A new species of bromeliad-feeding Cephaloleia Chevrolat (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Cassidinae) from Costa Rica: evidence from DNA barcodes, larval and adult morphology and insect diets.

ABSTRACT: The Neotropical genus Cephaloleia Chevrolat (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae) includes 214 species distributed from the south of Mexico to Argentina. Cephaloleia beetles feed mostly on plants from the order Zingiberales. The interactions between Cephaloleia beetles and their Zingiberales host plants is proposed as one of the oldest and most conservative associations. Here we describe a new species of Cephaloleia (Cephaloleiakuprewiczae sp. n.) that feeds on two species of bromeliads (Pitcairniaarcuata and Pitcairniabrittoniana, Bromeliaceae: Pitcairnioideae). Cephaloleiakuprewiczae was previously described as Cephaloleiahistrionica. This study includes evidence from DNA barcodes (COI), larval and adult morphology and insect diets that separates Cephaloleiakuprewiczae from Cephaloleiahistrionica as a new species.

SUBMITTER: Garcia-Robledo C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4319059 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature