Revision of the Australian leaf beetle genus Cheiloxena Baly, 1860 (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Spilopyrinae).

The endemic Australian leaf beetle genus Cheiloxena Baly, 1860 is revised, with eight valid species, three new: C. aitori sp. nov.; C. blackburni Reid, 1992; C. conani sp. nov.; C. frenchae Blackburn, 1893; C. insignis Blackburn, 1896; C. monga sp. nov.; C. tuberosa Reid, 1992; C. westwoodii Baly, 1860. A key is provided for their identification and all species are described. Cheiloxena species occur from southern Victoria to central Queensland. Hosts are Araliaceae (Astrotricha), Proteaceae (Lomatia) and possibly Myrtaceae (Eucalyptus).

Revision of the stag beetle genus Ryssonotus MacLeay (Coleoptera: Lucanidae), with descriptions of a new genus and three new species.

The Australian lucanid genus Ryssonotus MacLeay, 1819 is redefined and reduced to one species: R. nebulosus (Kirby, 1819). The supposed senior synonym of this species, Lucanus foveolatus Thunberg, 1806 is a junior synonym of the North American species Lucanus capreolus (Linnaeus, 1763) (new synonym). Safrina new genus, is described for the remaining species formerly in Ryssonotus and three new species: S. dekeyzeri new species, S. grandis (Lea, 1915) new combination, S. jaedoni new species, S. jugularis (Westwood, 1863) new combination, S. laticeps (Macleay, 1885) new combination, S. moorei new species, S. parallela (Deyrolle, 1881) new combination, and S. polita (Carter, 1921) new combination. Safrina grandis is a senior synonym of S. costata (Carter, 1929) new synonym. The type species of Safrina is Rhyssonotus laticeps Macleay, 1885. All species of Safrina are described and a key is provided to the adults of Ryssonotus and Safrina. The species are confined to the ranges of eastern mainland Australia. Diagnostic descriptions of the larvae of Ryssonotus and Safrina are provided. Safrina and Ryssonotus are placed in the tribe Chiasognathini and their systematic position is discussed.

Disentangling a taxonomic nightmare: a revision of the Australian, Indomalayan and Pacific species of Altica Geoffroy, 1762 (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Galerucinae).

The genus Altica Geoffroy, 1762, is revised for Australia, the west Pacific region and the Indomalayan Archipelago, with 6 valid species: A. aenea (Olivier, 1808); A. birmanensis (Jacoby, 1896); A. caerulea (Olivier, 1791); A. corrusca (Erichson, 1842); A. cyanea Weber, 1801; A. gravida (Blackburn, 1896). The following new synonymy is recognised, in original combinations, senior synonym first: Galeruca aenea Olivier = Haltica ignea Blackburn, 1889, syn. nov., = Haltica bicolora Jacoby, 1904, syn. nov., = Altica jussiaeae Gressitt, 1955, syn. nov.; Galeruca caerulea Olivier = Haltica elongata Jacoby, 1884, syn. nov., = Altica brevicosta Weise, 1922; Haltica corrusca Erichson = Haltica pagana Blackburn, 1896, syn. nov.; Haltica birmanensis Jacoby = Haltica indica Shukla, 1960, syn. nov. Altica brevicosta and A. birmanensis are removed from synonymy with A. cyanea and A. indica is removed from synonymy with A. caerulea. The Altica caerulea of Maulik and subsequent authors (not Olivier) is a misidentification of two species, correctly named A. cyanea and A. birmanensis. The Altica cyanea of Maulik and subsequent authors (not Weber) is a misidentification, correctly named A. aenea. Altica bicosta Shukla, 1960, is removed from synonymy with A. brevicosta and regarded as a valid species. Altica splendida Olivier, 1808, and Haltica ferruginis Blackburn, 1889, are transferred to Sutrea Baly, 1876, as S. splendida (comb. nov.) and S. ferruginis (comb. nov.). The type species of Sutrea is designated as S. elegans Baly, 1876. Altica albicornis Medvedev, 2004, is transferred to Phygasia Dejean, 1836, as P. albicornis (comb. nov.). Lectotypes are designated for A. australis, A. birmanensis, A. caerulea, A. cyanea, A. elongata, A. ignea and A. pagana. A neotype is designated for A. aenea. Altica caerulea is newly recorded from Australia and A. cyanea is removed from the Australian fauna. Altica corrusca and A. gravida are endemic to Australia; all published records of these species from outside Australia refer to the widespread Asian-Pacific species A. aenea. The single record of the European Altica oleracea (L., 1758) from New Caledonia is regarded as a label error and this species removed from the Pacific fauna. A key, based primarily on genitalic structures, is provided for the six regional species and all are redescribed. Host plant records are reviewed: A. corrusca is a minor agricultural pest; A. aenea, A. caerulea and A. cyanea may be useful for biocontrol of weeds.

Chrysomelid males with enlarged mandibles: three new species and a review of occurrence in the family (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae).

Three new species of Chrysomelidae with extraordinary extensions of the male mandibles are described: Scaphodius drehu sp. nov. and S. ferox sp. nov. (Cryptocephalinae), from New Caledonia, and Chaloenus gajah sp. nov. (Galerucinae), from Borneo. Designation of the type species of Chaloenus Westwood, 1861, is clarified. Synonymy of Scaphodius Chapuis, 1874, with Nyetra Baly, 1877, is supported. Four species of Ditropidus Erichson, 1842, described from New Caledonia, but hitherto regarded as nomina nuda, are shown to be available and are placed in Scaphodius: S. aeneus (Fauvel, 1907), comb. nov., S. nitidus (Fauvel, 1907) comb. nov., S. striolatus (Fauvel, 1907) comb. nov., S. sulcatus (Fauvel, 1907) comb. nov. Ditropidus opacicollis Fauvel, 1907, is also transferred to Scaphodius, as S. opacicollis (Fauvel) comb. nov. The genus Ditropidus does not occur on New Caledonia. Male mandible enlargment in the Chrysomelidae is reviewed: it is common in Cryptocephalinae, but otherwise restricted to a few species of Chrysomelinae, Eumolpinae and Galerucinae. Possible reasons for its distribution in the Chrysomelidae are discussed.

Population fluctuations of light-attracted chrysomelid beetles in relation to supra-annual environmental changes in a Bornean rainforest.

In Southeast Asian tropical rainforests, two events, severe droughts associated with the El Niño-Southern Oscillation and general flowering, a type of community-wide mass flowering, occur at irregular, supra-annual intervals. The relationship between these two supra-annual events and patterns of insect population fluctuations has yet to be clearly elucidated. Leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae) are major herbivores and flower-visitors of canopy trees, affecting their growth and reproduction and, in turn, affected by tree phenology; but their population fluctuations in the Southeast Asian tropics have not been extensively investigated. We examined population fluctuation patterns of the 34 most dominant chrysomelid species in relation to the two supra-annual events by conducting monthly light-trapping over seven years in a lowland dipterocarp forest in Borneo. Our results showed large community variation in population fluctuation patterns and a supra-annual (between-year) variation in abundance for most of the dominant chrysomelids that was significantly larger than the annual (within-year) variation. Specifically, in response to a severe drought in 1998, chrysomelid species exhibited different population responses. These results show that population fluctuations of individual species, rather than the entire assemblage, must be analyzed to determine the effects of changes in environmental conditions on the structure of insect assemblages in the tropics, especially in regions where supra-annual environmental changes are relatively more important than seasonal changes.