16) males with strong tubercles on first and fifth visible tergites (Figs 21, 22) spermatheca with broadly and irregularly coiled stem, coils overlapping (Fig. Key to Canadian species of Apimela and Gyronycha 1Īntennomeres VII-X slightly to strongly transverse (Figs 1, 9, 27) tarsal claws small (Figs 1, 9) males without tubercles on first and fifth visible tergites spermatheca with sinuate stem, coils partial and not overlapping (Figs 8, 15, 29) ( Apimela)Īntennomeres VII-X moderately to strongly elongate (Figs 16, 23) tarsal claws large (Fig. Casey (1894) considered Gyronycha as allied to Central American Bamona Sharp but his hypothesis needs further studies to be confirmed. Externally, species of Apimela are very similar to those of Alisalia Casey, which live in very similar habitats, but the latter have shorter elytra and mesoventrite and have different type of genitalia ( Klimaszewski et al. Seevers (1978) pointed out that Apimela and Meotica Mulsant & Rey are similar in having small, slender and compressed body but considered Apimela to be closely related to Gyronycha due to elongate elytra and mesoventrite, and the distinctive form of spermatheca. Known males of Gyronycha species, have carniform tubercules on the first and fifth visible tergites (Figs 16, 21, 22), and females are lacking these structures.
We have discovered that the spermathecal capsule in Apimela and Gyronycha has an apical or apico-lateral, narrow, tubular projection, which may be indicative of close phylogenetic relationship between both genera. USA state abbreviations follow those of the US Postal Service.ĭiscussion. USNM United States National Museum, Washington, D.C, USA. Webster collection, Fredercton, New Brunswick, Canada. Martineau Insectarium, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. LFC Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Laurentian Forestry Centre, R. Depository/institutional abbreviationsĬNC Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids, and Nematodes, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.įMNH Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, USA. Species within genera are arranged alphabetically in the text and in the table. In the species descriptions, microsculpture refers to the surface of the upper forebody (head, pronotum and elytra). The ventral side of the median lobe of the aedeagus is considered to be the side of the bulbus containing the foramen mediale, the entrance of the ductus ejaculatorius, and the adjacent ventral side of the tubus of the median lobe with the internal sac and its structures (this part is referred to as the parameral side in some recent publications) the opposite side is referred to as the dorsal part. Morphological terminology mainly follows that used by Seevers (1978). Images of the entire body and the genital structures were taken using an image processing system (Nikon SMZ 1500 stereoscopic microscope Nikon Digital Camera DXM 1200F, and Adobe Photoshop software). Extracted genital structures were dehydrated in absolute alcohol, mounted in Canada balsam on celluloid micro-slides, and pinned with the specimen from which they originated. Materials and methodsĪll specimens in this study were dissected to examine the genital structures. For all Nearctic species of Apimela and Gyronycha see below the checklist in this paper. Our modified diagnoses of the two genera are included in the key to species.
We have modified Seevers’s (1978) diagnosis in separating Apimela from Gyronycha when making generic assignment of the new species discovered in New Brunswick (NB). The generic type of Apimela is the Palaearctic species A. longipennis Casey), with the genus Apimela. Seevers (1978) synonymized genus Gyronychina Casey, 1911, described from one California species ( G. valens Casey as a type species of Gyronycha, because Casey (1894) did not designate specifically one species as the types of the genus. Seevers (1978) redefined the two genera and distinguished Apimela from Gyronycha by smaller and more slender body, transverse pronotum, transverse antennomeres IV-X, presence of a tubercle arising from the margin of first and fifth visible male tergites, and the distinctive form of the spermatheca (Fig. longipennis (Casey, 1911), all from California. Moore and Legner (1975) reported three valid Nearctic species of Apimela: A. The species of Gyronycha described by Casey represent a mixed group and most of them belong to the genus Apimela, for details see the checklist of Apimela and Gyronycha further in the text. Casey (1885) described Calodera attenuata from California, which was transferred by Seevers (1978) to Apimela Mulsant & Rey. Later, Casey (1911) added two Gyronycha species from North Carolina and New York. The genus Gyronycha was described by Casey (1894) to accommodate his seven new species distributed in the USA (CA, NC, NJ, NY, NV, TX).