Genus: Cacostola

• Description: Distinctly elongate, small to moderate-sized, ranging from about 8–15 mm in length. Integument generally dark brown or ferrugineous with grayish pubescence. Head with frons subquadrate to slightly elongate, about as wide as width of 2-4 lower eye lobes. Eyes with lower lobes ovate to oblong to distinctly narrow. Genae shape highly variable, from elongate to transverse, from shorter to taller lower eye lobes. Antennal tubercles prominent, widely separated; tubercles not armed at apex or armed at apex with small projection or short, blunt horn (males); antennae slightly longer (females) to nearly twice as long (males) as overall body length; scape gradually to clavate, shorter than antennomere IV; antennomere III shape variable, from nearly straight to sinuate, distinctly longer than scape and about as long as IV; antennomere XI shorter than X (females) or longer than X (males); antennae annulate. Pronotum subquadrate, roughly cylindrical, without lateral tubercles. Elytra with sides nearly straight, roughly parallel; elytral apices individually rounded; elytral markings variable, often with distinct vittae; base of elytra without prominent tubercles at humeri. Basal 1/3 of elytra moderately to densely punctate, surface coarsely punctate to granulate-punctate. Procoxae simple, without projection. Mesosternal process with apex subtruncate to feebly emarginate. Metafemora distinctly short, about 1/5 as long as elytra.


• The combination of the following characters will help to distinguish this genus: distinctly elongate form; subquadrate pronotum, roughly cylindrical, without lateral tubercles; and elytra with sides roughly parallel.


• Similar genus/genera: superficially resembles Xylomimus, but Cacostola is much more elongate.

• Antilles (Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenadines, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas)
• Central America (Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico)
• North America (USA)
• South America (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Venezuela)
• NOTE: Although Cacostola vagelineata was originally described from Chile (Fairmaire & Germain, 1859), this is likely an erroneous record as no members of this species have been collected there since.

• Acanthaceae (Avicennia sp.); Anacardiaceae (Mangifera sp.); Asteraceae (Baccharis sp.); Chrysobalanaceae (Chrysobalanus sp.); Mimosaceae (Leucaena pulverulenta); Rhamnaceae (Condalia sp.); Salicaceae (Salix nigra); Ulmaceae (Celtis sp.)

• This genus is probably not a girdler of branches (F.T. Hovore, pers. comm.).

	The genus Cacostola currently contains 32 species:
		Cacostola acuticauda Marinoni & Martins, 1982 [paratype specimen, ♀]
		Cacostola apyraiuba Martins & Galileo, 2008
		Cacostola bimaculata Martins, Galileo & de-Oliveira, 2009
		Cacostola brasiliensis Thomson, 1868 [type specimen, ♀]
		Cacostola cana Marinoni & Martins, 1982 [holotype specimen, ♀]
		Cacostola clorinda Dillon & Dillon, 1946
		Cacostola colombiana Martins & Galileo, 1999
		Cacostola exilis Martins & Galileo, 2011
		Cacostola flexicornis Bates, 1865 [type specimen, ♀]
		Cacostola fusca Thomson, 1868 [type specimen, ♀]
		Cacostola fuscata Dillon & Dillon, 1952
		Cacostola gracilis Marinoni & Martins, 1982
		Cacostola grisea Dillon & Dillon, 1946
		Cacostola janzeni Chemsak & Linsley, 1986
		Cacostola leonensis Dillon & Dillon, 1946 [holotype specimen, ♀]
		Cacostola lineata (Hamilton in Leng & Hamilton, 1896) [♀ specimen]
		Cacostola mexicana (Breuning, 1943) [holotype specimen, ♀]
		Cacostola nelsoni Chemsak & Linsley, 1986
		Cacostola nordestina Martins & Galileo, 1999
		Cacostola obliquata Martins & Galileo, 1995
		Cacostola ornata Fleutiaux & Sallé, 1889 [lectotype specimen]
		Cacostola parafusca Martins, Galileo & de-Oliveira, 2009
		Cacostola rugicollis Bates, 1885 [type specimen, ♂]
		Cacostola salicicola (Linsley, 1934) [♂ specimen]
		Cacostola simplex (Pascoe, 1859) [type specimen, ♀]
		Cacostola sirena Dillon & Dillon, 1946
		Cacostola strandi (Breuning, 1943) [type specimen]
		Cacostola sulcipennis Melzer, 1934
		Cacostola vagelineata Fairmaire & Germain, 1859 [type specimen]
		Cacostola vanini Martins, 1979 [holotype specimen, ♂]
		Cacostola variegata Dillon & Dillon, 1946
		Cacostola volvula (Fabricius, 1781) [type specimen, ♀]
		Cacostola zanoa Dillon & Dillon, 1946
	Specimens of this genus have been collected at lights and also beating vegetation.
	indicates species native to the USA.

• Aporataxia, Cylindrataxia, Paratucumaniella, Hyagniellus

• Dillon & Dillon, 1946
• Fairmaire & Germain, 1859
• Marinoni & Martins, 1982
• Monné, 2005
• Bezark & Monné, 2013
• Wappes et al., 2009