Phylogenetic analysis of the Neotropical scarab beetle tribe Aegidiini (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Orphninae) with description of new taxa.

In the Neotropics, orphnine scarab beetles are represented by the endemic tribe Aegidiini Paulian, 1984 with five genera and over 50 species. Phylogenetic analysis based on morphological characters of all supraspecific taxa of Orphninae showed that Aegidiini is comprised of two lineages. New subtribes, Aegidiina subtr. nov. (Aegidium Westwood, 1845, Paraegidium Vulcano et al., 1966, Aegidiellus Paulian, 1984, and Onorius Frolov & Vaz-de-Mello, 2015, and Aegidininasubtr. nov. (Aegidinus Arrow, 1904) are proposed to better reflect this phylogeny. Two new species of Aegidinus are described: A.alexanderisp. nov., from the Yungas in Peru and A.elbaesp. nov. from the Caqueta moist forests ecoregion in Colombia. A diagnostic key to Aegidinus species is given.

Taxonomic identification accuracy from BOLD and GenBank databases using over a thousand insect DNA barcodes from Colombia.

Recent declines of insect populations at high rates have resulted in the need to develop a quick method to determine their diversity and to process massive data for the identification of species of highly diverse groups. A short sequence of DNA from COI is widely used for insect identification by comparing it against sequences of known species. Repositories of sequences are available online with tools that facilitate matching of the sequences of interest to a known individual. However, the performance of these tools can differ. Here we aim to assess the accuracy in identification of insect taxonomic categories from two repositories, BOLD Systems and GenBank. This was done by comparing the sequence matches between the taxonomist identification and the suggested identification from the platforms. We used 1,160 COI sequences representing eight orders of insects from Colombia. After the comparison, we reanalyzed the results from a representative subset of the data from the subfamily Scarabaeinae (Coleoptera). Overall, BOLD systems outperformed GenBank, and the performance of both engines differed by orders and other taxonomic categories (species, genus and family). Higher rates of accurate identification were obtained at family and genus levels. The accuracy was higher in BOLD for the order Coleoptera at family level, for Coleoptera and Lepidoptera at genus and species level. Other orders performed similarly in both repositories. Moreover, the Scarabaeinae subset showed that species were correctly identified only when BOLD match percentage was above 93.4% and a total of 85% of the samples were correctly assigned to a taxonomic category. These results accentuate the great potential of the identification engines to place insects accurately into their respective taxonomic categories based on DNA barcodes and highlight the reliability of BOLD Systems for insect identification in the absence of a large reference database for a highly diverse country.

A new Compsodactylus Fuhrmann (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae) from Peru.

The tribe Macrodactylini (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae) is distributed throughout the world, comprising approximately 1028 species and 80 genera; the majority of genera are found in the Neotropical Region, where 46 genera occur (Katovich 2008; Fuhrmann 2012; Smith Mondaca 2015; Fuhrmann Vaz-de-Mello 2017).

Description of a new species of Coelosis Hope from Guajira Peninsula, northern Colombia (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Dynastinae, Oryctini).

A new species of Coelosis is described from the Macuira Mountains, Guajira Peninsula, northern Colombia. A character comparison between this new and other previously known Colombian species in the genus is presented. A key for the identification and distributional map for Colombian species of Coelosis is provided, as well as a key for the genera included in the tribe Oryctini in Colombia.

ResumenUna nueva especie de Coelosis es descrita de la Serranía de la Macuira en la Peninsula de la Guajiraen el extremo norte de Colombia. Se ilustran los caracteres diagnósticos y se compara la nueva especie con las especies previamente reportadas para Colombia. Se provee una clave para la identificación y un mapa de distribución de las especies de Coelosis en el país al igual que una clave para los géneros de la tribu Oryctini en Colombia.

Description of immature stages of Platycoelia valida Burmeister, 1844 (Coleoptera: Melolonthidae: Rutelinae: Anoplognathini)

Abstract Description of immature stages of Platycoelia valida Burmeister, 1844 (Coleoptera: Melolonthidae: Rutelinae: Anoplognathini). Third instar larva and pupa of P. valida are described for the first time based on specimens collected in soils of yucca and coffee fields in Cundinamarca, Colombia. Illustrations of diagnostic structures and keys to the known third-stage larvae of Rutelinae tribes and Platycoelia species are included. Data on the biology and distribution of P. valida in Colombia are also commented.