Research Article |
Corresponding author: Christoph Germann ( germann.christoph@gmail.com ) Academic editor: Yannick Chittaro
© 2021 Christoph Germann.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Germann C (2021) Hypera temperei Hoffmann, 1958 – first discovery of the western alpine element in the Swiss Alps with biological details, and new morphological insights (Coleoptera, Curculionidae). Alpine Entomology 5: 5-13. https://doi.org/10.3897/alpento.5.61597
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Since its description based on a single female from the Maritime Alps in France, no other localities of this enigmatic alpine species have become public. In a scree slope in the Valais at high montane altitude Hypera temperei Hoffmann, 1958 was discovered for the first time elsewhere, in Switzerland. The species’ biology is unravelled, its habitat is described, and photographs of the male, larvae and pupa are presented. The re-investigation of the species morphology revealed that Hypera temperei is closest to H. postica (Gyllenhal, 1813), and not to H. viciae (Gyllenhal, 1813) as previously supposed. A revision of specimens in collections revealed that H. temperei is distributed even more eastern in the alpine Arc in Grisons at high montane to high alpine altitudes. Hence the species shows a considerably wider distribution in the Alps than supposed before.
Hyperinae, alpine species, new record, host plant, biology
The Swiss weevil fauna (Curculionoidea) comprising 1083 taxa is well explored, with a regularly updated checklist (
In the present contribution, the subfamily Hyperinae bears such an unexpected discovery, on which I report in the following. Hyperinae are represented in Switzerland with 31 species out of the genera Brachypera Capiomont, 1868, Coniatus Germar, 1817, Donus Jekel, 1865, Limobius Schoenherr, 1843 and Hypera Germar, 1817, where the latter genus includes eleven species, the presently recorded H. temperei included. All Hyperinae show an ectophagous lifestyle, which is rather exceptional in Curculionidae. At first sight, the larvae of Hyperinae are morphologically more similar to caterpillars of Lycaenidae than to typical larvae of other Coleoptera, and can be determined to species level using chaetotaxy (
The live photos were taken with an Olympus T4 tough camera partly in the field and partly in the lab. The mounted specimens and their genitalia were photographed with a Keyence 6000 photosystem at the NMB. All given coordinates in decimal degrees within square brackets should be understood as approximates of the localities written on the labels. The collected specimens of Hypera temperei from Valais, Zinal are conserved in the collections of the author, at the Naturhistorisches Museum Basel (NMB), and The Natural History Museum London (NHML). For subsequent DNA extraction two specimens are conserved in alcohol. Additional specimens were found and/or examined in the following collections: cCG – collection Christoph Germann, Rubigen.
During a first excursion to Zinal [46.13365°N, 7.62454°E], canton of Valais on the 2nd of July 2020, six larvae of at least two different larval stages (based on different sizes) of an unknown species of Hyperini were collected from Astragalus leontinus Wulfen growing along a path (Figs
On the 22nd and the 23rd of July 2020 a second excursion to the same place was taken in order to estimate the size of the whole habitat, the abundance of the host plant Astragalus leontinus (Figs
The subsequent morphological comparison of the adults from Zinal with the description of Hypera temperei by
However, a throrough comparison with the common and widespread Hypera postica (Gyllenhal, 1813) (Figs
Different life stages of Hypera temperei. 4. Young larva shortly after first moulding. 5, 6. Older larva on leaves and flowers of Astragalus leontinus. 7. Larva of Hypera postica for comparison. 8. Larva spinning a net cocoon. 9. Larva lying in the finished net cocoon. 10. Ventral view on pupa in an opened cocoon. 11. Freshly hatched adult. 12, 13. Freshly emerged adult males with contrasting colouration, the white bristles are well visible. 14. Ditto darker coloured male (Photos: C. Germann).
15. Habitus of H. temperei, dorsal view. 16, 18. Internal sclerites of penis of H. temperei in dorso-ventral, and lateral views. 17, 19. Ditto of H. postica. 20. Male sternite IX; rather thick of a hibernated specimens from the last year generation. 21. Spermatheca. 22. Female sternite VIII. 23, 25. Scales on pronotum of H. temperei. 24, 26. Ditto of H. postica (Photos: C. Germann).
The search for more specimens of H. temperei from Switzerland, but also elsewhere in the Alps, hidden under the common H. postica, resulted in the following specimens and localities (in chronological order): 1 male: “Suisse GR Samedan [46.53982°N, 9.86773°E] 15.7.1975 [above 1700 m a.s.l.], [leg.] P. Scherler» (
Additionally, one single female from the following locality was examined, and could be only assigned with doubts to H. temperei: “Suisse BE Rothorn [46.78701°N, 8.04596°E] Brienz 11.8.2000 [assumed altitude 2300 m a.s.l.], Mousses sol [sifted from], [leg.] P. Scherler” (
All present records of larvae, and two adults from two excursions were collected from Astragalus leontinus. Only three additional larvae were collected from A. penduliflorus. The breeding of the larvae was mostly successful. The larvae were held in small plastic boxes (for details see
The herein presented morphological re-investigation may help substantially to recognise Hypera temperei in the field and in collections, if male specimens are present; the female genitalia did not provide relevant differences when compared (Figs
27–29. Habitus dorsal of males of 27. Hypera temperei. 28. H. postica. 29. H. viciae. 30–35. Penis ventral and lateral views of 30, 31. H. temperei (arrow indicates typically constricted tip). 32, 33. H. postica (Baden-Württemberg). 34, 35. H. viciae (Baden-Württemberg), Photos: C. Germann.
The plant on which
Map with records of Hypera temperei (red dots) and potential localities (blue dots) where the host plant Astragalus leontinus grows (only validated records from the southern side of the central Alps were included, taken from Info Flora; https://www.infoflora.ch/de/flora/astragalus-leontinus.html). Map background by www.simplemappr.net.
I cordially thank Laura Farina (Casatenovo, Italy) for her companionship during the first excursion, and Michael Jutzi (Info Flora) for verifying the determination of Astragalus leontinus, and providing specific data on that host plant. I am thankful to Hans Mühle (Nußdorf am Inn, Germany) for the donation of the Hypera-specimens used for comparison, and to Hannes Baur (