Four species of Anchonus Schonherr occur in Florida: A. flol'idanus Schwarz, A. dul'yi Blatchley, A. blatchleyi Sleeper, and A. suillus (Fabricius), which is recorded from Florida and the continental United States for the first time. The species are distinguished in a key and illustrated. A lectotype is selected for A. floridanus

O'Brien, Charles W.

Thomas, Michael C.

English

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INSECTA MUNDI, Vol. 13, No. 3-4, September-December, 1999 On the genus Anchonus Schonherr in Florida (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Michael C. Thomas Florida State Collection of Arthropods Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services P.O. Box 147100 Gainesville, FL 32614-7100 and Charles W. O'Brien Center for Biological Control Florida A & M University Tallahassee, FL 32307-4100 Abstract. Four species of Anchonus Schonherr occur in Florida: A. flol'idanus Schwarz, A.  dul'yi Blatchley, A. blatchleyi Sleeper, and A. suillus (Fabricius), which is recorded from Florida and the continental United States for the first time. The species are distinguished in a key and illustrated. A lectotype is selected for A. floridanus. Introduction The predominantly Neotropical weevil genus Anchonus Schonherr is represented in Florida by three endemic species and a widespread Caribbean species that occur mostly in the coastal counties of the southern part of the state. They are frequently collected in association with driftwood, in which they are known to breed (Kovarick and O'Brien, unpub-lished data), and in the litter of coastal hardwood hammocks. Larvae of  An  chon  us were described from the Canal Zone attacking telephone poles and from the Bahamas in dead mulberry wood (Andersen 1952). Jean-Fran<;ois Voisin has published extensively recently on the tribe Anchonini, but has not yet dealt in detail with Anchonus (sens.  stl'.). Voisin (1992) retained the four Florida species in Anchonus (sens. stl'.), along with 15 Neotropical species, but assigned them to two different species groups, depending on the presence or absence of a tubercle at the apex of the elytra. 229 Specimens are difficult to identify. The litera-ture pertaining to the Florida species consists of iso-lated species descriptions; there are no keys and the sole illustration (Blatchley and Leng 1916) is of  poor quality and could apply to more than one species. Compounding the problem is the fact that adults usually are covered with a thick brownish-grey in-crustation which obscures surface characters (fig. Figure 1. Incrusted specimen of Anchonus sp. Note how incrustation obscures virtually all surface features. 230  Volume 13, No. 3-4, September-December, 1999, INSECTA MUNDI Figures 2-5. Anchonus spp., habitus, dorsal view. 2. A. blatchleyi; 3. A. floridanus; 4. A. duryi; 5. A. suillus. 1). To remedy this situation, we undertook a study of  the large number of  specimens in the Florida State Collection of Arthropods (FSCA) and the collection of the second author (CWOB). Materials and Methods Study material consisting of 1725 Florida specimens came from the Florida State Collec-tion of Arthropods and from the private collection of C.W.  O'Brien,  except for  a  small series of Anchonus suillus from  the collection of R.H. Turbow, Jr., Enterprise, AL. The type series of A. floridanus Schwarz from the U.S.  National Mu-seum of Natural History was examined and a lec-totype designated. To remove the incrustation, specimens were boiled in dilute detergent solution, brushed, and then placed in an ultrasonic cleaner to remove the last bits of crust. The adults are quite robust and will take fairly rough treatment without apparent dam-age. The genitalia were examined for both sexes of each species by removing the abdomen of relaxed specimens, and treating the contents in a solution of KOH at room temperature until the soft tissue disappeared. Genitalia were mounted in a drop of dimethyl hydantoin formaldehyde on a paper card pinned beneath the specimen. Drawings were done under a dissecting microscope fitted with a camera lucida.  Specimens prepared for scanning electron microscopy were gold sputter-coated. Results After cleaning, there are abundant surface char-acters visible which distinguish the four Florida spe-cies, as well as distinct genitalic differences, espe-cially in the spermatheca ofthe female. Once famil-iar with the characters, even moderately incrusted specimens can be identified without cleaning al-though heavily incrusted specimens still will need to be cleaned. Key to adults of the Florida species of Anchonus 1.  Base ofrostrum not to moderately incised (fig. 7, 9); elytral apices without tubercle (fig. 3, 5,  7,  9,  11, 13)  ............................................ 3 Base of rostrum deeply incised (fig.  6,  8); elytral apices with tubercle (fig.  2,  4,  6,  8, 10, 12) .......................................................  2 2(1).  All intervals more or less regularly, evenly tu-berculate; scutellar area of elytra not im-pressed (fig. 4, 8); surface between pronotal punctures subcarinate, shining (fig. 4);  sper-matheca as in fig. 16 .................................. . .  ......................... Anchonus duryi Blatchley All intervals not more or less regularly, evenly tuberculate (fig. 2,  6); sutural interval flat basally; 3rd and 5th intervals elevated basally; INSECTA MUNDI, Vol. 13, No. 3-4, September-December, 1999  231 Figures 6-9. Anchonns spp., habitus, lateral view. 6. A. blatchleyi; 7. A. floridanns; 8. A. dwyi; 9. A. suillus. surface  between  pronotal  punctures rounded, dull (fig. 2); spermatheca as in fig. l4 .................. Anchonus blatchleyi Sleeper 3.  3rd and 5th intervals strongly elevated through-out; tubercles throughout often elongate, with multiple erect setae (fig.  3,  7);  sper-matheca as in fig.15 ................................... . ................... Anchonus floridanus Schwarz 3rd and 5th  intervals barely elevated basally; 2nd and 4th intervals tuberculate throughout; most tubercles discrete with a single erect seta (fig. 5, 9); spermatheca as in fig.  17 .... ..................... Anchonus suillus (Fabricius) Anchonus floridanus Schwarz 1896: 42 - This spe-cies was described from "Cocoanut Grove, Fla., on the inner shore of Biscayne Bay." We have seen 545 specimens from the following Florida counties and localities: Dade: Miami; Matheson Hammock; In-dian River: Vero Beach; Monroe: Key West; Big Pine Key;  .5  mi N.  Flamingo, Snake Bight Trail. Months collected: II, III, V,  VI, VII, VIII, X,  XI, XII. Habitat data: under driftwood; sweeping weeds; in wine cellar. Schwarz (1896) reported it as occurring "  .. .in great abundance  ... under deep lay-ers of seaweed." Type specimens: Lectotype male, here desig-nated and so labelled, in USNM, "Biscayne Fla 4.5"/ "CollHubbard &Schwarz"/"Type No. 4236 U.S.N.M."/ "Anchonus floridanus  Sz."  [black on red];  7 paralectotypes, as follows: 2, same data as lectotype; 2, same except date "13.5"; , same except date "21.5"; 1,  same except date "30.4";  1,  same except date "26.4". There are six other specimens in the USNM labelled "Biscayne, Fla." that are not labelled as part of the  type series. Anchonus duryi Blatchley 1916: 521 - This species was described from Sarasota, West Palm Beach, and St. Petersburg. We have seen 615 specimens from the following Florida counties and localities: Dade: Fairchild Tropical Gardens; Matheson Hammock; Indian River: Roseland; Martin: Jensen Beach; Monroe: Bahia Honda Key;  Big Pine Key,  Boca Chica Key; Upper Sugar Loaf Key; Palm Beach: Palm Beach Is. Months collected: III, IV, V,  VI, XI,. Habitat data: in sand and debris near ocean beach; Hymenocallis sp.; sweeping; under driftwood; under board on dunes; Helianthus debilis. Anchonus blatchleyi Sleeper 1954: 185 - This spe-cies was described from four specimens, two from "Dade Co. (near Matheson Hammock)" and two with label data of "Dade Co."  only. We have seen 262 specimens, including one ofthe para  types, from the 232  Volume 13, No. 3-4, September-December, 1999, INSECTA MUNDI Figures 10-13. Anchonus spp., oblique view of elytral apices. 10. A. blatchleyi; 11. A. floridanus; 12. A. duryi;  13. A. suillus. following Florida counties and localities: Broward: Hallandale; Plantation; Collier: Naples; Dade: Brickle Hammock; Coral Gables; Fairchild Tropical Gardens; Homestead; Matheson Hammock; Miami; Miami Beach; Montgomery Botanical Center; North Miami Beach; Indian River: Vero Beach; Martin: Jensen Beach; Monroe: Big Pine Key; Stock Island; Palm Beach: Boca Raton; West Palm Beach. Months collected: II, IV,  V,  VI, VII, VIII, IX,  X, XI,  XII. Habitat data: in house; in house around baseboards; under bark; Dracaena marginata; in bathroom; Scaevola plumieri; Syzygium jambos; in roots and soil about roots of turnips; Berlese Sabal palm litter; Berlese Brazilian pepper and Sabal palm litter; under dead branches Schinus (Brazilian pep-per). Of the four Florida species, A. blatchleyi usu-ally is collected away from the immediate area of the shoreline or beach. It  is not normally associated with driftwood. Specimens have been collected miles from the coast (e.g.,  Homestead). This species has been collected repeatedly inside buildings, some-times in numbers. We feel that such infestations may be the result of weevils ovipositing in construction lumber left lying on the ground during construction. Anchonus suillus (Fabricius) 1792: 402 - Adults of this species superficially resemble those of A. duryi in their regularly turberculate elytra, but they dif-fer in the less incised rostral base and lack of apical elytral tubercles. The female spermatheca also is diagnostic. It  has been recorded from the Bahamas, Cuba, Dominican Republic,  Guadeloupe, Puerto Rico,  and St. Barthelemy (O'Brien and Wibmer 1982). It has not been recorded previously from Florida. Whether it occurs naturally in Florida, hav-ing dispersed without the aid of humans (e.g.,  via driftwood), or whether it was introduced uninten-tionally, perhaps in soil with plants from the Carib-bean, is unknown. The earliest Florida specimens known to us were collected in Key West in 1953. We have seen 303 Florida specimens ofthis species from the following counties and localities: Dade: Key Biscayne; INSECTA MUNDI, Vol. 13, No. 3-4, September-December, 1999  233 counties and localities: Dade: Key Biscayne; Fairchild Tropical Gardens; Matheson Hammock; Montgomery Botanical Center; Indian River: Vero Beach; Monroe: Big Pine Key;  Key West; Marathon; Palm Beach: Palm Beach Island. Months collected: II, IV,  V,  VI, VIII, X,  XI,  XII; Habitat data:  under driftwood; under dead branches Schinus (Brazilian pepper); under board on dunes; sweeping; berlese sifted Sabal palm hard-wood shrub; from soil and leaf litter below Ficus aurea. Acknow  ledgements 15 16  17 Figures 14-17. Anchonus spp., spermathecae.  14. A. blatchleyi; 15. A. floridanus; 16. A.  duryi; 17. A. suillus. We thank: Dr. Paul E. Skelley for his help in making the SEM images; Gloria House for making available the type series of Anchonus suillus; and R.H. Turnbow, Jr., for the loan of specimens. This is Entomology Contribution No.  886 of the Divi-sion of Plant Industry, Florida Department of Ag-riculture and Consumer Services. References cited Anderson, W.H. 1952. Larvae of some genera of Cossoninae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Ann. Ent. Soc. Amer. 45(2): 281-309. Blatchley, W.  S.,  and  C.  W.  Leng.  1916. Rhynchophora or weevils of north eastern America. The Nature Publishing Co., Indianapo-lis, Indiana. 682pp. O'Brien, C.W., and G.J. Wibmer. 1982. Annotated checklist of the weevils (Curculionidae sensu lato) of North America, Central America, and the West Indies (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea). Mem. Amer. Entomol. Institute 34: i - ix + 1 -382 Schwarz,  E.  A.  1894  Descriptions  of  two rhynchophorous Coleoptera from  semitropical Florida. Proc. Entomol. Soc. Wash., 1984-1896 3(1): 42-45. Sleeper, E. L.  1954. New Rhynchophora II (Co-leoptera, Curculionidae). Ohio J. Sci. 54(3): 180-186. Voisin, J. F. 1992. Notes sur les genres de la tribu des Anchonini 1.  Generalities, redefinition du genre Anchonus Schonherr et description de cinq genres et de deux sous-genres nouveaux (Co-leoptera, Curculionidae). Nouv. Revue Ent. (New Series) 9(3): 259-271. 

On the genus Anchonus Schönherr in Florida (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

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