Diario del proyecto Insects - Southern Africa (identified for the 1st time on iNat or difficult to identify)

Original description (Homoeocerus plagiatus) in:
Germar, C. F. 1838. Hemiptera Heteroptera Promontorii bonae spei nundum descripta, quae collegit C. F. Drege et proponit C. F. Germar. Revue Entomologique (Silbermann) 5:147-148.
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/82337#page/149/mode/1up
The thorax is muted, greyish-testaceous, the head and thorax above are brown, the antennae are red-variegated, the longitudinal stripes of the elytra are black. [...]

Redescription (Prismatocerus plagiatus) in:
Stål. 1866. Hemiptera Africana 2:66, 67
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/35344#page/340/mode/1up
Translated from Latin:
Dark-cinnamon, pubescent, underneath paler, brownish-punctate; Abdominal margin pale, thinly
punctuated, blood-red above, with a narrow ribbon on both sides, and with black apical segments; the first and fourth joints of the antennae are dark brown, the second and third are yellow-rusty, with a black tip, and the third tip is distinctly expanded; the hemelytra are yellow-cinnamon, with a dense brown-pointed clavus, corium decorated with an irregular black stripe of leather near the costal margin; membrane dark brown, Hindwings infustcated.
Length 15 - 17 mm, width 4 - 5.5 mm.

Photo of Philonus nigrovittatus Stål, 1855 (synonym).
http://www2.nrm.se/en/het_nrm/n/homoeocerus_nigrovittatus.html

References:
http://coreoidea.speciesfile.org/Common/basic/Taxa.aspx?TaxonNameID=1188882

iNat observations:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/190281939
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/144846640

Original description in:
Obst, P. 1908. Carabidae, in: Zoologische und anthropologische Ergebnisse einer Forschungsreise im westlichen und zentralen Südafrika, ausgeführt in den Jahren 1903-1905 mit Unterstützung der Kgl. Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin von Dr. Leonhard Schultze. Denkschriften der Medicinisch-Naturwissenschaftlichen Gesellschaft zu Jena 13.
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/37102417#page/109/mode/1up

Similar to frontalis Boh., the sides of the head and prothorax are whitish-banded, the head is longitudinally broadly bare in the middle, very shiny, the pronotum very convex, the elytra covered with scales or pale hairs, the hairy band is broad, sutural, brown, disappearing at the very apex, the edge narrowly whitish-pubescent, legs black, posterior tibiae with very large red calcar, and with red claws.

Type locality: Omaruru river mouth, Namibia

iNat observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/220479535

Elytra blackish with a basal triangular band and an apical yellowish-red patch on each side.

Original description & illustration in:
Boheman 1848. Insecta Caffrariae annis 1838-1845 a J.A. Wahlberg collecta.
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/37989#page/83/mode/1up

Yellow-testaceous, opaque; eyes and mandibles at the tip black; head and prothorax finely punctate; elytra finely, densely granulated, blackish-brown, base and two large round spots towards the apex, yellow-testaceous, slightly furrowed on the back. Length 7 mm width. 4 mm.
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/37989#page/645/mode/1up

Redescription in:
Peringuey, L. Descriptive catalogue of the Coleoptera of South Africa. The Coleoptera of South Africa. Part II. Carabidae. Transactions of the South African Philosophical Society, 7
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/36877446#page/217/mode/1up
Head, prothorax, palpi, antennae, and legs pale brick-red; elytra fuscous black, finely shagreened, broadly but not deeply striated, with a basal yellowish red triangular band, and on each side a large, ovate, subapical macula of the same colour, nearer to the outer margin than to the suture; epipleurae yellowish; abdomen black above, infuscate underneath, with the central part yellowish red.
Length 7 mm.; width 4 mm

iNat observations:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/141455554

A dull black, very fast running diurnal species. Antennae without long setae. Tarsal claws unequal. Elytra with three somoothed and raised costae. Body subcordiform, strongly attenuate posteriorly.

Original description & illustration in:
Deyrolle, A. 1867. Monographie de la Tribu des Zophosites. Annales de la Société entomologique de France. Volume: ser.4:t.7 (1867)

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/101298#page/232/mode/1up
Translated from French:
Large oval, not very shiny black.
Head moderately broad, quite long, covered with fine, tight punctuation, especially on the sides; frons marked with a vague and poorly defined furrow. Epistome less strongly punctuated in females than in males; its suture very weak, but distinct on the sides, none in the middle. Antennae reaching the posterior angles of the pronotum; their articles proportionate as has been said. Mentum and outer side of mandibles rough.
Pronotum a little more twice as wide as long, barely narrower at the base than the elytra, noticeably narrowed forward, rounded on the sides, poorly rounded at the base, which is weakly sinuous near the corners, which are acute; deeply indented anteriorly, quite strongly convex in the middle, quite widely thinned on the sides, with punctuation very fine, spaced, indistinct in the middle, tighter on the sides and near the corners; along the base there is a row of slightly stronger and more pointed points; near the sides they occupy the bottom of a shallow furrow, parallel to the base.
Elytra short, oval, poorly rounded on the sides, their greatest width being towards the middle, slightly attenuated near the end, each rounded a little outside the suture; convex; each elytron with four costae approximately equidistant, besides the suture, which is slightly raised; the sutural very close to the suture and subparallel; the two dorsals meeting more or less distinctly at their ends; the marginal costa low, very close to the edge; elytra completely covered in big tight punctures, more or less confluent on the sides and behind.
Epipleurae covered with punctures not very tight, moderately large, from each of which a black hair emerges. Rough prosternum and mesosternum; metasternum sparsely and not very strongly punctuated; its deep furrow, extended almost to the half; episterna of the prothorax quite strongly wrinkled; those of the mesothorax and metathorax are almost smooth and only show a few fine punctures.
Abdomen with only scattered punctures, quite fine, but well marked; 3° and 4° smooth segments in the middle.
The female differs from the male, in addition to the shape of her abdomen and the less considerable length of her legs, by her more convex elytra, more briefly narrowed near the end, with less projecting ribs.

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/101298#page/967/mode/1up

Illustrated in:
Koch C. 1955. Monograph of the Tenebrionidae of southern Africa Vol I (Tentyriinae, Molurini Trachynotina: Somaticus Hope). Transvaal Museum Memoir 7
Plate 1, fig 3: https://journals.co.za/doi/pdf/10.10520/AJA0000012_541

Distribution: Sublittoral, on the Namib coast from Porto Alexandre to south of Lüderitz. It can be commonly found on the beaches where it forages along the tide-marks. Often running between plants on wind-blown sand or in the sand under plants, often also at the beach under dead seaweed.

iNat observations:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/195373601
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/11333114
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/11333109

Elytra pitch brown - blueish green metallic, apices reddish brown; length 3,7-4,6 mm

Original description & illustration in:
Germar. 1834. Revue entomologique 2.
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/12255239#page/334/mode/1up
This species is from the Cape of Good Hope; it is red, slightly punctured above, not hairy. The eyes are black; the elytra are green bluish with a metallic reflection, their edge and their apex are brick red.

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/12255239#page/335/mode/1up

Key in:
Scherer, G. 1983. Review of the Genus Chirodica Germar. Ent. Arb. Mus. Frey 31/32, 1983 173
https://www.zobodat.at/pdf/Entomologische-Arbeiten-Museum-Frey_31-32_0173-0175.pdf

Ecology:
This genus is strictly associated with Proteaceae.

iNat observation:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/221635800

Original description and illustration in:
Distant, W. L. 1904. On South African Tingidae and other heteropterous Rynchota. Transactions of the South African Philosophical Society 4.
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/36985801#page/459/mode/1up
Umber-brown; head immersed to eyes, which are black and almost touch the anterior margin of the pronotal hood; antennae with the first and second joints umber-brown, remainder mutilated in specimen described; pronotum with the interior of many of the areolets creamy- white, especially on the produced lateral and posterior areas, its disk piceous; elytra with the discoidal and subcostal areas almost uniform umber-brown, the costal and sutural areas creamy-white with the margins of the areolets brown, the first with large medial apical brown spots and some small lateral spots of the same colour; body beneath and legs piceous; head armed with a long semi-erect spine in front of each eye; pronotal hood with an erect discal anterior spine, pronotal lateral areas strongly ampliated on each side, slightly directed upward, their apices angularly truncate, their margins shortly spined, pronotal disk tricarinate; elytra with the discoidal a little wider than the subcostal area, areolets small, dense, with their margins thick and coarse, costal and sutural areas with the areolets larger and with finer margins, lateral margins of the first very distinctly spined.
Long. 41, mm.

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/36985801#page/451/mode/1up

Illustrated in:
Deckert, J. & Göllner,-Scheiding U. Lace bugs of Namibia (Heteroptera, Tingoidea, Tingidae)
https://www.zobodat.at/pdf/DENISIA_0019_0823-0856.pdf

Key to A. junodi group
https://zenodo.org/records/4955830

iNat observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/222706120

Trogonospila exigua

I was encouraged by Traian Bertau to contact the professor, Pierfilippo Cerretti, regarding the ID of this beautiful tachinid fly. His response is as follows:

‘The images you sent clearly show Trogonospila. Although any identification to species level from a photo is questionable, it is compatible with T. exigua as you suggested.’

Pierfilippo Cerretti
Associate Professor of Zoology
Dipartimento di Biologia e Biotecnologie 'Charles Darwin'
Sapienza Università di Roma

More info from Traian Bertau:

Probably Trigonospila exigua which was considered a synonym of Trigonospila mista and has been revived in 2016 https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/6072/element/4/4102//
Succingulum exiguum Villeneuve, 1935 was treated as a synonym of Trigonospila mista (Villeneuve, 1913) by Crosskey (1980b: 858) but is recognized here as a distinct species based on examination of the holotype by PC.
(O'Hara. 2016. Annotated catalogue of the Tachinidae)

The description of Trigonospila mista is available here:
https://forgottenbooks.com/fr/readbook/RevueZoologiqueAfricaine_10400543#46
and a pretty good match except for the scutellum which is not all black.
Unfortunately the original description of Succingulum exiguum not available:
Villeneuve, 1935a: 142. Villeneuve J (1935a) Myodaires supérieurs africains inédits. Revue de Zoologie et de Botanique Africaines 27: 136–143
Holotype male (IRSNB). Type locality: South Africa.

iNat Observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/218433841

From Zidek 2013 & Zidek 2017:
Zidek, J., 2013. Checklist and bibliography of the Trogidae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea). Insecta mundi, pp. 1–38.
Zídek, J., 2017. Updated checklist and bibliography of family Trogidae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea). Folia Heyrovskyana, 25: 93-127

Botswana:
O.A. radula (Erichson, 1843)
O.A. tuberosus (Klug, 1855)
O.A. zumpti (Haaf, 1957)
O.A. asperulatus (Harold, 1872)
O.A. melancholicus (Fåhraeus, 1857)
O.A. mutabilis (Haaf, 1954

Mozambique:
O.A. ponderosus (Péringuey, 1901)
O.A. tuberosus (Klug, 1855)
O.A. unguicularis (Haaf, 1954)
O.A. melancholicus (Fåhraeus, 1857)
O.A. mutabilis (Haaf, 1954)
O.A. radula (Erichson, 1843)

Namibia:
O.A. radula (Erichson, 1843)
O.A. rusticus (Fåhraeus, 1857)
O.A. wittei (Haaf, 1955)
O.A. zumpti (Haaf, 1957)
O.A. asperulatus (Harold, 1872)
O.A. endroedyi (Scholtz, 1979)
O.A. foveolatus (Boheman, 1860)
O.A. freyi (Haaf, 1954)
O.A. insignis (Scholtz, 1979)
O.A. melancholicus (Fåhraeus, 1857)

South Africa:
O.A. ponderosus (Péringuey, 1901)
O.A. radula (Erichson, 1843)
O.A. rusticus (Fåhraeus, 1857)
O.A. tuberosus (Klug, 1855)
O.A. unguicularis (Haaf, 1954)
O.A. zumpti (Haaf, 1957)
O.A. asperulatus (Harold, 1872)
O.A. freyi (Haaf, 1954) https://www.zobodat.at/pdf/Entomologische-Arbeiten-Museum-Frey_5_0326-0393.pdf
O.A. lindemannae (Petrovitz, 1975)
O.A. melancholicus (Fåhraeus, 1857)
O.A. mutabilis (Haaf, 1954)
O.A. satorui Kawai, 2006

Zimbabwe
O.A. ponderosus (Péringuey, 1901)
O.A. radula (Erichson, 1843)
O.A. rusticus (Fåhraeus, 1857)
O.A. unguicularis (Haaf, 1954)
O.A. wittei (Haaf, 1955)
O.A. zumpti (Haaf, 1957)
O.A. melancholicus (Fåhraeus, 1857)