Abstract
Apion brevicorne Gerstaecker, 1854 (Coleoptera: Brentidae: Apioninae) is an ecologically and economically important weevil that feeds on seeds and tissues of trees in the genus Copaifera L. (Fabaceae). Although the genus Apion comprises 16 species restricted to the Paleartic region, the Neotropical species A. brevicorne is still considered as incertae sedis due to the absence of a systematic study about it. The first descriptions and illustrations of Apion brevicorne are provided here. Diagnostic characters of larva and pupa are included and compared with 13 species from other biogeographic regions. Details of immature Apioninae species associated with host plants from the Neotropical region are described for the first time.
Highlights
The subfamily Apioninae (Brentidae) (Kuschel, 1995; Wanat, 2001; Marvaldi et al, 2002; AlonsoZarazaga & Wanat, 2014) comprises often very small beetles (0.75‐13.00 mm long; more than 95% known species is less than 3 mm)
Apion brevicorne Gerstaecker, 1854 (Coleoptera: Brentidae: Apioninae) is an ecologically and economically important weevil that feeds on seeds and tissues of trees in the genus Copaifera L. (Fabaceae)
The genus Apion comprises 16 species restricted to the Paleartic region, the Neotropical species A. brevicorne is still considered as incertae sedis due to the absence of a systematic study about it
Summary
The subfamily Apioninae (Brentidae) (Kuschel, 1995; Wanat, 2001; Marvaldi et al, 2002; AlonsoZarazaga & Wanat, 2014) comprises often very small beetles (0.75‐13.00 mm long; more than 95% known species is less than 3 mm). Fifty-three species remain incertae sedis, including Apion brevicorne Gerstaecker, 1854 (see De Sousa et al, 2019) We assume that this species most likely does not belong in Apion, which is monophyletic and includes 16 species restricted to the Palearctic region (Alonso-Zarazaga, 1990). Because Apion brevicorne is an important fruit and seed predator of Copaifera spp., here we describe and illustrate in detail the external morphology of their last larval instar and their pupa This is the first description of immature stages in the Neotropical Apioninae, and this information is fundamental for future studies of the biology, ecology, taxonomy and systematics of weevils in the Neotropical region, and for providing foundations for a future re-assessment of the Neotropical species currently classified in Apion
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