 (catalogue).

Chalcophorella escalerai [sic!]: Jakobson (1913): 780 (catalogue, as synonym [‘var.’] of C. bagdadensis); Richter (1952): 197 (in synonymy [‘ab.’] of C. bagdadensis).

Chalcophorella (Stigmatophorella) escalerae: Obenberger (1942): 7 (key, Fig. 3), 11 (catalogue); Radjabi (1968): 71 (cata-logue); Kubáň (2006): 345 (catalogue); Bellamy (2008): 551 (catalogue); Ghobari, Kalashian & Nozari (2012): 236 (cata-logue); Ghahari, Volkovitsh & Bellamy (2015): 34 (catalogue); Kubáň (2016): 460 (catalogue).

Stigmatophorella escalerae: Radjabi (1976): 128 (catalogue).

Type locality. ‘Vallée du Chindaar, dans le Haut-Kharoum (Perse)’ [Iran, Khuzestan Province, Âb-e Shîmbâr].

Type material examined. LECTOTYPE (present designation): ♁, ‘Haut-Kharoum | Chindáar (Vallée) | Escalera VI-VII 1899 [w, p] || MNCN _Ent | 245644 [w, p]’ (MNCN).

PARALECTOTYPES (1 ♁, 3 ♀♀): ♀, ‘Haut-Kharoum | Chindáar (Vallée) | Escalera VI-VII 1899 [w, p] || MNCN _ Ent | 245645 [w, p]’ (MNCN); 2 ♀♀, ‘ Haut-Kharoum | Chindáar (Vallée) | Escalera VI-VII 1899 [w, p] || MUSÉUM PARIS | COLL. R. OBERTHUR [w, p]’ (MNHN); ♁, ‘ Persia | Bazouft | Haut Karoum | VI-1899 Escalera [w, p] || B. Escalerae Ab. | Tipo [w, h] || MNCN _Ent | 245638 [w, p]’ (MNCN).

All specimens were provided with an additional red printed label: ‘ LECTOTYPE [or PARALECTOTYPE respectively] [sex] | Buprestis | escalerae | ABEILLE DE PERRIN, 1904 | David Frank des. III. 2020 [date handwritten]’ and white printed label: ‘ Chalcophorella | (Stigmatophorella) | escalerae | (ABEILLE DE PERRIN, 1904) | David Frank det. III. 2020 [date handwritten]’.

Additional material examined (17 ³³, 5 ♀♀). IRAN: FARS PROV.: Persia, Prov. Fars, En juillet. Esc [Escalera?], Sur: Amygdalus Reuteri, 1 ♀ (NMPC); Zagros mts., 2500m, Dasht Arzhan, 8.–10.vi.1999, L. Bieber & V. Major leg., 1 ♁ (VKSC); Kakon, 24.vii.[19]49, Miyayan, 1 ♁ (ZIN). HAMADAN PROV.: Razan, i.vi.[19]77, 1 ♁ (NMPC). ILAM PROV.: 14 km SW Abdanan, 32°54′36′′N 47°18ʹ6′′E, 1850m, 12.5.2016, lgt. R. Rejzek, 4 ♁♁, 1 ♀ (RRPC). KHUZESTAN PROV.: 42 km NE Dezful, on Amygdalus sp., 32°39′37′′N, 48°43′16′′E, 990m, 9.v.2016, David Frank leg., 2 ♁♁ (DFPC). KOHGILUYEH AND BOYER- AHMAD PROV.: SE of Vezg pass (SE Yasuj), 30°29′57′′N, 51°42′52′′E, 2370m, 29.v.2012, D. Baiocchi leg., (1 ♁ DBRI; 1 ♀ DFPC). KURDISTAN PROV.: Kurdistan province, Abidar-Sanandaj, 4.5.2009, H. Ghobari leg., 1 ♁ (MKYA); Kurdistan province, Abidar-Sanandaj, Garden, Sweeping, 15.6.2011, H. Gho-bari leg., 1 ♁, 1 ♀ (MKYA). LORESTAN PROV.: 40 km E Khorramâbâd, Zagheh, i. vi.1977, 1 ♁ (VKSC); 7 km S Dorud, 10.–11.v.2016, on Crataegus sp., 33°25′59′′N, 49°01′44′′E, 1650m, David Frank leg. (2 ♁♁, 1 ♀ DFPC; 1 ♁ VKSC); 22km E of Dorud, Tian Village, 33°25′12.80N, 49°17′34.15E, 1768m, 2.vi.2015, M. Obořil lgt., 1 ♁ (MOOC).

Redescription of lectotype. Preserved ♁ specimen, both middle and left hind tarsi missing. Length 24.00 mm, width 9.00 mm, length/width ratio: 2.67.

Body generally black, basal third of elytra grey with bluish metallic reflections and four black elytral principal reliefs.

Head black with some parts brown.Antennae serrate from antennomere IV. Scape and pedicel black (scape with brown radicula), sparsely pubescent. Antennomere II ca. 2× shorter than I and III. Antennomeres III–XI brown, III less triangular, V–X more triangular, XI oval. Mandibles black; labrum brown, pubescent. Maxillae and labium dark brown. Palpi maxillaries and palpi labiales dark brown, pubescent. Eyes large, oval. Frons 2× as wide as diameter of eye. Head impressed with medial sulcus. Front and vertex less punctate with short and recumbent pubescence.

Pronotum 1.4× as wide as long, widest at apical third, lateral margin with arcuate angle at apical third.Anterior margin arcuate with moderately protruding lobe, densely pubescent. Pronotal discal relief indistinct, not clearly bordered. Middle part black, sparsely punctate, punctation gradually denser toward sides. Sides of pronotum black with purple metallic reflections, very densely punctate but not furrowed. Basal margin bisinuate, very curved. Pronotal basal relief clearly bordered with small triangular depression in the middle.

Scutellum small, quadrate, black and shiny.

Elytra with several irregular shallow impressions at basal margin of each elytron. Lateral margins slightly serrate at apical third. Basal third grey with bluish to blue-green metallic reflections, densely punctate, with two black, shiny, irregularly circular elytral principal reliefs on each elytron with inner larger than outer; elytral minor reliefs missing. Middle and apical third black, smooth, with micropunctation arranged in more or less irregular lines. Elytral impressions sparse, relatively large, grey-bronze with metallic reflections, pubescent, with pale tomentum. Elytral ornaments small, reduced to only larger elytral impressions. Epipleura horizontal, finely punctate, sparsely and shortly pubescent.

Ventral side black, with bronze punctation and areas. Hypomeron sparsely, irregularly, coarsely punctate, not pubescent. Prosternum densely punctate mainly in centre, punctures smaller than punctures on hypomeron, sparsely pubescent in punctation. Prosternal process 1.7× as long as wide, narrowest at half, densely punctate in centre, sides smooth, polished and impunctate. Meso- and metanepisternum sparsely, coarsely punctate, pubescent in punctation. Abdominal ventrite I with two bronze areas on each side, sparsely punctate in centre. Abdominal ventrites II–V centrally sparsely punctate with small punctures, laterally sparsely punctate but some punctures are large.All punctures with short and recumbent pubescence.

Legs black, finely punctate, pubescent. Tibia with two apical ventral spurs, without carinae. Tarsi without punctation, sparsely pubescent.

Aedeagus length: 5.50 mm, width: 1.32 mm, length/width ratio: 4.17. Penis elongate, subparallel-sided, apex of parameres rounded (Fig. 45).

Variation. Body ♁♁ (n = 16) length: 23.00–28.00 mm, width: 8.25–10.50 mm, length/width ratio: 2.59–2.81; ♀♀ (n = 7): length: 25.75–29.75 mm, width: 9.75–11.75 mm, length/width ratio: 2.53–2.68. Size of the elytral prin-cipal reliefs is variable but inner is always larger than outer and outer reliefs in the main can be very small (one of the 22 studied specimens does not have any outer reliefs). Metallic reflections at anterior third of elytra can be from bronze to blue-purple, or missing. Elytral ornament can be reduced to only an elytral impression, alternatively it can form line or tilde shape but always small. The bronze areas on abdominal ventrite I can be reduced to several smaller bronze spots. Aedeagus (n = 13) length: 5.45–6.36 mm, width: 1.22–1.45 mm, length/width ratio: 4.17–4.69.

Differential diagnosis. Chalcophorella (S.) escalerae can be easily distinguished from C. (S.) orientalis and C. (S.) quadrioculata by pronotal sculpture and missing elytral minor reliefs. For additional characters see Key to species.

Biology. In the locality Iran, Khuzestan Province, 6 km SE of Azanak, [32°39′37′′N, 48°43′16′′E] (Fig. 27) where C. (S.) escalerae lives together with C. (S.) bagdadensis quadrimaculata, imagoes were collected on Prunus (sect. Amygdalus) arabica.

In the locality Iran, Lorestan Province, 7 km S Dorud, [33°25′59′′N, 49°01′44′′E] imagoes were collected on Crataegus sp.

In the locality Iran, Ilam Province, 14 km SW Abdanan, [32°54′36′′N 47°18′6′′E] imagoes were found on Prunus (sect. Amygdalus) cf. argentea (Fig. 23).

Modarres Awal (1997) mentioned ‘wild almond, white-thor [? Crataegus]’; Borumand (2002) ‘ Crataegus ’.

Interesting observations were made by V. Kubáň (pers. comm. July 2020) in the locality Iran, Kurdistan Prov-ince, Sanandaj [35°18′57′′N 46°57′30′′E]. The species develop there in old trees of apricots (Prunus armeniaca), almonds (Prunus (sect. Amygdalus )), mulberries (Morus sp.), Celtis sp., Crataegus sp. and maybe also in willows (Salix sp.), in dry parts of the trunks, where many exit holes appeared. These old trees are spread in the area and imagoes usually didn´t stay on them. During the morning they flew at the upper branches of two bush-like cherries (Prunus (sg. Cerasus) sp.) growing in hardly accessible slope inclining in ca 45° above a creek. There were many of these bush-like Prunus (sg. Cerasus) sp. in the area, however, the beetles flew only at these two growing in close proximity to each other. The Prunus (sg. Cerasus) sp. bushes were healthy without exit holes and were only a place of gathering and coupling during the day. In the late afternoon (6–7 PM) the beetles were leaving these bushes and flying into surroundings as well as further away also across the creek and willow trees along it. The beetles spent night hidden on thin branches of almonds (Prunus (sect. Amygdalus )), which were young and healthy with dense crowns. During the next morning the beetles flew again at the same two cherries in the slope above the creek, where the individual groups of trees were distant even tens of metres from each other and imagoes were overcoming the creek and high vegetations of willows along the bank.

Distribution. West and South Iran (Fig. 50).

Remarks. In the original description Abeille de Perrin (1904) wrote the following: ‘Rapporté par M. de la Escalera de la Vallée du Chindaar, dans le Haut-Kharoum (Perse). [Reported by M. de la Escalera from Chindaar Valley, in the Haut-Kharoum (Perse).]’. Therefore it is likely he has never seen an actual specimen of this species and has only obtained information from M. de la Escalera. I found two specimens in MNCN (in series C. (S.) quadrioculata) and two specimens in MNHN with locality labels ‘Chindáar (Vallée), Escalera VI–VII.1899’. None of them have neither determination label nor 25 mm length as is adduced in the description. The male has 24.00 mm and the females have 25.75, 26.00 and 28.75 mm. Because none of the specimens has the same length as in the description, the male is designated as lectotype to conserve the status and type locality of this taxon and avoid any further misinterpretation.

Two females from MNHN are from Escalera’s collection because part of his collection was purchased by R. Oberth̹r (Horn & Kahle, 1935). Therefore these two specimens are also included in the type series as paralectotypes. In MNCN there is also one male which has a locality label ‘Bazouft, Escalera VI.1899 ’ and also a handwritten label ‘B. Escalerae Ab. | Tipo’. Type locality ‘Chindáar (Vallée)’ today’s Âb-e Shîmbâr [32°20′20′′N, 49°37′40′′E] (Pau & Vicioso 1918; Arroyo Rey, 2011) is only ca 20 km from Bazouft [Bazoft] Valley. Escalera evidently knew this specimen therefore it is also included in the type series as paralectotype.

There are three specimens in MKYA from Iran, Kurdistan Province, Sanandaj-Abidar. One of them was collected on 4.5.2009 and other two on 15.6.2011. These two specimens were mentioned in Ghobari et al. (2012) where the first specimen is presented as C. (S.) escalerae and the second as C. (S.) orientalis. I studied all three specimens and they belong to the species C. (S.) escalerae (see also ‘Remarks’ of C. (S.) orientalis).