Multilocus phylogeny and ecological differentiation of the "Eupelmus urozonus species group" (Hymenoptera, Eupelmidae) in the West-Palaearctic

Background: The ecological differentiation of insects with parasitic life-style is a complex process that may involve phylogenetic constraints as well as morphological and/ or behavioural adaptations. In most cases, the relative importance of these driving forces remains unexplored. We investigate here this question for the “ Eupelmus urozonus species group ” which encompasses parasitoid wasps of potential interest in biological control. This was achieved using seven molecular markers, re liable records on 91 host species and a proxy of the ovipositor length. Results: After using an adequate partitioning scheme, Maximum likelihood and Bayesian approaches provide a well-resolved phylogeny supporting the monophyly of this species group and highlighting its subdivision into three sub-groups. Great variations of both the ovipositor length and the host range (specialist versus generalist) were observed at this scale, with these two features being not significantly constrained by the phylogeny. Ovipositor length was not shown as a significant predictor of the parasitoid host range. Conclusions: This study provides firstly the first evidence for the strong lability of both the ovipositor's length and the realised host range in a set of phylogeneticall y related and sympatric species. In both cases, strong contrasts were observed between sister species. Moreover, no significant correlation was found between these two features. Alternative drivers of the ecological differentiation such as interspecific interactions are proposed and the consequences on the recruitment of these parasitoids on native and exotic pests are discussed

A multilocus phylogeny of the world Sycoecinae fig wasps (Chalcidoidea: Pteromalidae)

The Sycoecinae is one of five chalcid subfamilies of fig wasps that are mostly dependent on Ficus inflorescences for reproduction. Here, we analysed two mitochondrial ( COI , Cyt b ) and four nuclear genes (ITS2, EF-1α, RpL27a, mago nashi ) from a worldwide sample of 56 sycoecine species. Various alignment and partitioning strategies were used to test the stability of major clades. All topologies estimated using maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods were similar and well resolved but did not support the existing classification. A high degree of morphological convergence was highlighted and several species appeared best described as species complexes. We therefore proposed a new classification for the subfamily. Our analyses revealed several cases of probable speciation on the same host trees (up to 8 closely related species on one single tree of F. sumatrana ), which raises the question of how resource partitioning occurs to avoid competitive exclusion. Comparisons of our results with fig phylogenies showed that, despite sycoecines being internally ovipositing wasps host-switches are common incidents in their evolutionary history. Finally, by studying the evolutionary properties of the markers we used and profiling their phylogenetic informativeness, we predicted their utility for resolving phylogenetic relationships of Chalcidoidea at various taxonomic levels

An extreme case of plant-insect co-diversification: figs and fig-pollinating wasps

It is thought that speciation in phytophagous insects is often due to colonization of novel host plants, because radiations of plant and insect lineages are typically asynchronous. Recent phylogenetic comparisons have supported this model of diversification for both insect herbivores and specialized pollinators. An exceptional case where contemporaneous plant insect diversification might be expected is the obligate mutualism between fig trees (Ficus species, Moraceae) and their pollinating wasps (Agaonidae, Hymenoptera). The ubiquity and ecological significance of this mutualism in tropical and subtropical ecosystems has long intrigued biologists, but the systematic challenge posed by >750 interacting species pairs has hindered progress toward understanding its evolutionary history. In particular, taxon sampling and analytical tools have been insufficient for large-scale co-phylogenetic analyses. Here, we sampled nearly 200 interacting pairs of fig and wasp species from across the globe. Two supermatrices were assembled: on average, wasps had sequences from 77% of six genes (5.6kb), figs had sequences from 60% of five genes (5.5 kb), and overall 850 new DNA sequences were generated for this study. We also developed a new analytical tool, Jane 2, for event-based phylogenetic reconciliation analysis of very large data sets. Separate Bayesian phylogenetic analyses for figs and fig wasps under relaxed molecular clock assumptions indicate Cretaceous diversification of crown groups and contemporaneous divergence for nearly half of all fig and pollinator lineages. Event-based co-phylogenetic analyses further support the co-diversification hypothesis. Biogeographic analyses indicate that the presentday distribution of fig and pollinator lineages is consistent with an Eurasian origin and subsequent dispersal, rather than with Gondwanan vicariance. Overall, our findings indicate that the fig-pollinator mutualism represents an extreme case among plant-insect interactions of coordinated dispersal and long-term co-diversification

Phylogeny and evolution of life-history strategies in the Sycophaginae non-pollinating fig wasps (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Non-pollinating Sycophaginae (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea) form small communities within <it>Urostigma </it>and <it>Sycomorus </it>fig trees. The species show differences in galling habits and exhibit apterous, winged or dimorphic males. The large gall inducers oviposit early in syconium development and lay few eggs; the small gall inducers lay more eggs soon after pollination; the ostiolar gall-inducers enter the syconium to oviposit and the cleptoparasites oviposit in galls induced by other fig wasps. The systematics of the group remains unclear and only one phylogeny based on limited sampling has been published to date. Here we present an expanded phylogeny for sycophagine fig wasps including about 1.5 times the number of described species. We sequenced mitochondrial and nuclear markers (4.2 kb) on 73 species and 145 individuals and conducted maximum likelihood and Bayesian phylogenetic analyses. We then used this phylogeny to reconstruct the evolution of Sycophaginae life-history strategies and test if the presence of winged males and small brood size may be correlated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The resulting trees are well resolved and strongly supported. With the exception of <it>Apocrytophagus</it>, which is paraphyletic with respect to <it>Sycophaga</it>, all genera are monophyletic. The Sycophaginae are divided into three clades: (i) <it>Eukoebelea</it>; (ii) <it>Pseudidarnes</it>, <it>Anidarnes </it>and <it>Conidarnes </it>and (iii) <it>Apocryptophagus</it>, <it>Sycophaga </it>and <it>Idarnes</it>. The ancestral states for galling habits and male morphology remain ambiguous and our reconstructions show that the two traits are evolutionary labile.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The three main clades could be considered as tribes and we list some morphological characters that define them. The same biologies re-evolved several times independently, which make Sycophaginae an interesting model to test predictions on what factors will canalize the evolution of a particular biology. The ostiolar gall-inducers are the only monophyletic group. In 15 Myr, they evolved several morphological adaptations to enter the syconia that make them strongly divergent from their sister taxa. Sycophaginae appears to be another example where sexual selection on male mating opportunities favored winged males in species with small broods and wingless males in species with large broods. However, some species are exceptional in that they lay few eggs but exhibit apterous males, which we hypothesize could be due to other selective pressures selecting against the re-appearance of winged morphs.</p

Conicobruchus strangulatus

Key to the &lt;i&gt;Conicobruchus strangulatus&lt;/i&gt; species group based on external morphology of the adults &lt;p&gt;(see Fig. 1)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; 1. Pronotum short, its sides not concave, not compressed anteriorly into a neck. Mostly red, with dark markings on elytra................................................................................................ &lt;i&gt;C. decoratus&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;- Pronotum long with sides concave, produced anteriorly into a neck.............................................. 2&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; 2(1). Elytra with bare spots alternating with densely setose patches........................................ &lt;i&gt;C. cicatricosus&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;- Elytra uniformly covered with setae....................................................................... 3&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; 3(2). Pronotum bearing brushes and spots of dense white setae, quite noticeable on black background........... &lt;i&gt;C. flabellicornis&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;- Lack of white setae spots on pronotum.................................................................... 4&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; 4(3). Last visible tergite and elytra black or dark reddish-brown......................................... &lt;i&gt;C. strangulatus&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;- Last visible tergite red.................................................................................. 5&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; 5(4). Body mostly deep reddish brown, elytra mainly black, pronotum with a longitudinal line of whitish setae..... &lt;i&gt;C. rubricollis&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; - Body black, elytra bright orange with suture black............................................... &lt;i&gt;C. atrosuturalis&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;Published as part of &lt;i&gt;Le Ru, Bruno P., Delobel, Alex, György, Zoltán, Genson, Gwenaëlle &amp; Kergoat, Gael J., 2014, Taxonomy, host-plant associations and phylogeny of African Crotalaria - feeding seed beetles (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Bruchinae): the Conicobruchus strangulatus (Fåhraeus) species group, pp. 238-256 in Zootaxa 3895 (2)&lt;/i&gt; on page 253, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3895.2.6, &lt;a href="http://zenodo.org/record/226173"&gt;http://zenodo.org/record/226173&lt;/a&gt

Conicobruchus atrosuturalis Pic 1939

&lt;i&gt;Conicobruchus atrosuturalis&lt;/i&gt; (Pic, 1939) &lt;p&gt; &lt;i&gt;Bruchus atrosuturalis&lt;/i&gt; Pic, 1939:31.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;i&gt;Conicobruchus atrosuturalis&lt;/i&gt;: Decelle 1951:181.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Material examined.&lt;/b&gt; Paratype (male) of &lt;i&gt;Bruchus atrosuturalis&lt;/i&gt; var. Pic: Ethiopia: ix.1936 (genitalia on card in drop of DMHF) [MNHN]&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; Other material: Kenya: 1&male;, Chyulu Hills, vii.1938 [1&male; 00514] Coryndon Museum /Expdt Chyulu Hills / July 38 alt. 5600, Imp. Inst./Entom [MNHN]; 1&male;, Kakamega, 00&deg; 10.930N 34&deg; 56.137E, 1693m, ex &lt;i&gt;Crotalaria incana purpurescens,&lt;/i&gt; 0011. xi.2008 [1&male; 01109] (B. Le Ru) [MNHN]; 1&male;, 2&female;, Magadi, 01&deg; 46.142S 36&deg; 20.657E, 856m, i.2007, ex &lt;i&gt;Crotalaria uguenensis&lt;/i&gt; [1&male; 0 2307, specimen GK35 used for DNA extraction] (B. Le Ru) [CBGP].&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; Body black, except elytra bright yellowish-red with black markings along suture (Fig. 1), also along apex of elytra in some specimens; ventrites dark reddish brown to black in typical form, red in paratype and Kenyan specimens reared from &lt;i&gt;Crotalaria uguenensis&lt;/i&gt; seeds; last visible tergite red or black.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Major morphological traits are as follows: pronotum 1.3 times wider at base than long, its sides straight basally, strongly convergent anteriorly, with a distinct neck; lack of white hair spots on pronotum (setation uniformly pale greyish or yellowish); elytral striae with small, closely spaced punctuation, interstriae with punctures varying from strong to shallow.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; Male genitalia. Median lobe (Fig. 2) similar with that of &lt;i&gt;Conicobruchus strangulatus&lt;/i&gt; (Fig. 10), stout (maximum width excluding basal hood / total length = 0.19), slightly widened apically, basal hood moderately widened, concave posteriorly; ventral valve large, subtriangular, with apex acute, bearing numerous sensillae and two lateral groups of 5 to 8 setae; no hinge sclerite. Internal sac densely lined anteriorly with minute spinules (Fig. 2 A) and ctenoid scales (Fig. 2 B), followed by an area almost devoid of ornamentation, then dense scales and spines blending dorsally into a short series of well sclerotized small teeth (Fig. 2 C); a pair of strong ventro-lateral dented rods (Fig. 2 D) similar to those observed in &lt;i&gt;Conicobruchus nodieri&lt;/i&gt; and &lt;i&gt;C. astragalinae,&lt;/i&gt; and between them zero to three isolated teeth (Fig. 2 E); posteriorly a zone with a few strong, isolated teeth (Fig. 2 E) and a number of setae; then again two or more groups of dented sticks or masses (Fig. 2 F); apical ampoule (Fig. 2 G) devoid of any ornamentation, gonopore not sclerotized; basal strut narrow, without keel. Lateral lobes cleft to nearly 90% of their length; apex modified, with two lips, the dorsal one bearing about 12-15 long setae, the ventral one with a dense group of short sensillae.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Biology.&lt;/b&gt; Examined material was reared from pods of &lt;i&gt;Crotalaria uguenensis&lt;/i&gt; and &lt;i&gt;C. incana&lt;/i&gt; subsp. &lt;i&gt;purpurescens&lt;/i&gt; in Kenya.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Distribution.&lt;/b&gt; Ethiopia and Kenya.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Discussion.&lt;/b&gt; &lt;i&gt;Conicobruchus atrosuturalis&lt;/i&gt; has a very specific color pattern with a black body and bright orange elytra (Fig. 1). This pattern can only be found in red specimens of &lt;i&gt;C. flabellicornis&lt;/i&gt;; the two species can be easily distinguished based on the presence of brushes and spots of dense white setae on the pronotum (absent in &lt;i&gt;C. atrosuturalis&lt;/i&gt;, present in &lt;i&gt;C. flabellicornis&lt;/i&gt;).&lt;/p&gt;Published as part of &lt;i&gt;Le Ru, Bruno P., Delobel, Alex, György, Zoltán, Genson, Gwenaëlle &amp; Kergoat, Gael J., 2014, Taxonomy, host-plant associations and phylogeny of African Crotalaria - feeding seed beetles (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Bruchinae): the Conicobruchus strangulatus (Fåhraeus) species group, pp. 238-256 in Zootaxa 3895 (2)&lt;/i&gt; on pages 242-244, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3895.2.6, &lt;a href="http://zenodo.org/record/226173"&gt;http://zenodo.org/record/226173&lt;/a&gt

Conicobruchus flabellicornis Boheman 1829

&lt;i&gt;Conicobruchus flabellicornis&lt;/i&gt; (Boheman, 1829) &lt;p&gt; &lt;i&gt;Bruchus flabellicornis&lt;/i&gt; Boheman, 1829:105&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;i&gt;Bruchus antonioi&lt;/i&gt; Pic, 1943:6 (synonymy in Decelle, 1975:18) &lt;i&gt;Conicobruchus flabellicornis&lt;/i&gt;: Decelle, 1951:181&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Material examined.&lt;/b&gt; Holotype (female) of &lt;i&gt;Bruchus antonioi&lt;/i&gt;: Angola: San Antonio (now Soyo), 1929 (H. Brauns) [MNHN].&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; Other material: Kenya: 3&male;, 4&female;, Suam, 01&deg;11.982&rsquo;N 34&deg; 49.538E, 1951m, 12.xi.2008, ex &lt;i&gt;Crotalaria incana&lt;/i&gt; [2&male; 0 1209, 0 2312, specimen GK200 used for DNA extraction] (B. Le Ru) [CBGP]; 1&female;, Kakamega, 00&deg;10.990&rsquo;N 34&deg; 58.137E, 1693m, 11.xi.2008, ex &lt;i&gt;Crotalaria incana purpurascens&lt;/i&gt; [specimen GK243 used for DNA extraction] (B. Le Ru) [CBGP]; 1&male;, 3&female;, Burguret, 00&deg;04.926&rsquo;N 37&deg; 02.203E, 1915m, 21.xi.2011, ex &lt;i&gt;Crotalaria incana purpurascens&lt;/i&gt; [1&male; 0 2112, specimen GK452 used for DNA extraction] (B. Le Ru) [CBGP]; 2&male;, 1&female;, same data, but ex &lt;i&gt;Crotalaria brevidens intermedia&lt;/i&gt; [1&male; 0 2412, specimen GK442 used for DNA extraction] (B. Le Ru) [CBGP]. Togo: 1&female;, Lom&eacute;, 28.viii.1995, ex &lt;i&gt;Crotalaria goreensis&lt;/i&gt; (I.A. Glitho) [MNHN].&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Black, but Kenyan specimens often with elytral disc dark red. A pod sample collected in Suam yielded two black and five &ldquo;red&rdquo; specimens, whereas one sample from Burguret yielded only &ldquo;red&rdquo; specimens. Color is apparently unrelated with sex.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Other major morphological traits are as follows: pronotum 1.37 to 1.43 times wider at base than long, with oblique lateral impression, constricted anteriorly into a wide neck, strongly rugose-punctate, with several white hair spots. These were described in detail by F&aring;hraeus (1839:4): a small spot in the ante-scutellar fossa, a short line just before apex, at posterior angles, and a lateral spot on each side; an additional pair of white spots is often visible on sides of basal lobes, scutellum with similar white setation. Elytral striae strong, with small punctures, interstriae flat, with series of shallow circular punctures.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Male genitalia. Median lobe (Fig. 7) of moderate length, stout (maximum width excluding basal hood / total length = 0.17), widened apically, basal hood widened, concave posteriorly; ventral valve large, subtriangular, with apex acute, bearing a few sensillae and two lateral groups of 3&ndash;5 setae; no hinge sclerite; internal sac without central column of tubercules, but with rather dense hyaline scales and tubercles, ending posteriorly in a dorsal mass of small, poorly sclerotized teeth, blending into a short series of well sclerotized teeth of variable length; a pair of strong ventro-lateral dented rods; between these a few isolated teeth; posteriorly two poorly defined groups of dented masses; apical ampoule devoid of any ornamentation, gonopore unsclerotized; basal strut narrow, without keel; lateral lobes cleft to 85% their length; apex modified, with two lips, the dorsal one bearing about twelve long setae, the ventral one with a dense group of short sensillae.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Biology.&lt;/b&gt; Examined material was reared from pods of &lt;i&gt;Crotalaria goreensis&lt;/i&gt; and &lt;i&gt;Crotalaria incana&lt;/i&gt; subsp. &lt;i&gt;purpurascens&lt;/i&gt;. This constitutes the first verified record on its biology.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Distribution.&lt;/b&gt; Angola, Burundi (Decelle, 1956), Democratic Republic of Congo (Decelle, 1951), Kenya, Sierra Leone (F&aring;hraeus, 1839) and Togo.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Discussion.&lt;/b&gt; &lt;i&gt;Conicobruchus flabellicornis&lt;/i&gt; can be distinguished form all other members of the group based on the presence of brushes and spots of dense white setae on the pronotum (present in &lt;i&gt;C. flabellicornis&lt;/i&gt;, absent in other species)(Fig. 1).&lt;/p&gt;Published as part of &lt;i&gt;Le Ru, Bruno P., Delobel, Alex, György, Zoltán, Genson, Gwenaëlle &amp; Kergoat, Gael J., 2014, Taxonomy, host-plant associations and phylogeny of African Crotalaria - feeding seed beetles (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Bruchinae): the Conicobruchus strangulatus (Fåhraeus) species group, pp. 238-256 in Zootaxa 3895 (2)&lt;/i&gt; on pages 247-249, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3895.2.6, &lt;a href="http://zenodo.org/record/226173"&gt;http://zenodo.org/record/226173&lt;/a&gt

Conicobruchus strangulatus Fahraeus 1839

&lt;i&gt;Conicobruchus strangulatus&lt;/i&gt; (F&aring;hraeus, 1839) &lt;p&gt; &lt;i&gt;Bruchus strangulatus&lt;/i&gt; F&aring;hraeus, 1839:4&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;i&gt;Bruchus hargreavesi&lt;/i&gt; Pic, 1933:133, &lt;b&gt;syn. nov.&lt;/b&gt; &lt;i&gt;Bruchidius hargreavesi&lt;/i&gt;: De Luca, 1965:58 &lt;i&gt;Conicobruchus strangulatus&lt;/i&gt;: Decelle, 1951:181 &lt;i&gt;Bruchidius strangulatus&lt;/i&gt; Prevett, 1967:176&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Material examined.&lt;/b&gt; Paratype (female) of &lt;i&gt;Bruchus hargreavesi&lt;/i&gt;: Uganda: Kampala, ii.1932, ex pods of &lt;i&gt;Crotalaria&lt;/i&gt; [MNHN]&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; Other material: Burkina-Faso: 1&male;, Bobo-Dioulasso, 1.xi.2003, light trap [1&male; 00714] (H. Perrin) [MNHN]. Mali: 2&male;, 7&female;, Bafing, vi.2008, ex &lt;i&gt;C. cf goreensis&lt;/i&gt; [1&male; 0 0 614, specimen GK116 used for DNA extraction] (G.J. Kergoat) [MNHN]. Senegal: 18&male;, 13&female;, 5km N. Missira, 25.xi.1995, ex &lt;i&gt;C. glaucoides&lt;/i&gt; [1&male; 14495, 1&female; 02210] (H. &amp; A. Delobel) [CBGP]; 4&male;, 11&female;, Nianing, xi.1998, ex &lt;i&gt;C. perrottetii&lt;/i&gt; [1&male; 19207, 1&female; 11307] (H. &amp; A. Delobel) [CBGP]; 2&male;, 2&female;, Dakar, 15.ix.1999, ex &lt;i&gt;C. podocarpa&lt;/i&gt; [1&male; 0 2699, specimen Xh1 used for DNA extraction] (H. &amp; A. Delobel) [CBGP]; 1&male;, 1&female;, 5 km N. Missira, 11.xi.1995, ex &lt;i&gt;C. comosa&lt;/i&gt; (H. &amp; A. Delobel) [CBGP]; 1&male;, Joal - Samba Dia, 19.xi.1995, ex &lt;i&gt;C. cf goreensis&lt;/i&gt; [1&male; 14395] (H. &amp; A. Delobel) [CBGP].&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; Color variable, with two distinct forms: darker specimens can be entirely black whereas lighter specimens are dark reddish brown, with antennae black. Specimens of the lighter form were formerly considered as a distinct species (&lt;i&gt;hargreavesi&lt;/i&gt;).&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Other important morphological traits are as follows: pronotum 1.6&ndash;1.7 times wider at base than long; lack of white hair spots on pronotum (setation uniformly pale greyish or yellowish); strong ocellate punctation on interstriae, more or less aligned, particularly deep on elytral base in some specimens; hind femur with small acute tooth.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; Male genitalia. Median lobe (Fig. 10) of moderate length, stout (maximum width excluding basal hood/ total length = 0.16), strongly widened apically, basal hood moderately widened, concave posteriorly; ventral valve large, subtriangular, with apex acute, bearing numerous sensillae and two lateral groups of 5 to 10 setae; no hinge sclerite; internal sac without central column of tubercles, but with rather dense hyaline scales and tubercles, ending posteriorly in a dorsal mass of small, poorly sclerotized teeth, blending into a short series of well sclerotized teeth of variable length; a pair of strong ventro-lateral dented rods similar to those observed in &lt;i&gt;Conicobruchus nodieri&lt;/i&gt; and &lt;i&gt;C. astragalinae,&lt;/i&gt; varying in size and shape, from short and straight (Fig 12) to long and crescent (Fig. 13) or rod-shaped (Fig. 14), sometimes very long and articulated (Fig. 15); between these from zero to three isolated teeth; posteriorly a zone with a variable number of strong, isolated sclerotized teeth: absent in specimens from Dakar (Fig. 13) and Bafing (Fig. 15), numerous in male from Missira (Fig. 16); then again two groups of dented sticks or masses, clearly rod-shaped as in Fig. 16 to ill-defined as in male from Nianing (Fig. 17); apical ampoule devoid of any ornamentation, gonopore without sclerotization; basal strut narrow, without keel (Fig. 11); lateral lobes cleft to 85% their length; apex modified, with two lips, the dorsal one bearing about twelve long setae, the ventral one with a dense group of short sensillae.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Biology.&lt;/b&gt; Examined material was reared from pods of &lt;i&gt;Crotalaria comosa&lt;/i&gt;, &lt;i&gt;C. glaucoides&lt;/i&gt; Baker f., &lt;i&gt;C.&lt;/i&gt; cf &lt;i&gt;goreensis&lt;/i&gt;, &lt;i&gt;C. perrottetii&lt;/i&gt;, &lt;i&gt;C. podocarpa&lt;/i&gt;. Recorded from other &lt;i&gt;Crotalaria&lt;/i&gt; species: &lt;i&gt;C. calycina&lt;/i&gt; Schrank, &lt;i&gt;C. leprieurii&lt;/i&gt; Guill. &amp; Perr., &lt;i&gt;C. ochroleuca&lt;/i&gt; G. D o n, and &lt;i&gt;C. subcapitata&lt;/i&gt; De Wild. (Gillon &lt;i&gt;et al&lt;/i&gt;., 1992). &lt;i&gt;Crotalaria&lt;/i&gt; pods usually contain a large number of small seeds; &lt;i&gt;Conicobruchus strangulatus&lt;/i&gt; larvae are external feeders, at least during the last phases of their development, because their body is much larger than the size of individual seeds; when mature, larvae weave a white cocoon inside the inflated pod, attached to its wall, and emergence occurs through a circular hole. Development of young larvae seems impossible in mature, dry seeds.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Distribution.&lt;/b&gt; F&aring;hraeus' types are from Senegal and Republic of South Africa; Pic&rsquo;s typical series of &lt;i&gt;Bruchus hargreavesi&lt;/i&gt; is from Uganda; material seen is from Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal; also reported from Angola (Decelle, 1975), Congo (Decelle, 1951, 1960, Rasplus, 1989), Eritrea (Zampetti, 1988), Ethiopia (Decelle 1971), Ivory Coast (Rasplus, 1989; Gillon &lt;i&gt;et al&lt;/i&gt;., 1992), Nigeria (Prevett, 1971), Senegal (Decelle, 1969) and Togo (Woegan &lt;i&gt;et al&lt;/i&gt;., 1997).&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Discussion.&lt;/b&gt; &lt;i&gt;Conicobruchus strangulatus&lt;/i&gt; cannot be confounded with the three species that have a red last visible tergite (&lt;i&gt;C. atrosuturalis, C. decoratus, C. rubricollis&lt;/i&gt;). Differences in elytral setation easily separate &lt;i&gt;C. strangulatus&lt;/i&gt; from &lt;i&gt;C. cicatricosus&lt;/i&gt; (uniform in &lt;i&gt;C. strangulatus&lt;/i&gt;, mix of bare spots and densely setose patches in &lt;i&gt;C. cicatricosus&lt;/i&gt;). Finally it can be distinguished from &lt;i&gt;C. flabellicornis&lt;/i&gt; based on the presence of brushes and spots of dense white setae on the pronotum (absent in &lt;i&gt;C. strangulatus&lt;/i&gt;, present in &lt;i&gt;C. flabellicornis&lt;/i&gt;).&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;i&gt;Conicobruchus strangulatus&lt;/i&gt; is the type species of genus &lt;i&gt;Conicobruchus&lt;/i&gt; Decelle. Senegalese specimens are either of the lighter (&lt;i&gt;hargreavesi&lt;/i&gt;) or of the darker (&lt;i&gt;strangulatus&lt;/i&gt;) form. The fact that specimens of both forms emerged from pods of the same host-plant in the same location provides support to establish the synonymy &lt;i&gt;Bruchus hargreavesi&lt;/i&gt; Pic = &lt;i&gt;Conicobruchus strangulatus&lt;/i&gt; (F&aring;hraeus).&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Phylogenetic analyses.&lt;/b&gt; Maximum likelihood analyses yield a best ML tree with a likelihood score of - 25368.23 (Fig. 18). The genus &lt;i&gt;Conicobruchus&lt;/i&gt; is recovered monophyletic with a high support (BV of 97%). As in the study of Kergoat &lt;i&gt;et al.&lt;/i&gt; (2011), &lt;i&gt;Bruchidius biguttatus&lt;/i&gt; and &lt;i&gt;B. cisti&lt;/i&gt; appear closely related to the genus &lt;i&gt;Conicobruchus&lt;/i&gt; (BV of 93%). Within the genus &lt;i&gt;Conicobruchus&lt;/i&gt; the relationships are very similar to those inferred in Kergoat &lt;i&gt;et al.&lt;/i&gt; (2011). The six species corresponding to the &lt;i&gt;Conicobruchus strangulatus&lt;/i&gt; species group cluster together, with a high bootstrap support (BV of 94%). The newly sequenced species &lt;i&gt;Conicobruchus indicus&lt;/i&gt; is found sister to &lt;i&gt;C. kidevuensis&lt;/i&gt;, and appear unrelated to the species of the &lt;i&gt;C. strangulatus&lt;/i&gt; species group. Another newly sequenced species, &lt;i&gt;C. medaniensis&lt;/i&gt; is found sister to &lt;i&gt;C. albopubens&lt;/i&gt; with a high support (BV of 100%). Within the &lt;i&gt;C. strangulatus&lt;/i&gt; species group a clade composed of &lt;i&gt;C. decoratus&lt;/i&gt; and &lt;i&gt;C. rubricollis&lt;/i&gt; is sister (BV of 94%) to a wellsupported (BV of 89%) clade of four species. The latter is encompasses &lt;i&gt;C. cicatricosus&lt;/i&gt; on the one hand and a subclade that groups &lt;i&gt;C. flabellicornis&lt;/i&gt; sister to &lt;i&gt;C. atrosuturalis&lt;/i&gt; and &lt;i&gt;C. strangulatus&lt;/i&gt; on the other.&lt;/p&gt;Published as part of &lt;i&gt;Le Ru, Bruno P., Delobel, Alex, György, Zoltán, Genson, Gwenaëlle &amp; Kergoat, Gael J., 2014, Taxonomy, host-plant associations and phylogeny of African Crotalaria - feeding seed beetles (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Bruchinae): the Conicobruchus strangulatus (Fåhraeus) species group, pp. 238-256 in Zootaxa 3895 (2)&lt;/i&gt; on pages 249-253, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3895.2.6, &lt;a href="http://zenodo.org/record/226173"&gt;http://zenodo.org/record/226173&lt;/a&gt

Conicobruchus cicatricosus Fahraeus 1839

&lt;i&gt;Conicobruchus cicatricosus&lt;/i&gt; (F&aring;hraeus, 1839) &lt;p&gt; &lt;i&gt;Bruchus cicatricosus&lt;/i&gt; F&aring;hraeus, 1839:39.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;i&gt;Bruchus cicatricosus pallidioripennis&lt;/i&gt; Pic, 1941:12, &lt;b&gt;syn. nov&lt;/b&gt;. &lt;i&gt;Conicobruchus cicatricosus&lt;/i&gt;: Kergoat &lt;i&gt;et al&lt;/i&gt;., 2011:756&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Material examined.&lt;/b&gt; Kenya: 2&male;, Josa Wundanyi, 03&deg; 25.863S 31&deg; 21.314E, 1378m, 13.iv.2012, ex &lt;i&gt;Crotalaria laburnifolia tenuicarpa&lt;/i&gt; [1&male; 0 2212, specimen GK448 used for DNA extraction] (B. Le Ru) [CBGP]. Tanzania: 1&male;, Kidevu, 03&deg; 09.402S 36&deg; 41.058E, 1818m, 25.ii.2008, ex &lt;i&gt;Crotalaria&lt;/i&gt; sp. [specimen GK195 used for DNA extraction] (B. Le Ru) [CBGP]. Republic of South Africa: 1&male;, 1&female;, Port Elisabeth [1&male; 04908]; 1&female;, East London, ix.1915 (R. Ellenberger) [MNHN]. Tanzania: 1&male;, xii 7 n fv, ex &lt;i&gt;Crotalaria&lt;/i&gt; sp. [1&male; 00508] (C. Conrads) [MNHN]. Zimbabwe: 1&male;, 1&female;, Masvingo, 22.i.1998 [1&male; 19007, specimen GK171 used for DNA extraction] (M. Halada) [O&Ouml;LM].&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; Body entirely black, or black with elytra and legs more or less light reddish brown (Fig. 1). The black form corresponds to variety A of F&aring;hraeus, the paler form to his variety B, as well as to Pic&rsquo;s variety &lt;i&gt;pallidioripennis&lt;/i&gt;. These are mere colour forms of the same species.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Other important morphological traits are as follows: pronotum 1.2 times wider at base than long, its sides straight basally, strongly convergent anteriorly, then constricted into a distinct neck; lack of white hair spots on pronotum (setation uniformly yellowish); elytral striae thin and narrow, interstriae alternating greyish setose spots with bare areas surrounding large ocellate punctures, elytral disc thus showing a checkered pattern, less visible laterally and posteriorly. Male antennae strongly pectinate.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Male genitalia. Median lobe (Fig. 3) of moderate length, stout (maximum width excluding basal hood / total length = 0.20), slightly widened apically, basal hood moderately widened, concave posteriorly; ventral valve large, subtriangular, bearing apically numerous sensillae and basally two lateral groups of 6 to 9 setae; no hinge sclerite; internal sac densely lined anteriorly with minute spinules and ctenoid scales, followed by strands of hyaline spicules and tubercles, progressively transformed laterally into a pair of groups of very dense setae; posteriorly numerous strong teeth, associated or not in two to four dented sticks or masses; apical ampoule devoid of any ornamentation, gonopore not sclerotized; basal strut (Fig. 4) narrow, without keel; lateral lobes cleft to about 90% their length; apex modified, with two lips, the dorsal one bearing 15-20 long setae, the ventral one densely lined with long setation.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Biology.&lt;/b&gt; The type series was reared from &lt;i&gt;Crotalaria volubilis&lt;/i&gt; seeds in &lsquo;Caffraria&rsquo; (now Republic of South Africa). The name &lt;i&gt;C. volubilis&lt;/i&gt; Thunberg is not valid (ILDIS 2014; TROPICOS 2014), so that the actual host remains unknown (but &lt;i&gt;C. capensis&lt;/i&gt; according to De Luca, 1965). Examined material was reared from pods of &lt;i&gt;Crotalaria laburnifolia&lt;/i&gt; subsp. &lt;i&gt;tenuicarpa&lt;/i&gt; in Kenya and of &lt;i&gt;Crotalaria&lt;/i&gt; sp. in Tanzania.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Distribution&lt;/b&gt;. Kenya, Republic of South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Discussion.&lt;/b&gt; &lt;i&gt;Conicobruchus cicatricosus&lt;/i&gt; can be distinguished from other members of the group by its elytral setation (Fig. 1), in which bare spots alternate with densely setose patches (in other species elytra are uniformly covered with setae). Contrary to &lt;i&gt;C. decoratus&lt;/i&gt; and &lt;i&gt;C. rubricollis&lt;/i&gt;, the male genitalia of &lt;i&gt;C. cicatricosus&lt;/i&gt; includes large sclerites. However, in contrast with &lt;i&gt;C. atrosuturalis, C. flabellicornis&lt;/i&gt; and &lt;i&gt;C. strangulatus&lt;/i&gt;, proximal sclerites are absent.&lt;/p&gt;Published as part of &lt;i&gt;Le Ru, Bruno P., Delobel, Alex, György, Zoltán, Genson, Gwenaëlle &amp; Kergoat, Gael J., 2014, Taxonomy, host-plant associations and phylogeny of African Crotalaria - feeding seed beetles (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Bruchinae): the Conicobruchus strangulatus (Fåhraeus) species group, pp. 238-256 in Zootaxa 3895 (2)&lt;/i&gt; on pages 244-245, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3895.2.6, &lt;a href="http://zenodo.org/record/226173"&gt;http://zenodo.org/record/226173&lt;/a&gt

Conicobruchus decoratus Fahraeus 1871

&lt;i&gt;Conicobruchus decoratus&lt;/i&gt; (F&aring;hraeus, 1871) &lt;p&gt; &lt;i&gt;Bruchus decoratus&lt;/i&gt; F&aring;hraeus, 1871:448&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;i&gt;Bruchus decoratus atrodorsalis&lt;/i&gt; Decelle, 1960:137, &lt;b&gt;syn. nov&lt;/b&gt;. &lt;i&gt;Bruchus nigromaculatus&lt;/i&gt; Pic, 1929 (synonymy in Decelle 1961: 8) &lt;i&gt;Bruchidius decoratus&lt;/i&gt; Decelle, 1975:21&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;i&gt;Conicobruchus decoratus&lt;/i&gt;: Kergoat &lt;i&gt;et al&lt;/i&gt;., 2011:756&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Material examined.&lt;/b&gt; Type (male) of &lt;i&gt;Bruchus nigromaculatus&lt;/i&gt;: Republic of South Africa: Port St John, v.1923, R.E. Turner [dissected, genitalia on card in DMHF].&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; Other material: Botswana: 1&female;, Lerib&eacute;, 1923 (R. Ellenberger) [MNHN]. Republic of Mozambique: 1&male;, Nova Chupanga, v.1928 (P. Lesne) [MNHN]. Tanzania: 2&male; (C. Conrads) [MNHN]. Zambia: 1&male;, 2&female;, Samununga, 13&deg;37.156&rsquo;S 24&deg;07.349&rsquo;E, 1091m, 19.iii.2012, ex &lt;i&gt;Crotalaria aculeata claessensii&lt;/i&gt;, [1&male; 0 2012, specimen GK446 used for DNA extraction] (B. Le Ru) [CBGP].&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Body black, with large red parts; head (including antennae), thoracic sternites and legs always black, pronotum and abdomen always red. Elytra entirely black in some specimens, but usually red with more or less extensive black markings (Fig. 1): usually base, humerus, a round spot at basal fourth in interstriae 2 to 4, apical fourth to third of elytra, often also along suture.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Other important morphological traits are as follows: pronotum 1.5 times wider at base than long, its sides almost straight, slightly sinuated, not constricted anteriorly into a neck; moderately lobed posteriorly and laterally, with dense white setation on lobes; strial punctures small, circular, closely spaced, interstriae finely imbricate, shining, with minute punctures; male antennae serrate.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Male genitalia. Median lobe (Fig. 5) of moderate length, stout (maximum width excluding basal hood / total length = 0.15), not widened apically, basal hood moderately widened, not concave posteriorly; ventral valve large, subtriangular, bearing apically numerous sensillae and basally two lateral groups 9&ndash;12 setae; no hinge sclerite; internal sac anteriorly with minute spinules and scales, then densely lined with strands of hyaline and sclerotized spines; apical ampoule devoid of any ornamentation, gonopore not sclerotized; basal strut (Fig. 6) narrow, without keel; lateral lobes cleft to about 90% their length; apex modified, with two lips, the dorsal one bearing about 15 setae, the ventral one densely lined with long setation.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Biology.&lt;/b&gt; Zambian material was reared from pods of &lt;i&gt;Crotalaria aculeata&lt;/i&gt; subsp. &lt;i&gt;claessensii&lt;/i&gt;. This constitutes the first report on its biology.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Distribution.&lt;/b&gt; Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo (Decelle, 1960), Republic of Mozambique, Republic of South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Discussion.&lt;/b&gt; &lt;i&gt;Conicobruchus decoratus&lt;/i&gt; can be distinguished from other members of the &lt;i&gt;C. strangulatus&lt;/i&gt; species group by the shape of the pronotum and structure of male genitalia. Contrary to the other species of the group, in &lt;i&gt;C. decoratus&lt;/i&gt; the pronotum is short, its side non-concave and it is not compressed anteriorly into a neck (Fig. 1). Male genitalia are also very distinctive, being less widened anteriorly and the basal strut not concave posteriorly (Fig. 5).&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; Specimens with black elytra were considered as a subspecies (&lt;i&gt;atrodorsalis&lt;/i&gt;) by Decelle (1960). However the pattern of elytral coloration is extremely variable, ranging from red with few black markings to entirely black. Because of this high level of variability we chose to establish the synonymy &lt;i&gt;Bruchus decoratus atrodorsalis&lt;/i&gt; Decelle = &lt;i&gt;Conicobruchus decoratus&lt;/i&gt; (F&aring;hraeus).&lt;/p&gt;Published as part of &lt;i&gt;Le Ru, Bruno P., Delobel, Alex, György, Zoltán, Genson, Gwenaëlle &amp; Kergoat, Gael J., 2014, Taxonomy, host-plant associations and phylogeny of African Crotalaria - feeding seed beetles (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Bruchinae): the Conicobruchus strangulatus (Fåhraeus) species group, pp. 238-256 in Zootaxa 3895 (2)&lt;/i&gt; on pages 246-247, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3895.2.6, &lt;a href="http://zenodo.org/record/226173"&gt;http://zenodo.org/record/226173&lt;/a&gt