Aproida species

Monteith, Caroline S. Chaboo Vivian E. Sandoval-Gómez Mariana Hopper Geoff B., 2024, Biology of Aproida balyi Pascoe, 1863 (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae: Aproidini) on its host plant, Eustrephus latifolius R. Br. ex Ker-Gawl (Asparagaceae) in Australia, Insecta Mundi 2024 (74), pp. 1-28 : 27-28

Distribution of Aproida species ( Fig. 16–17 )

Aproida shows a familiar altitudinal pattern exhibited by many ancient taxa of plants and animals in Australia in that it occurs down to lowlands in the southern half of the continent but is restricted to high cool mountains in tropical regions. This does not seem so from the map which has localities for A. balyi at Bowen (sealevel), Cairns (sealevel), Kuranda (350m) and Johnstone River (sea-level). But all modern, authenticated records of Aproida in the tropics are from above 750m and those lowland ones are all based on specimens more than 100 years old which date from a time when locality names were often just attributed to a nearby population centre. The lowland areas of North Queensland have been subjected to intense field work in the last 50 years but the only places north of the Tropic of Capricorn where A. balyi has been genuinely detected are on the Eungella Range, Mt. Macalister, and the Atherton Tableland, all above 750m. The other tropical species, A. monteithi , is known only from the even higher Thornton Peak at 1400m.

The original Pascoe (1863) description of A. balyi is from material from ‘Moreton Bay’, the original name for the first convict settlement in Queensland in 1824; later changed to Brisbane when it became a free settlement. This type locality for A. balyi is thus essentially synonymous with the broader Brisbane area, as depicted on our distribution map ( Fig. 16 ). Many A. balyi specimens have accumulated in museums, particularly from the northern part of its range and the distribution range is from the latitude of Cairns to a little north of Sydney. This species exhibits uniform morphology throughout its range.

Both A. cribrata ( Fig. 1–3 ) and A. monteithi ( Fig. 4–11 ) are distinct and well-defined species although both are known from just the type specimen and one additional specimen. We report only one new locality below.

Figures

Figures 15–17. Distribution maps of beetle and host plant based on Atlas of Living Australia (ALA) records, museum collections and iNaturalist records (see Methods). 15) Eustrephus latifolius R. Br. Ex Ker-Gawl (Asparagaceae) (prepared by M. Campos). 16) Aproida balyi, 17) Aproida cribrata and A. monteithi (prepared by G. Monteith).

Figures 1–3. Type specimen of Aproida cribrata Lea, 1929 (QM; Photos: Geoff Thompson). 1) Dorsal view. 2) Lateral view. 3) Type labels. Scale bar = 1 mm. Note the left elytron appears to have been removed and glued back in position; the protibial apex has shallow notch and a small process.

Figures 4–11. Types of Aproida monteithi Samuelson, 1989 (QM; Photos: Geoff Thompson). 4) Holotype, dorsal view. 5) Lateral view. 6) Aedeagus, dorsal view. 7) Lateral view. 8) Type labels. 9) Allotype (QM), dorsal view. 10) Ventral view. 11) Type labels. Note fully developed wings and profemur and protibia unmodified.