Paropsisterna hectica

A leaf beetle at Nimmo, NSW

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Identification history

Paropsisterna hectica	3 Feb 2019	KimPullen
Paropsisterna hectica	3 Feb 2019	MichaelBedingfield
Paropsisterna aurea	2 Feb 2019	RogerF
Unidentified	1 Feb 2019	Harrisi

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5 comments

RogerF wrote:

2 Feb 2019

A common species on snow gums at higher elevations e.g Brindabellas etc

MichaelBedingfield wrote:

2 Feb 2019

This one may be P. hectica....
There seems to be some discussion about it. See the ALA page for P. hectica :
https://bie.ala.org.au/species/urn:lsid:biodiversity.org.au:afd.taxon:8bea8ab6-55d5-4d88-bb50-12049419d7e3
and the ALA page for P. aurea
https://bie.ala.org.au/species/urn:lsid:biodiversity.org.au:afd.taxon:8874a5fb-daa3-42fe-aad6-7cd9944213b7
Martin Langerway says that at the Tasmanian form is called Paropsisterna aurea, and the similar mainland one called P. hectica, see::
https://www.jungledragon.com/specie/12282/tasmanian-gold.html

RogerF wrote:

3 Feb 2019

The specimen in my book was identified as P. aurea by Chris Reid but I agree that P. hectica is more likely, although they could be synonyms. If so which has priority. Its a very difficult genus (formerly Chrysoptharta) that has had many unsatisfactory and incomplete revisions.

RogerF wrote:

3 Feb 2019

I have looked at the information further and it does appear that the two species are identical and are synonyms. hectica was described by Boisduval in 1835, aurea by Blackburn in 1899. I will leave it to the experts.

KimPullen wrote:

4 Feb 2019

I'm not an expert in these, but I've confirmed it here as P. hectica because Martin says hectica and aurea are synonyms, although Reid 2012 (https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/CHRYSOMELIDAE) lists them separately. As Roger says, hectica is the older name.

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