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21 June 2024 Identification and Description of Antennal Sensilla of Bothynus medon (Germar) and Bothynus striatellus (Fairmaire) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)
Waner Pereira de Jesus, Gabriella Torres Martins, Sérgio Roberto Rodrigues
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Abstract

The genus Bothynus Hope, 1837 consists of 24 species distributed in all Brazilian regions, where some of these species inhabit different environments and contribute to the decomposition and nutrient recycling processes in the soil. However, there is no existing information regarding the morphology of antennal sensilla in this genus. The aim of this study was to identify and describe the antennal sensilla of Bothynus medon (Germar, 1824) and Bothynus striatellus (Fairmaire, 1878). Adult specimens of B. medon and B. striatellus were collected using light traps and separated by sex. The antennae were then extracted, divided into proximal, medial, and distal lamellae, and preserved for imaging using scanning electron microscopy. Trichoid, chaetic, placoid types I, II, and III, coeloconic types I and II, basiconic type I, and ampullaceous (pore) sensilla were identified. In B. medon females, 17,477 sensilla were quantified, comprising 17,380 (99.44%) placoid, 76 (0.44%) coeloconic, and 21 (0.12%) basiconic. In male lamellae, 21,663 sensilla were counted, including 21,525 (99.37%) placoid, 117 (0.54%) coeloconic, and 21 (0.09%) basiconic. In B. striatellus females, 17,452 sensilla were recorded, consisting of 17,253 (98.86%) placoid, 174 (1.00%) coeloconic, and 25 (0.14%) basiconic. In male lamellae, 19,480 sensilla were documented, with 19,211 (98.62%) placoid, 251 (1.29%) coeloconic, and 18 (0.09%) basiconic. Trichoid, chaetic, placoid, basiconic, coeloconic, and pore sensilla were identified in B. medon and B. striatellus. Differences in the numbers of antennal sensilla were observed between B. medon and B. striatellus, and between males and females of the same species, indicating antennal dimorphism.

Waner Pereira de Jesus, Gabriella Torres Martins, and Sérgio Roberto Rodrigues "Identification and Description of Antennal Sensilla of Bothynus medon (Germar) and Bothynus striatellus (Fairmaire) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)," The Coleopterists Bulletin 78(2), 273-280, (21 June 2024). https://doi.org/10.1649/0010-065X-78.2.273
Received: 2 February 2024; Accepted: 30 April 2024; Published: 21 June 2024
KEYWORDS
chemical communication
chemoreceptors
Dynastinae
mechanoreceptors
Melolonthidae
Scarabaeoidea
ultrastructure
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