Table Of ContentPROC. ENTOMOL. SOC. WASH.
102(1), 2000, pp. 99-104
DESCRIPTION OF THE LARVA OF HETAERINA INFECTA CALVERT
(ODONATA: CALOPTERYGIDAE)
RODOLFO NOVELO-GUTIERREZ
Institute de Ecologia, A.C. Departamento de Entomologia. Apartado Postal 63, 91000
Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico (e-mail: [email protected])
—
Abstract. The larva of Hetaerina infecta Calvert is described and illustrated based
upon two exuviae of reared final instar larvae, and six last instar larvae. The larva ofthis
species is compared to its close relative H. capitalis Selys. Data on distribution, habitat
and habits, as well as a key to larvae for the Mexican species ofHetaerina are provided.
—
Resumen. Se describe e ilustra la larva de Hetaerina infecta Calvert con base en dos
exuvias del ultimo estadio larval obtenidas por cria, y de seis larvas de ultimo estadio.
La larva de esta especie se compara con la de su pariente mas proximo, H. capitalis Selys.
Se proporcionan datos sobre su distribucion, habitat y habitos, asi como una clave para
las especies mexicanas de Hetaerina.
Key Words: Larva, description, key, Hetaerina, Calopterygidae, Odonata, Hidalgo State,
Mexico
The Neotropical genus Hetaerina cur- tierrez 1996) of which only three remain
rently comprises 37 species (Garrison with larvae unknown: H. infecta Calvert, H.
1990). Of these, 15 have had their larvae pilula Calvert and H. rudis Calvert. Here, I
described, although one of them by sup- provide the description of the larva of H.
position: H. americana (Fabricius) (Need- infecta.
ham 1903), H. auripennis (Burmeister)
(Santos 1970a), H. brightwelli (Kirby) Hetaerina infecta Calvert
(Santos 1972), H. caja (Drury) (Geijskes (Figs. 1-12)
—
1943; Zloty et al. 1993); H. capitalis Selys Material examined. 2 exuviae {S, 9
(De Marmels 1985; Zloty et al. 1993); H. reared), 6 last instar larvae (2 d, 4 9).
cruentata (Rambur), H. fiiscogiittata Selys MEXICO: Hidalgo State, Pemuxtitla, Rio
(Zloty et al. 1993), H. hebe Selys (Santos Zacuala (800 m asl), lO-MARCH-1994, R.
1970b), H. majiiscula Selys, H. miniata Se- Novelo leg., 1 6,2 9; 8-APRIL-1994, R.
lys (Zloty et al. 1993); H. moribimda Ha- Novelo leg., 2 6,2 9; Calnah (1,350 m
gen (Geijskes 1943 by supposition), H. oc- asl), 9-APRIL-1994, R. Novelo leg., 1 9.
cisa Hagen in Selys (Geijskes 1946; Zloty All deposited in the Entomological Collec-
et al. 1993); H. sempronia Hagen in Selys tion of Institute de Ecologia, A.C, Xalapa
(Zloty et al. 1993); H. titia (Drury) (Byers (lEXA). —
1930; Zloty et al. 1993); H. vulnerata Ha- Description. Exuviae yellowish brown;
gen in Selys (Provonsha and McCafferty mature larva yellowish with dark bands and
1973). In Mexico, 1 1 species have been re- dots (Fig. la); hind legs, when fully ex-
corded (Gonzalez-Soriano and Novelo-Gu- tended, exceeding caudal appendages; and
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON
100
—
Figs. 1-4. Details ofmorphology ofHetaerina larvae, la.b 4, H. infecta: Ic, H. capitalis. la. Dorsal view
oflast instarlarva(9) (left legs andantennae omitted, leftparaproct andepiproctdetached), lb, Ic, Dorsolateral
view ofpronotum showing lateral protuberance. 2, Right antenna, dorsal view. 3a, Ventrointernal view ofright
mandible. 3b, Internal view left mandible. 4a, Prementum, dorsal view. 4b, Detail ofleft labial palp,dorsalview.
VOLUME 102. NUMBER 1 101
long, triquetral, pointed paraprocts; with tuberance (Fig. lb); inferior margin of pro-
lateral spines on the last four abdominal pleura with two protuberances, that on
segments. proepimeron biggest; inferior margin of
Head: Moderately flattened, maculation meso- and metapleura with small digitiform
pattern as in Fig. la, maximum width 4.68- protuberance near pleural suture. Legs long
4.71 mm; cephalic lobes with a postero-lat- and slender (Fig. 1), pale, with three dark
eral low rounded tubercle; occiput widely brown rings on all femora and tibiae; pro-
concave. Antenna 7-segmented (Fig. 2): femur with many, terminally curved, point-
length of scape 4.06-4.11 mm, 85% of ed spines on anterior border, neither long
head width, with no setae on inner side ex- thin hairs nor prominent spines on posterior
ceeding one-third width of scape; relative border. Anterior and posterior wing pads
sizes ofantennomeres: 1.0, 0.33, 0.22, 0.14, wholly pale except for dark stripe on apical
0.08, 0.06, 0.04. Mouthparts creamy col- third of costal margin, reaching posterior
ored; labrum widely notched at apical mar- margin of abdominal segment five and bas-
gin. Mandibles with a separated molar lobe al half of abdominal segment six respec-
(Fig. 3), right mandible with five incisor tively.
cusps, subventral cusp largest and ventral Abdomen: Without middorsal protuber-
one with a small cusp at its base, molar lobe ances; lateral carinae with row of spines on
poorly developed, consisting of two small segments 2-9 increasing in length caudally,
cusps (Fig. 3a); incisor area ofleft mandible those of 7-9 ending in a spine which is
with five cusps, subventral cusp largest, small on 7, stout and slightly incurved on
molar lobe with seven cusps, dorsal one 8-9 (Fig. 5). Posterior border of tergites 8-
largest (Fig. 3b). Maxilla: Galeolaciniawith 9 lacking row of spines. Posterior margin
seven teeth, three long slightly incurved of segment 10 with 22-23 spines arranged
teeth on dorsal margin, three short slightly as follows (Fig. 6): 2-3 small middorsal
incurved teeth on ventral margin, apical spines, one large dorsolateral spine lateral
tooth largest; maxillary palp shorter than to midline; 3 dorsolateral spines, 2 large lat-
galeolacinia, ending in a robust blunt spine. eral spines and 2 large lateroventral spines
Labium: Prementum-postmentum articula- on each side, and 2 large ventrolateral
tion reaching posterior margin of mesoster- spines lateral to midline. Male gonapophys-
num; prementum long (Fig. 4a), basal half es pyramidal (Fig. 7), not reaching posterior
narrow then suddenly widened at 65% of margin of sternite 9. Female gonapophyses
length, maximum width of prementum 3.5 (Fig. 8) almost reaching posterior margin of
mm; depth of median cleft 2.0 mm or 57% sternite 10; in ventral view (Fig. 8a), apical
of maximum premental width; two setae on half of lateral valvae digitiform, slightly
internal side of each lobe of ligula, external convergent, and with small acutely-pointed
margin of ligula's lobes serrate. Labial palp tips; in lateral view as in Fig. 8b.
(Fig. 4b) ending in three, long, sharply- Caudal appendages: Male cercus digi-
pointed hooks, median longest, with a short tiform (Fig. 9), bluntly-pointed (Fig. 9a),
seta near articulation of movable hook, and convergent in dorsal view (Fig. 9b), and as
a row of4-5 spiniform setae on apical 25% long as tergite 10. Female cercus conical
of dorsal margin; internal margin finely ser- (Fig. 10), acutely-pointed (Fig. 10a), slight-
rulated with small spines subequally distrib- ly convergent (Fig. 10b), 50% as long as
uted along it. tergite 10. Paraprocts triquetral (Fig. 11), in
Thorax: Nota pale, yellowish brown, lateral view parallel-sided at basal 70%,
pleura dark brown; anterior margin ofpron- then edges gradually convergent; all carinae
otum concave at middle, posterior margin armed with irregularly sized and spaced
straight at middle; lateral margin with a spines (Fig. 1 lb); length:width proportion
low, rounded lateral slightly upturned pro- 5:1, all surfaces densely pigmented except
102 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON
Figs. 5-13. Details ofmorphology oiHetaeriiui larvae. 5-12, H. infecta. 13, H. capitalis). 5a, Ventral view
of sternites 7-10 (i). 5b, Dorsolateral view of lateral carinae of abdominal segments 7-9. 6, Caudal view of
10th abdominal segment showing distribution of marginal spines. 7, Ventral view of male gonapophyses. 8,
Female gonapophyses: a, ventral view; b, left lateral view. 9, Male cerci: a, left lateral view; b, dorsal view. 10,
Female cerci: a, left lateral view; b, dorsal view. 11, Right paraproct: a, right lateral view; b, detail ofpart of
ventral border. 12, Epiproct: a, left lateral view; b, detail ofpart ofdorsal border 13, Epiproct, left lateral view
(redrawn from De Marmels 1985).
.
VOLUME 102. NUMBER 1 103
for central, longitudinal, pale band, some- easily separated by the following features
times with pale oval areas on margins. Epi- (those ofH. capitalis in parentheses): Max-
proct largely foliaceous, laterally com- imum width ofhead 4.7 mm (4 mm); depth
pressed except for basal 40% which is tri- of median cleft 57% of the maximum pre-
quetral in cross-section, parallel-sided in mental width (45%); lateral protuberance of
lateral view with apex broadly rounded; pronotum widely rounded (Fig. lb) (more
pigmentation as in paraprocts, although ex- acute [Fig. Ic]); lateral carinae of abdomi-
uviae with color pattern as in Fig. 12; nal segments 4-9 spiny, those of 7-9 end-
length:width proportion 3:1, 66-72% as ing in a spine (only segments 8-9); length:
long as paraprocts. — width ratio of paraprocts 5:1 (4.25:1); epi-
Measurements (in mm). Exuviae (in al- proct 66-72% of length of paraprocts
cohol): Total length (excluding caudal ap- (60%).
pendages) 21.5-22; paraprocts 9.1-9.3; epi- Neither De Marmels (1985) nor Zloty et
proct 6.2; hind femur 8-8.1; male cerci 0.7. al. (1993) described the maculation pattern
Last instar larva (in alcohol): Total length ofthe caudal appendages ofHetaerina cap-
(excluding caudal appendages) 20-20.3; italis (although De Marmels, provided an
paraprocts 9.4-9.5; epiproct 6.2-6.3; hind excellent illustration). I found that color
femur 7.6-7.9; male cercus 0.65, female pattern usually is the best feature to sepa-
cercus 0.4. — rate larvae of these species in the field. He-
Distribution, habitat and habits. In taerina capitalis have pronounced oval pale
Mexico, H. infecta together with H. capi- areas along the margins of epiproct (Fig.
talis and H. rudis form the group of "giant 13) and paraprocts, while H. infecta usually
ruby-spots" which inhabit mountainous do not, although sometimes these pale areas
shaded streams at altitudes from 800 to are barely visible. In H. infecta the caudal
m
1800 running through cloud forests. He- appendages are concolorous (Figs. 11-12).
taerina infecta has been recorded from the
states of Chiapas, Hidalgo, Nayarit, Oaxa- Key to Larvae of Mexican Hetaerina
ca, San Luis Potosi, and Veracruz (Gonza-
This key follows Zloty et al. (1993),
lez-Soriano and Novelo-Gutierrez, 1996).
modified to include only Mexican species.
In Hidalgo State, H. infecta coexisted sym-
patrically with H. capitalis and H. cruen- 1 One pair of premental setae 4
tata; larvae of the first two species were - Two pairs ofpremental setae 2
found among decayed leaves and twigs in 2. Row of spines on posterior borders ofabdom-
zones ofmoderately flowing water, and also inal tergites 8-9; without lateral pronotal pro-
on big rocks at the bottom of small, clear, tuberances; paraprocts covered with short, tu-
bercular spines sempronici
still water pools, in the same manner as lar- - Row ofspines on posterior borders ofabdom-
vae of Archilestes spp. Larval populations inal tergites 8-9 lacking; with lateral pronotal
of H. infecta are apparently smaller than protuberances; paraprocts without tubercular
those of the closely related H. capitalis. spines 3
Only two adult specimens of H. infecta 3. Lateral pronotal protuberances broadly round-
were reared; they emerged two days after edindorsolateral view(Fig. lb);lateralcarinae
ofabdominal segments 2-9 with row ofspines
capture as ultimate instar larvae on 10- which are more conspicuous on 4-9, postero-
April-1994, very early in the morning when lateral margins of7-9 ending in a spine which
still dark (ca. 0500 h). is small on 7. flat and large on 8-9; posterior
margin ofsegment 10 with 22-23 spines (Fig.
Discussion 6) infecta
- Lateral pronotal protuberances more acute in
The larvaofHetaerina infecta closely re- dorsolateral view (Fig. Ic); lateral carinae of
sembles that of H. capitalis in several de- segments 8-9 with a row of conspicuous
tails of its morphology, although they are spines, ending in a postero-lateral flat large
104 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON
spine; posteriormarginofsegment 10with 16— De Marmels, J. 1985. On the true Hetaerina capitalis
17 spines capitalis Selys, 1873 and its sibling species Hetaerina
4. Mid-dorsal protuberances on abdominal seg- smaragdalis spec. nov. (Zygoptera: Calopterygi-
ments 1—9 cnientata dae). Odonatologica 14(3): 177-190.
— Mid-dorsal abdominal protuberances lacking 5 Garrison, R. W. 1990. A synopsis of the genus He-
5. Anterior border ofprofemur with a few, short, taerina with descriptions of four new species
thorn-like spines caja (Odonata: Calopterygidae). Transactions of the
— Anterior border of profemur without conspic- American Entomological Society 116: 175-259.
uous spines 6 Geijskes, D. C. 1943. Notes on Odonata of Surinam.
6. Postero-lateral abdominal spines on segments IV. Nine new orlittle known zygopterous nymphs
8-10 8 from the inland waters. Annals ofthe Entomolog-
— Postero-lateral abdominal spines on segments ical Society of America 36(2):165-184.
9-10 7 . 1946. Observations on the Odonata ofToba-
7. Labial palp with 3-4 spiniform setae at base go, B.W.I. Transactions of the Royal Entomolog-
of movable hook; each lobe of ligula almost ical Society ofLondon 97(9): 213-235.
twice as wide at base than maximum width of Needham, J. G. 1903. Life histories ofOdonata, sub-
median cleft americana (in part) order Zygoptera. Bulletin of the New York State
- Labial palp with 5-7 spiniform setae at base of Museum 68(18): 218-279.
movable hook; lobesofligulanarrowerbasally Gonzalez-Soriano, E. y R. Novelo-Gutierrez. 1996.
than the greatest width of the cleft . . . viilnerata Odonata, pp. 147-167. In Llorente-Bousquets, J.,
8. Lobes of ligula wider basally than maximum A.N. Garcia-Aldrete, y E.Gonzalez-Soriano, eds.,
widthofmedian cleft; basal halfofprementum Biodiversidad, taxonomia y biogeografiade artro-
0.33 as wide as length ofprementum podos de Mexico: Hacia una sintesis de su cono-
americana (in part) cimiento. UNAM-CONABIO, Mexico.
- Lobes ofligula almost as wide at base as max- Provonsha, A. W. and W. P McCafferty. 1973. Previ-
imum width of the median cleft; basal halfof ously unknown nymphs of Western Odonata
prementum 0.25 as wide as length of premen- (Zygoptera: Calopterygidae, Coenagrionidae).
tum 9 Proceedings of the Entomological Society of
9. Antennal scape with some stiff setae on inner Washington 75(4): 449-454.
side; pronotal protuberances small and situated Santos, N. D. 1970a. Contribui^ao ao conhecimento
at midsegment titia da fauna do estado da Guanabara 74. Descri^ao
- Antennal scape with some long, fine hairs; da ninfa de Hetaerina aitripennis (Burmeister,
pronotal protuberances broadly-based and ex- 1839) Selys, 1853 e notas sobre o imago (Odon-
tending to posterior end of segment occisa ata: Agrionidae). Atas da Sociedade de Biologia
do Rio de Janeiro 13(3-4): 115-117.
Acknowledgments . 1970b. Contribuigao ao conhecimento dafau-
na do estado da Guanabara e Arredores. 77. Des-
I thank Gordon Pritchard (Calgary, Al- cri^ao do Hetaerina hehe Selys, 1853 (Odonata:
berta), Rosser Garrison (Azusa, California), Agrionidae). Atas da Sociedade de Biologia do
Rio de Janeiro 14(3-4): 89-90.
Enrique Gonzalez-Soriano (Mexico, D.F.)
1972. Contribui^ao aoconhecimentodafauna
and an anonymous reviewer for their in- do.estado da Guanabara. 78. Descrigao da ninfa
valuable comments which improved the fi- de Hetaerina brii>htwel!i (Kirby, 1823) Selys,
nal manuscript. 1953 [sic - 1853](Odonata: Agrionidae). Atasda
Sociedade de Biologia do Rio de Janeiro 15(2):
Literature Cited 75-76.
Zloty, J., G. Pritchard, and C. Esquivel. 1993. Larvae
Byers, C. F 1930. A contribution to the knowledge of ofthe Costa Rican Hetaerina (Odonata: Calopter-
Florida Odonata. University of Florida Publica- ygidae) with comments on distribution. System-
tions 1: 1-327. atic Entomology 18: 253-265.
