VITTATE CHRYSOMELID BEETLES DISONYCHA — BLAKE 75 



veloped lateral vitta, and I have not found any other specimens in 

 any collection. It is quite possible, however, that, as in the form of 

 D. caustica described as D. nigrosuturalis, there are fully vittate speci- 

 mens. The wide explanate margin on both prothorax and elytra is 

 striking. 



Disonycha caustica Harold 



Figure 68 



Disonycha caustica Harold, Coleopterologische Hefte, vol. 14, p. 106, 1875. 

 Disonycha nigrosuturalis Bryant, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 11, vol. 11, p. 701, 

 1944. 



From 5.5 to 6.5 mm. in length, oblong oval, faintly shining, aluta- 

 ceous; yellow; a dark occipital spot; pronotum with two round spots 

 on each side of an elongate median one; elytra with a sutural vitta 

 joining at apex with a narrow submarginal vitta, latter sometimes 

 vanishing before the middle, and a wide median vitta, often inter- 

 rupted with only traces on the humerus and below it and at apex; 

 the legs with apices of femora and tibiae dark, the body beneath pale 

 with the breast sometimes dark. 



Head coarsely but not densely punctate, pale with a broad dark 

 occipital spot running down into a point, tubercles well marked, often 

 brownish, interantennal space broad, rounded into a flattish carina, 

 excavate below antennal sockets, mouthparts brownish. Antennae 

 dark, with the three or four basal joints paler, sometimes the distal 

 joints brownish. Prothorax about twice as broad as long, narrowed 

 towards apical angles, moderately convex and with a faint depression 

 along base over the scutellum, surface alutaceous and rather densely 

 and coarsely punctate, pale yellow with two spots in anterior part 

 sometimes joined with a tiny elongate median spot. Elytra less 

 alutaceous and faintly shining and a little more finely but densely 

 punctate, pale yellow, with a dark sutural vitta joining at apex with 

 a narrow submarginal one that frequently vanishes or becomes washed 

 out along the side above the middle, a broad median vitta also often 

 interrupted or with traces on the humerus, below it, and at apex, 

 epipleura pale, sometimes with brownish edge. Body beneath pale, 

 sometimes with the breast and sides of abdomen brownish, legs pale 

 with apices of femora and tibiae darker and tarsi deep brown or piceous. 

 Length 5.5 to 6.5 mm., width 2.6 to 3.4 mm. 



Type: Female, in MCZ (Bowditch collection), also a paratype and 

 eight other paratypes in the general collection there, all from C6rdoba, 

 Argentina, collected by Davis. 



Other localities: Bolivia: Machareti, G. L. Harrington. Para- 

 guay: Sapucai, W. T. Foster. Argentina: Desaguadero, Mendoza, F. 

 Moiir6s ; Rosario de la Frontera, El Naranjo, Monr6s; Pico, La Pampa, 



