The South African Meligethes of the M. amplicollis-complex (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae: Meligethinae).

摘要

The known South African species of the M. amplicollis-complex in the genus Meligethes are listed and revised. A diagnosis of this species complex is given, and five species, known to occur in the Western and Eastern Cape Provinces, and southern KwaZulu-Natal, are described or re-described and illustrated. A new sibling species, M. aspalathi sp. nov. is described from the southeastern Western Cape Province. M. chevrolati previously erroneously considered a synonym of M. amplicollis is resurrected to specific rank. M. imbricatus erroneously attributed to Australia, where Meligethes species are absent, is considered to be a synonym of M. chevrolati. Bionomical and ecological data on the species covered, which all use flowers of Fabaceae of the genus Aspalathus as larval host-plants, are also included.