9 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.Includes bibliographical references (p. 9)

Cazier, Mont A.

Lerner Marine Laboratory.

Rindge, Frederick H.

American Museum of Natural History Scientific Publications

AMERI[CAN MUSEUMNOVISTATESPUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORYCITY OF NEW YORK JUNE 6, 1951 NUMBER 1517THE BUPRESTIDAE OF THE BAHAMAISLANDS, BRITISH WEST INDIES(COLEOPTERA, BUPRESTIDAE)BY MONT A. CAZIER1The Caribbean Island region has long been of interest tostudents of biogeography and, while a number of papers havebeen written on the subject, comparatively little is known aboutthe fauna of the Bahama Islands as concerns it relationshipswith the West Indies and the United States. This is especiallytrue of the insect fauna which to date has not been collected ortreated in a comprehensive manner. A few records are avail-able from some of the larger islands, such as New Providence andAndros, but even these are poorly known faunistically. Thepresent paper deals primarily with a small group of the BahamaIslands from which, so far as is known, no insects have beenrecorded, but all available information on the buprestids fromother islands in the Bahamas is included.In the month of June of 1950 Dr. Frederick Rindge and theauthor had the privilege of being guests at the Lerner MarineLaboratory, located on North Bimini Island in the Bimini Islandgroup. This group consists of three major islands, North,South, and East Bimini, all long and narrow and arranged in theform of an equilateral triangle. The longest is North Bimini,which is approximately 5 miles in length. There are severalkeys in the enclosed bay and a number outside. All the land islow, the highest point being about 30 feet above normal meantide. Gun Cay, which is 6.25 nautical miles south of Bimini,was collected for a short time. These islands are the western-1 Chairman and Associate Curator, Department of Insects and Spiders, theAmerican Museum of Natural History.2 AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES NO. 1517most of the Bahama Islands, lying on the western edge of theGreat Bahama Bank, approximately 60 air miles from Miami,Florida, and separated from the mainland by the Gulf Stream.During most of the year the prevailing winds blow from south-east to northwest, only occasionally the reverse, and it is pos-sible that they influence the distribution of the insects in this area.The presence of the swift currents of the Gulf Stream betweenthese islands and the mainland precludes in large part the pos-sibility of interchange of faunas by means of "rafts." However,there is considerable commerce between the various islands andFlorida, which may be instrumental in faunal interchange, es-pecially of the wood-boring and semi-domestic insects.During the three weeks of actual collecting 6157 specimens ofinsects and spiders were obtained: Diptera, 200; Hymenop-tera, 50; Coleoptera, 3821; Hemiptera and Orthoptera, 150;Odonata, 50; Lepidoptera, 1344; Arachnida, 542. Most ofthese were taken on one small section along the western edgeof South Bimini which appeared to be less disturbed and morevaried floristically than either of the others. South Bimini isinfrequently visited by the natives because of their belief in amythical spirit called "Chickcharney," to whom they attributegreat powers, and who is supposed to frequent the woodlandsof this island. For an excellent general account and floristicanalysis of the Bimini Island group, the reader is referred toHoward (1950). East Bimini and the northeastern portion ofNorth Bimini are uninhabited, but are less variable ecologicallythan South Bimini, although they apparently have species notpresent on the latter island. The southwestern half of NorthBimini is densely populated, and natural conditions have beendisturbed by the population and by the introduction of manyplants. Howard reports that out of the 253 species of floweringplants collected, approximately one-third represent cultivatedplants. He also reports that the vast majority of native speciesare common Caribbean species, five are considered as endemicto the Bahama Islands, and none is endemic on Bimini.The present paper deals with the wood-boring beetles belong-ing to the family Buprestidae. Prior to this study five generaand seven species were known from the Bahama Islands, nonefrom Bimini. In the present paper two genera, five species, andtwo new subspecies are added to the fauna, making a total ofseven genera, 12 species, and two subspecies now known to occur1951 BUPRESTIDAE OF BAHAMA ISLANDS 3in the Bahama Islands. All seven genera, seven species, andtwo subspecies were taken on Bimini. On the basis of the ratherscanty records assembled thus far, five species and two sub-species are endemic in the Bahamas (possibly four from Bim-ini), two species (one doubtfully from the Bahamas) are com-mon to the Bahamas and West Indies, one species (one sub-species related) is common with Florida, and four species (onesubspecies related) are common with the United States and theWest Indies. Much collecting remains to be done in the Ba-A B C DFIG. 1. A. Chrysobothris chryseola lerneri, dorsal. B. Ventral. C. Chryso-bothris lepida, dorsal. D. Ventral.hamas, and additional material may change the above rela-tionship picture considerably.The writer is indebted to Dr. C. M. Breder, Jr., Chairmanand Curator, Department of Fishes and Aquatic Biology of theAmerican Museum of Natural History, for the opportunity ofcollecting material from Bimini and Gun Cay. Excellent labo-ratory and living quarters were made available at the LernerMarine Laboratory, and boat transportation to the variousislands was supplied whenever needed. Thanks are also ex-tended Miss Marjorie Statham who made the drawings, andto Mr. W. S. Fisher who verified most of the determinations.4 AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES NO. 1517KEY TO THE GENERA1. Scutellum visible......................................... 2- Scutellum not visible ... ................................. Acmaeodera2. Third tarsal segments with apices prolonged laterally, overlapping most offourth segment.................................... Actenodes- Third tarsal segments with apices not prolonged laterally, usually trun-cate....................................33. Metasternal episterna visible, not covered by side margins of elytra .... . 4- Metasternal episterna not visible, covered by elytral margins ... Paratyndaris4. First and second tarsal segments without squamose pads beneath... Polycesta- First four tarsal segments with squamose pads beneath................. 55. Prosternal process truncate or obtusely rounded at apex..........Psiloptera- Prosternal process pointed or acute at apex......................... 66. Mesosternum completely divided medially; prosternal projection not orbut slightly expanded behind anterior coxae............... MelanophilaMesosternum not completely divided medially; prosternal projection widelyexpanded laterally and overlapping mesosternum ...... ..... ChrysobothrisGENUS ACMAEODERAKEY TO THE SPECIES OF Acmaeodera1. Abdomen with first segment testaceous medially, elytral intervals obscuredby large strial punctures, showing only as fine lines; elytra narrower atbase than pronotumn................................... arginenotala- Abdomen with first segment unmaculated, elytral intervals evident andpunctate; elytra wider at base than pronotum ...... ......... wickhamiAcmaeodera marginenotata ChevrolatAcmaeodera marginenotata CHEVROLAT, 1867, Ann. Ent. Soc. France, ser. 4,vol. 7, pp. 583, 584.One specimen collected agrees in every respect with a speci-men from Key Largo, Florida.TYPE LOCALITY: Cuba.NEW RECORDS FOR BAHAMA ISLANDS: South Bimini, June 13,1950.Acmaeodera wickhami FisherAcmaeodera wickhami FISHER, 1925, Proc. U. S. Natl. Mus., vol. 65, art. 9,pp. 44, 45.No specimens of this species were collected on the BiminiIslands.TYPE LOCALITY: Eleuthera, Bahamas.1951 BUPRESTIDAB OF BAHAMA ISLANDS 5GENUS ACTENODESActenodes auronotata brederi, new subspeciesSimilar in every respect to A. auronotata except that the elytralmaculations are crimson rather than green. In five specimensthe basal and lateral spots are cupreous green as in some speci-mens of A. auronotata.TYPE MATERIAL: Holotype male, allotype female collectedon South Bimini Island, Bahamas, British West Indies, June16 and 21, 1950 (M. A. Cazier and F. Rindge). Thirty-one para-topotypes, June 10-22, and 31 paratypes from Gun Cay, Ba-hamas, British West Indies, June 15, 1950 (M. A. Cazier, F.Rindge). All types are in the American Museum of NaturalHistory.This subspecies is named in honor of Dr. Charles M. Breder,Jr.GENUS PARATYNDARISParatyndaris suturalis FallParatyndaris suturalis FALL, 1934, Ent. News, vol. 45, p. 193.Twenty-five specimens of this uncommon species were col-lected at night on dead twigs of an unidentified species of plant.Two of the specimens are almost identical in coloration with asingle specimen from Key West, Florida, while the remainderare more greenish, or, in one specimen, the discs of the elytra arealmost black. In some of the specimens the pronotal elevationsappear to be more numerous, but this character is almost asvariable as the color. The antennae are serrate, beginning withthe fifth segment, as they are in the Florida specimen.TYPE LOCALITY: Big Pine Key, Florida.NEW RECORDS FOR BAHAMA ISLANDS: South Bimini Island,June 16-19, 1950.GENUS POLYCESTAKEY TO THE SPECIES OF Polycesta1. Elytra ferruginous, suture narrowly margined with nigro-aeneous; pronotaldisc deeply impressed..................... manni- Elytra black or violaceous; pronotal disc not or only slightly impressed. .. 22. Elytra black........................... 3- Elytra violaceous (female only) ........................... species?3. Scutellar carinae evident; abdomen with punctures large, dense, and deep............................................................... goryi6 AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES NO. 1517Scutellar carinae not evident; abdomen with punctures small, sparse, andshallow (female only).............. species?Polycesta manni FisherPolycesta manni FISHER, 1925, Proc. U. S. Natl. Mus., vol. 65, art. 9, pp. 17,18.No specimens of this species were collected on Bimini, andonly the type specimen has been available for study.TYPE LOCALITY: Mangrove Cay, Andros Island, Bahamas.Polycesta goryi SaundersPolycesta depressa CASTELNAU AND GORY (not Linnaeus), 1837, Histoirenaturelle ... des insectes coleopt~res, vol. 2, p. 3, pl. 1, fig. 2 (name preoccupied).Polycesta goryi SAUNDERS, 1871, Catalogus buprestidarum, p. 58.No specimens of this species were taken on Bimini.TYPE LOCALITY: Cayenne, Guiana.RECORDED DISTRIBUTION IN BAHAMA ISLANDS: Water Cay.Polycesta speciesTwo species belonging to this genus were collected on SouthBimini, but unfortunately all four specimens are females. Bothspecies appear to be rather closely related externally to P. goryirecorded from Water Cay, Bahamas, and P. angulosa and P.abdita from Florida. Many of the 13 species described from theWest Indies are closely related, and no study has been made ofthe male genitalia, which Barr (1949) found to be important inseparating the United States species. It was thought advisable,therefore, to delay the identification of these two species untilmales are available for study. One species is large (21.5 mm.)and violaceous and the other smaller (16.5-18.5 mm.) andblack. The latter is closely related to P. angulosa but differsby being less densely punctate beneath and by having the clypeustruncate rather than shallowly emarginate.GENUS PSILOPTERAPsiloptera bahamica FisherPsiloptera bahamica FISHER, 1925, Proc. U. S. Natl. Mus., vol. 65, art. 9, pp.60, 61.Fourteen specimens were collected on the blossoms of man-grove. Nine are greenish and five have a purplish tinge, but the1951 BUPRESTIDAE OF BAHAMA ISLANDS 7color as given by Fisher (1925) for the type series is variable,and the two samples are undoubtedly conspecific.TYPE LOCALITY: Eleuthera, Bahamas.NEW RECORDS FOR BAHAMA ISLANDS: South Bimini, June14-21, 1950.GENUS MELANOPHILAMelanophila notata (Castelnau and Gory)Aptura notata CASTELNAU AND GORY, 1837, Histoire naturelle ... des insectescoleopteres, vol. 1, p. 4.Two maculated specimens were collected and are identicalwith specimens from the United States and the West Indies.Fisher (1925) records the black form from Nassau, Bahamas.TYPE LOCALITY: "North America."RECORDED DISTRIBUTION IN BAHAMA ISLANDS: Nassau.NEW RECORDS FOR BAHAMA ISLANDS: South Bimini, June27, 1950; North Bimini, June 6, 1950.GENUS CHRYSOBOTHRISKEY TO THE SPECIES OF Chrysobothris1. Elytra with green maculations ................. .................... 2- Elytra without green maculations .......... ................ tranquebarica2. Pronotal margins evenly rounded anteriorly................... sexfasciata- Pronotal margins angulate at apical fourth.......................... 33. Color beneath black; form robust; male genitalia as in fig. 1A, B ............................................................. chryseola lerneri- Color beneath violaceous; form narrow; male genitalia as in fig. 1C, D . lepid~aChrysobothris tranquebarica (Gmelin)Buprestis impressa FABRICIUS, 1787, Mantissa insectorum, vol. 1, p. 182, no. 61(preoccupied).Buprestis tranquebarica GMELIN, 1788, Linnaeus, Systema naturae, 13 ed.,vol. 1, pt. 4, no. 4, p. 1932.No specimens of this widespread species were collected onBimini, but Fisher (1925) records it from Andros Island.TYPE LOCALITY: "Indiis."RECORDED DISTRIBUTION IN BAHAMA ISLANDS: MangroveCay, Andros Island.Chrysobothris sexfasciata SchaefferChrysobothris sexfasciata SCHAEFFER, 1918, Jour. New York Ent. Soc., vol. 26,pp. 212, 213.8 AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES NO. 1517This was the most common buprestid on the island, and 104specimens were collected on dead twigs of a number of species ofplants, both at night and during the day. The series is ratheruniform in the brilliant green markings, but the ground colorvaries from almost black to purplish black.TYPE LOCALITY: Key West, Florida.NEW RECORDS FOR BAHAMA ISLANDS: South Bimini, June5-18, 1950.Chrysobothris chryseola lemeri, new subspeciesFigures 1A and BSimilar to C. chryseola (Illiger) but differing from it by havingthe clypeus more deeply incised medially, anterior pronotalmargins more widely expanded and acute, elytra with basalbrilliant green maculation transverse, extending along basalmargin from basal impression to inner edge of humeral umbone,submedian bands continuous and slightly oblique, extendingfrom near suture to lateral margins, subapical bands continuous,straight, extending from near suture almost to lateral margin.Male genitalia the same as in C. chryseola. Male with apicalmargin of last abdominal segment evenly emarginate; femalewith margin sinuate, slightly produced medially.TYPE MATERIAL: Holotype male, allotype female collectedon South Bimini Island, Bahamas, British West Indies, June9 and 14, 1950 (M. A. Cazier and F. Rindge). Three male andone female paratopotypes, June 7-18. All types are in the Ameri-can Museum of Natural History.This subspecies resembles C. lepida Castelnau and Gory fromCuba, but can be distinguished by the male genitalia, less bril-liant coloration both above and below, and by the more expandedanterior pronotal angles. In C. chryseola lerneri the color aboveis almost black or with dark purplish reflections, and the undersurface is all black.This subspecies is named in honor of Mr. Michael Lerner.Chrysobothris lepida Castelnau and GoryFigures IC and DChrysobothris lepida CASTELNAU AND GORY, 1836, Histoire naturelle ... desinsectes coleopteres, vol. 2, p. 16, pl. 3, fig. 23.There is considerable doubt as to whether or not this speciesactually occurs in the Bahamas, since those specimens from1951 BUPRESTIDAE OF BAHAMA ISLANDS 9Bimini that might be referred to this species have been foundto be distinct on the basis of the male genitalia. However,Fisher (1925) records it from Long Island, Bahamas, and thereis another specimen in the United States National Museumlabeled Nassau, Bahamas. Specimens from these localitiesmay belong to C. chryseola lerneri, and, if so, C. lepida is knownonly from Cuba.TYPE LOCALITY: Cuba.SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHYBARR, WILLiAM F.1949. A revision of the species of the genus Polycesta occurring in the UnitedStates (Coleoptera, Buprestidae). Amer. Mus. Novitates, no. 1432,pp. 1-42.FISHER, WARREN S.1925. A revision of the West Indian Coleoptera of the family Buprestidae.Proc. U. S. Natl. Mus., vol. 65, art. 9, no. 2522, pp. 1-207.HowARD, RICHARD A.1950. Vegetation of the Bimini Island group, Bahamas, B.W.I. Ecol.Monogr., vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 317-349.

Buprestidae of Bahama Islands

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