New records of Asian and Australopapuan Cassidinae, with a ...

NEW RECORDS OF ASIATIC AND AUSTRALOPAPUAN CASSIDINAE 545
DESCRIPTIONS OF NEW SPECIES
Cassida dembickyi n. sp.
Etymology
Dedicated to Czech collector L. DEMBICKY.
DIAGNOSIS
Regularly convex elytral disc, simple claws and almost wholly black pronotal
and elytral disc place this species close to Cassida probata SPAETH and its
relatives. The group comprises also Cassida subprobata (CHEN et ZIA),
C. mroczkowskii BOROWIEC et ŒWIÊTOJAÑSKA, and two species described below –
C. chiangmaiensis n. sp. and C. paiensis n. sp. C. subprobata distinctly differs in
yellow abdomen, with the only first sternite with black margins or spots (in
C. dembickyi abdomen in middle is black). C. mroczkowskii differs in sparse
punctuation of elytral sides with distance between punctures partly as wide as to
slightly wider than puncture diameter (in C. dembickyi punctuation is dense,
punctures almost touching each other). C. paiensis and C. probata differ in
infuscate last two to four antennal segments (in C. dembickyi antennae are
uniformly yellow, or only apex of the last segment is slightly infuscate).
C. chiangmaiensis is the most similar, especially by its uniformly yellow antennae,
but differs in larger size (length 5.25-5.5 mm, in dembickyi 4.6-4.95 mm),
angulate pronotal sides (in dembickyi narrowly rounded), black on elytra in
humeral area extending only to submarginal row (marginal row in C. dembickyi),
and abdomen broadly margined by yellow (in C. dembickyi narrowly margined).
Dark form of Cassida variablis (CHEN et ZIA) with black disc of pronotum and
elytra is also similar but differs in completely yellow ventrites. Cassida flavoscutata
SPAETH is at first glance very similar to C. dembickyi but belongs to the species
group with claws simple but appearing distinctly appendiculate due to distally
projectling flanks of the last segment of tarsi (in C. dembickyi last segment of tarsi
is not modified, and claws are simple). Other Oriental species of Cassida
circumdata group with mostly black disc of pronotum and elytra differ in claws
with basal tooth.
DESCRIPTION
Length: 4.6-4.95 mm (mean 4.8, n = 5), width: 4.1-4.35 mm (mean 4.26, n =
5), length of pronotum: 1.8-1.9 mm, width of pronotum: 3.3-3.4 mm, length/width
ratio: 1.09-1.15, width of pronotum/length of pronotum ratio: 1.79-1.89. Body
almost circular (fig. 1).
Pronotum yellow; disc with a large subtriangular, black spot, occupying
almost whole surface, margin of the spot not or indistinctly trilobate, anterior
margin in the middle with small, yellow cleft. Scutellum black, or in the middle
with very small yellow spot. Elytral disc black, in anterior half of disc the black
extending up to marginal interval, in posterior half of disc marginal interval