Lagideus romius Smith

Lagideus romius Smith

(Figs. 1, 2, 15)

Lagideus romius Smith, 1990: 121.

Remarks. This species was described from Ecuador (Napo, Limoncocha) from two females. I have seen three specimens from Colombia that are identical to this species. A specimen from Bolivia is nearly identical but differs slightly in having white spots on the posterior inner margins of the pronotum and anterior margin of the mesepisternum (Figs. 1, 2). This species is characterized by the linear malar space, inner hind tibial spurs longer than the hind basitarsomere, the lancet (Fig. 15) with the cluster of long hairs near the center, and the almost entirely black color with the clypeus, supraclypeal area, basal plates, fore and midfemora and tibiae, basal half of the hind femur, and basal half of the hind tibia white. Lagideus ucratus Smith, described from Bolivia and Peru, is the only other species with such a dense cluster of spines on the lancet, and the two are very similar (Smith 1990, figs. 321, 322), but L. ucratus has the posterior margin of the pronotum, and a spot on the anterior margin of the mesepisternum white. Although the specimen from Bolivia approaches the color of L. ucratus, I here refer it to L. romius because of the similarities of the lancet, e.g., the longer hairs dorsally on annuli 3-5, almost lack of long annular hairs ventral to the dense cluster on annuli 6–9, and the shallower, more rounded serrulae. It is possible the two species are the same, but more material is needed.

Specimens examined. BOLIVIA: Cochabamba Prov., Villa Tunari, 6.8.2001, 16°54’55”S, 65°22’06’W, malaise trap, leg. H. Heider (1 Ƥ, SDEI). COLOMBIA: Amazonas, PNN Amacayacu San Martin, 3°20’O 1”N, 70°06’01”W, 150 m, M.701, July 17–30, 2000, B. Amado (1 Ƥ, HUM); Amazonas, Amacayacu San Martin, Malaise 2, 150 m, March 24–April 3, 2000, Muetro no. 83, B. Amado, collector (1 Ƥ, USNM); Putumayo, PNN La Paya Salao Grande, 0°1’S, 74°56’W, 330 m, Red., 9/22/01, D. Campos, leg., M.2085 (1 Ƥ, USNM).