Cryptocephalus obsoletus obsoletus Germar,1824

General description: 

Body somewhat red; the pronotum coarsely, densely punctured; the elytra seamed in black, with two brown diagonal bands, coarsely striped with curved interspaces. [Translated from the original German in Suffrian, 1858].

Diagnostic description: 

Pronotum: Dull light orange to red, usually bearing indistinct light markings in two oblique basal spots, and with lateral and apical margins light orange to yellowish; pronotum sometimes unicolorous or with light markings somewhat expanded. Punctation dual or surface finely alutaceous and smaller punctures completely obscured, larger punctures moderate to large, rather coarse, often rather elongate. Elytra: Creamy yellow to dull orange (punctures often dark) usually with two longitudinal vittae, orange to dark reddish, sometimes black in part, vague to rather distinct but not sharply delimited. Vittae of each elytron from bases of second, third, and fourth interval to apex of second interval and from humerus to apex of fourth to eighth intervals; inner vitta rarely black at base, outer vitta sometimes black at base and apex to nearly black throughout; rarely with no trace of vittae. With nine rows of punctures, fifth to eighth rows crowded, sixth and seventh usually somewhat confused; punctures often larger, nearly always more distinctly impressed than usual, finer apically; intervals, especially at sides, distinctly convex; inner and outer rows quite distinct at apex, always clearly uniting. Prosternum: Anterior margin in male produced downward into a strong, stout, blunt spine; anterior margin in female produced downward into a rather short, pointed lobe. Length: 4.3 to 6.0 mm.” (White, 1968: 74-5).

Associations: 

“On Ascyrum stans Michx. leaf, on cucumber, on tomato leaves, on lima bean foliage, on okra foliage, and on Hypericam fasciculatum Lam. blossoms” (White, 1968).

Distribution: 

"Olivier names North America as the place of origin, without further details, and I have found no specific information for the specimens from the Deyrolle collection available to me." [Translated from Suffrian, 1858]

USA: FL, GA, AL, SC, NC, VA, LA, MS (White, 1968).

Scratchpads developed and conceived by (alphabetical): Ed Baker, Katherine Bouton Alice Heaton Dimitris Koureas, Laurence Livermore, Dave Roberts, Simon Rycroft, Ben Scott, Vince Smith