Rediscovery of Lytta corallifera (Coleoptera: Meloidae) in central Mexico

Abstract

A population of Lytta corallifera Haag-Rutenberg, 1880 (Coleoptera: Meloidae), one of the less-studied and rarest species of its genus, was discovered near Charco Blanco, in the Guadalcázar Biological Preservation Area in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. The rarity of L. corallifera and its apparent sensitivity to changes in its habitat make the above region an important location for the survival of the species.

Proctodeal extrusion as a defensive behavioral response in blister beetles (Coleoptera: Meloidae)

“…The presence of modified morphological structures, such as those shown by P. corallifer, is unique to the genus Physomeloe; however, red-colored blotches are occasionally present on the head and thorax of other species of Meloidae (such as B. insignis; see Fig. 6a) (García-París 1998;García-París et al 2013). In this sense, it would be interesting to study the defense mechanisms of the only species of the tribe Meloini that has a pronotum marked with red, besides P. corallifer, namely Meloe vlasovi Semenov-Tian Shansky and Arnoldi, 1937, from central Asia (Bologna and Pinto 2002).…”

First records of <em>Eupompha imperialis</em> (Wellman, 1912) (Coleoptera: Meloidae) in Mexico

“…The identification keys of genera for the American continent (Pinto & Bologna, 1999), phylogenetic hypotheses for the group (Bologna & Pinto, 2001; Bologna et al, 2008), and the Catalogue of Mexican Meloidae (García-París et al, 2007), fostered the study of this family in Mexico. As a consequence, various works dealing with Mexican fauna have appeared recently, including taxonomic revisions 2 Notas / Notes Graellsia, 71(1), junio 2015, e023 -ISSN-L: 0367-5041 -http://dx.doi.org/10.3989/graellsia.2015.v71.131 (Pinto, 2009;García-París & Ruiz, 2013), addition of new species for the Mexican fauna (García-París et al, 2008, 2009, revision of local faunas , description of new species (Pinto, 2010;García-París & Ruiz, 2013), resolution of taxonomic problems (García-París et al, 2013a), and rediscovery of species unseen for decades (García-París et al, 2013b).…”