Notes on the identity of Acmonia aegrota and Acmonia spilota, two Fulgorids from South America


The above image from Porion 1994, labeled Acmonia aegrota, depicts a beautiful and unique species, quite different from other Acmonia. It is also not Acmonia aegrota.

Porion 1994, while being a monumental work in terms of new world Fulgoridae, is not without errors. This post seeks to correct one of them to help progress the understanding of this group of insects

Acmonia aegrota was described from Colombia in 1860 by Gerstaecker. The original description, translated to english, includes: "elytra ... almost translucent yellowish green... the basal third part of the broad anterior margin bright red.... The hindwings are ... red over the smaller basal half, otherwise light smoky brown...". Gerstaecker includes the folloing illustration of this species:

While the color characters aren't possible to assess from a black and white illustration, it becomes clear that Gerstaecker's description and illustration of Acmonia aegrota is not in agreement with Porion's interpretation.

A specimen in the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin is labeled Acmonia aegrota, and agrees in all respects with Gerstaecker's description. This is the correct interpration of the species:

The question then becomes, if the species pictured in Porion 1994 is not Acmonia aegrota, what is it? Costa Lima 1942, in Insetos de Brasil, helps provide an answer, with this image labeled Acmonia maculata:

Gerstaecker again incudes a description of Acmonia maculata. Translated to english, "head, thorax, and elytra ochraceous-black variegated... [hind]wings black brown, base pale blue-marked, a small hyaline spot". Metcalf 1947 includes Acmonia maculata as a synonym of Acmonia spilota, and several specimens of Acmonia spilota are again present in the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin:

Based on these things, the correct interpretation of Acmonia aegrota sensu Porion 1994 should be Acmonia spilota.

Posted on 27 de março de 2023, 11:09 AM by psyllidhipster psyllidhipster

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