Barryfilius laevis Allsopp 2022, new combination

Barryfilius laevis (Arrow, 1932), new combination

(Figs. 15, 21, 25)

Lepidiota laevis Arrow, 1932: 194; Britton 1978: 66, figs. 199–200 (aedeagus), fig. 282C (head and pronotum).

Type series. Lectotype male in NHML (designated by Allsopp 2020b: 465): Type (circular red-ringed, typeset) | Pest in dairying and maize-growing district (handwritten) | AUSTRALIA N. Queensland J.N. Smith (typeset) | ♂ (typeset) | Loc. Atherton [17.27°S, 145.58°E] 2.1.30 S (handwritten) / Pres. By Imp. Inst. Ent. Brit. Mus. 1931-469 (typeset) | Lepidiota laevis type Arrow (handwritten) | my 2019 lectotype label.

Paralectotypes: AUSTRALIA: Queensland: 1♂, Atherton, 2.i.1930, J.N. Smith (QM); 1♂, Atherton 7.iii.1931, J.N. Smith (NHML); 1♀, N. Queensland, Mareeba S, 3.i.1934, J.N. Smith (ANIC).

Other material examined. AUSTRALIA: Queensland: 4♂, Atherton, 4.i.1898, 2.i.1930, 2.i.1931, 22.i.1931 (ANIC, QDAF); 1♂, Atherton, 2.i.1930, QDAS [Queensland Department of Agriculture and Stock] (ANIC); 1♂, Atherton, 3.i.1931, J.H. Smith (QDAF); 1♂, Atherton, 11.ii.1959, GWS [G.W. Saunders] (QDAF); 1♂, Atherton, 14.xii.1958 G.E [G. Ettershank] (QM); 10♂, Atherton, 24.ix.1958, 25.xii.1959, 27.xii.1959, G. Ettershank (QDAF, QM); 1♂, Atherton, i.1960, CV (ANIC); 6♂, Atherton, 9.i.1968, P. Ferrar (ANIC); 5♂, Atherton, 3.i.1969, 16.i.1969, 27.i.1969, 29.i.1969, J. Barrett (CMN, QDAF); 1♂, Atherton, 16.xii.1969, G. Saunders (QDAF); 1♂, Atherton, ii.1976, W. Crees (QM);. 1♂, Atherton, 15.xii.1976, A.K. Irvine (ANIC); 11♂, Newell St, Atherton [17.27°S 145.47°E], 23.xii.1969, 24.xii.1969, 30.xii.1969, 20.i.1970, 22.i.1970, 23.xii.1970, 28.xii.1973, JHB or J.H. Barrett (CMN, QDAF); 2♂, 2 km NE Atherton, 20.xii.1997, D.J.W. Burgess, at light (QM); 23♂, 8♀, 2.5 m [4 km] S. Atherton [17.29S, 145.47E], 12.v.1970 [larvae collected], 19.i.1971 [adults emerged], R.J. Roberts (ANIC); 1♂, Kureen [17.34°S, 145.59°E], 4.i.1931 (QDAF); 1♂, 179 Sewell Rd, Lake Eacham [17.29°S, 145.66°E], 18- 25.ii.2020, K.J. Chandler, to light (QM); 1♂, Millaa Milla [17.51 145.61E], 7.ix.1965, RJE [R.J. Elder] (ANIC); 1♂ Maalan [17.61S, 145.59E], 3.x.1967, R.J. Elder (ANIC); 2♂, Tableland [Atherton Tableland], 17.i.1931 (QDAF); 3♂, Cairns (ANIC). NO LOCALITY: 2♂ (ANIC).

Diagnosis. Male. Body 19–22 mm long; bright red-brown (Fig. 15). Terminal palpomere of maxillary palp large, 1.2 mm long, very elongate (length:width 4.5:1), with an elongate, flat, dull, elliptical depression on the latero-dorsal side. Clypeus with anterior face moderately shallow, width 7.5x length; upper surface strongly transverse, width 3.8– 4.0x length, anterior margin indented in middle and margin slightly reflexed to reveal labrum, with broadly rounded angles; upper surface concave, densely punctured and uniformly punctured (approximately 50 mm-2) except just behind reflexed anterior margin, each of the broad, flat-bottomed punctures with a flattened, white seta about as long as radius of the puncture. Frons with similar punctures, sparser in front and denser behind, each puncture with a short, white seta as long as the radius of the puncture, a few punctures in anterior angles with longer, flattened, white setae (2–4x radius of the puncture); posterior edge with only a few punctures and setae; laterally with a few recumbent, long, whiteyellow setae above each eye. Antennae with 10 antennomeres, antennomere 3 elongate-cylindrical, antennomere 4 discoidal, antennomere 5 discoidal but with a faint lump near proximal edge, antennomeres 6 and 7 each with a very short indication of a lamella, antennomeres 8–10 lamellate, 2.2 mm long. Pronotum transverse, greatest width 1.6x length; anterior margin narrow, continuous and raised, punctate except in middle; lateral edges with rounded, obtuse angle in middle, straight before and after angle; posterior margin with narrow, raised margin in middle and towards lateral angles, margin between these with flattened white, short setae; anterior and posterior angles slightly obtuse; surface uniformly punctured (approximately 17 mm-2), each puncture with a minute, slightly elongate, white seta about as long as diameter of the puncture, punctures denser towards anterior angles. Scutellum with line of small punctures close to lateral edge but absent from apex, disc sparsely punctured with setae as on pronotum. Elytra sparsely but fairly uniformly punctured (approximately 10 mm-2) except on sutural interval, each puncture very shallow and with a stout, acutely pointed, white seta as long as those on pronotum. Propygidium uniformly punctured, each puncture with an elongate, short seta. Pygidium irregularly punctured, setae stouter than on propygidium, surface between punctures smooth to microreticulate, long, yellow setae on posterior-lateral margins. Ventral surface of thorax densely clothed with long, fine, yellow setae; pronotal hypemeron with elongate, white setae over all of surface interspersed with a few, long, fine, yellow setae. Teeth on outer edge of protibia moderately long and acute. Ventrites densely clothed with short setae similar to pygidium, less dense on posterior ventrites; first visible ventrite with longer, yellow setae; penultimate ventrite with a few, scattered, long, yellow setae near posterior margin; terminal ventrite without lateral lobes. Aedeagus slightly asymmetrical, distal inner margin of one paramere crossing over the other (Fig. 21).

Female. With a less conspicuous flattened area at the end of the last sclerite (Arrow 1932).

Distribution (Fig. 25). Known only from near Atherton (Britton 1978). Britton’s (1978) reference to the type locality as Mareeba is obviously incorrect—Mareeba is on a very different soil type and is much drier. Britton (1978) also referred to a specimen from Pialba [25.28°S, 152.84°E] in SAM that I suspect was a misidentified Lepidiota noxia Britton, 1985 (Allsopp 1989), and three specimens from ‘Cairns’ [his use of inverted commas] in the Oslo Museum [presumably, Naturhistorisk Museum, now in ANIC]—Cairns was commonly used for localities to the west of that city.

QDAF also has a male labelled ‘Ayr 26.xii.59 GWS’ and a female labelled ‘Eungella, 29.xi. 31W. A. McDougall’. Both are well outside the usual range of the species, and I suspect are mislabelled.

Natural history. Adults have been collected in oil-bath traps and at light during December–February (see above records). There are also records from June and October (Arrow 1932; Smith 1936; Britton 1978) that may refer to the collection of larvae. It has a two-year lifecycle (Smith 1936) and is a pest of pastures in areas of alkaline soils near Atherton (Arrow 1932; Smith 1936; Atherton 1939; Cumpston 1941). It is locally referred to as paspalum whitegrub. Gough and Brown (1988) discussed the insecticidal control of the larvae.