Revision of the Genus Aethalodes with a New Subspecies from Anhui, China (Cerambycidae: Lamiinae)

Aethalodes is a tiny genus in the subfamily Lamiinae Latreille, 1825 of the family Cerambycidae Latreille, 1802. It was established in 1888 with Aethalodes verrucosus Gahan, 1988 as the type species. In order to have a better and more complete understanding of this genus and the two known subspecies, the scientific literature on the genus and 2 known subspecies was traced with the original descriptions carefully studied, and all the type specimens available are found to be female adults, which have been examined and compared with each other and also with the identified male specimens from other reliable sources. A revision of the genus Aethalodes and the two known subspecies has been made, as the original descriptions of the genus and nominate type subspecies by Gahan were incomplete and somewhat defective in lack of the male type specimen. The subspecies Aethalodes verrucosus formosanus Kriesche, 1924 is raised back to species level as A. verrucosus formosanus Kriesche, 1924 based on the newly-found significant differences in the length of the antennae as the decisive feature distinguishing it from A. verrucosus as an independent species. Fieldwork has been carried out to try to find and collect Aethalodes specimens with light and net trappings, and a new subspecies, Aethalodes verrucosus anhuiensis subsp. nov. is described from China’s Anhui Province with images, whose unique partial white squamosity on the black body is distinguished from the dark brown squamosity of the nominate subspecies. Both Aethalodes verrucosus verrucosus Gahan, 1988 and the newly-found subspecies may be rare in China. More field surveys are required to find and observe Aethalodes adults, their host plants and habitat in China, and efforts should be made to collect more specimens for further study.