Pucaya pulchra Arrow 1911

Pucaya pulchra Arrow, 1911

(Figs. 84 – 93)

Pucaya pulchra Arrow 1911: 167.

Pucaya punctata Endrödi 1968: 165. New synonym.

Description. Habitus as in Fig. 84. Length 20–23 mm (♂), 20–24 mm (♀). Width 10–13 mm (♂), 10–13 mm (♀). Colors and patterns in this species are variable; it can present different combination of black and orange spots (Fig. 93). Head: Frons concave between eyes and before frontal tubercles. Surface strongly rugopunctate and grooved in males, in females base nearly smooth only with sparse, small punctures. Eye canthus with about 8 pale setae. Frontoclypeal suture absent. Frons with 2 erect horns, in males (Fig. 85), and 2 large tubercles, in females (Fig. 86); adjacently each eye. Clypeus strongly rugose and grooved. Clypeus trapezoidal, apex truncate with lateral and anterior margins upturned. Interocular distance equals 3.7–4.0 times the transverse ocular diameter. Antennal club slightly longer than antennomeres 2–7 (Fig. 90). Mandibles small and slender, hidden below clypeus. Pronotum: Surface nearly smooth, with minute and sparse punctures; often larger and denser. Apex with central depression irregular, deep and wide; often inconspicuous. Apex with marginal bead not produced posteriorly; basal marginal bead absent. Scutellum: Surface with a few minute punctures or with deep irregular punctures. Elytra: With sparse minute punctures or with distinct rows of small, round punctures; elytral suture present on apical half. Pygidium: Surface nearly smooth, with minute, sparse punctures. Lateral surface slightly convex in both sexes. Legs: Protibia tridentate, basal tooth distinctly removed from the others. Male protarsus enlarged, larger claw with apex incised. Metatibia with apex slightly crenulate, with 14–17 spinules, rarely 12, length and shape variable. Venter: Prosternal process moderately short, not projecting beyond procoxae; apex transversely oval, convex on the anterior part and nearly flat on the posterior one, which is wider than anterior; anterior and posterior part separated by a sulcus; clothed by long, yellow setae. Parameres: Form short, asymmetrical at the base, slightly narrowed in the apical third, broad at the apex (Figs. 87–88). Spiculum gastrale: Not examined.

Diagnosis. Pucaya pulchra is similar to P. castanea but differs in the following: smaller size (<23 mm); antennal club longer than antennomeres 2–7; pronotal and elytral punctation deeper; and apex of metatibia with more spinules (14–17, rarely 12).

Locality records. (Fig. 92) 76 specimens. 23♂, 53♀. Specimens were seen from BCRC, CEBUQ, CEUA, CIUQ, HJG, IAvH, LEUC, MAUQ, MEFLG, MLS, UNAB, UNSM, UPN. Antioquia (9): Carolina del Príncipe (2). Santa Rosa (1). Santuario, Vda. Lourdes (6). Caldas (10): Manizales (8). Neira, Vda. El Águila (1). Palestina, Granja Montelindo (1). Cundinamarca (4): Bogotá (1). Pacho (1). Monte Redondo (1). Mundo Nuevo, Alred. Qda. Calostro (1). Huila (8): Algeciras, Vda. El Paraíso, Termopilas (5). Gigante (3). Quindío (16): Armenia (1). Circasia, Vda. El Roble (1). Filandia, Granja Bengala, Bosque Bremen, (6). Filandia, Vda. El Roble, Fca. El Roble (7). Quimbaya, Vda. Kerman, km 7 vía Panaca (1). Risaralda (8): Pereira, Fca. Valle Alto, Bosque Barbas (1). Pereira, Vda. La Suiza, Ucumarí (3). Santuario, PNN Tatamá (2). Santuario (2). Santander (9): La Belleza, Alred. Casco urbano (8). Sucre, Cacerío El Líbano (1). Tolima (2): Fresno (1); Vda. La Sierra (1). Valle del Cauca (10): Calima, Río Azul (1). “Mares” (8). Sevilla, Fca. Santo Domingo (1).

Temporal distribution. January (4), February (6), March (7), April (17), May (5), June (8), August (3), September (8), October (5), November (8), December (4). No data (1).

Distribution. Colombia (Endrödi 1969) and Ecuador (Carvajal et al. 2011). The species appears to be restricted to the Andean region. Besides the departments recorded above, the species occurs in Caquetá department (Restrepo-Giraldo et al. 2003).

Natural history. Adults can be attracted to light traps, and eventually collected by pitfall and fruit traps. Adults were found on vegetation, e.g., Musa sp., Panicum maximum Jacquin (Poaceae), and other unidentified Poaceae; and even on leaf litter and soil. The species is distributed between 1,010 – 2,240 m.

Taxonomic remarks. Endrödi (1985) indicated two color variations for P. pulchra: 1) ab. atra (completely black to dark brown), and 2) that of the type specimen (pronotum black, lateral margins and two transverse spots orange, elytra orange with two black stripes, one oblique along each elytron, and the other on the elytral suture). We found another two variations: 3) surface black, pronotum with two orange spots on lateral margins, posterior margin of elytra with a faint orange band on each; 4) head, apical half of pronotum, scutellum, elytral suture and humeri black; basal half of pronotum and elytra orange. The color of the pygidium is not constant within each color variation, and it can be completely black, orange, or black with orange spots. Color patterns and their geographical distribution are illustrated in Fig. 93.

Taking into account the wide variation of P. pu l ch r a, and after reviewing the holotype of this species and that of Pucaya punctata Endrödi, 1968 (Figs. 90–91), we concluded that P. punctata is a synonym of P. pulchra for the following reasons: 1) P. punctata was described based on a unique female specimen, and no diagnostic characters were given to separate it from P. pulchra; 2) size of that female (21 mm) falls within the variation range found for P. pulchra (20–24 mm); 3) coloration was indicated by Endrödi (1985) as the only character for the distinction between these two species, yet the brown color without spots of P. punctata is also found in some females of P. pulchra; and 4) pronotal and elytral punctation of P. pulchra varies from nearly smooth to evenly punctate, with double rows on the elytra, and the stronger punctation is found in dark specimens without spots, which coincides with the punctation and color described for P. punctata.