A Review of Philenis Champion, 1906 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Conoderinae), with Descriptions of New Species from Central and South America

Abstract

A brief review of the history of the taxonomic treatment of the genus Philenis Champion is presented and characters are discussed. Philenisflavipes Champion and P.fuscofemorata Champion, and 11 new species are described, including the first records from South America: P.anzaldoinewspecies (Costa Rica, Panamá), P.costaricensisnew species (Costa Rica), P.laselvaensisnew species (Costa Rica), P.auritibiaenew species (Costa Rica), P.brunneanew species (Costa Rica, Panamá), P.muscamimeticanewspecies (Panamá), P.chiriquiensisnew species (Panamá), P.guyanensisnew species (French Guiana), P.ferrugineanew species (Ecuador), P.howdeninew species (Ecuador), and P.kuschelinewspecies (Colombia, Ecuador). A key is provided to separate the species, and an unusual type of “multifurcate” scale is reported for some species. Two species have been associated with plants of the family Araceae. Most collections of this genus by the Arthropods of La Selva (ALAS) biodiversity project in Costa Rica were made by passive trapping methods during the dry season and at lower to middle elevations along an altitudinal transect on the slopes of Volcan Barva. The coloration of some species in the genus is hypothesized to mimic social Hymenoptera or flies.