Oncid ID: Tool for Diagnosing Adult Twig Girdlers (Cerambycidae: Lamiinae: Onciderini)
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Genus: Cordites

Diagnostic Features
  • Description: Elongate-oblong, small to moderate-sized, ranging from about 9–17 mm in length. Integument generally dark brown or ferrugineous with whitish, ferrugineous, and ochraceous pubescence. Head with frons subquadrate, about as wide as width of four lower eye lobes. Eyes with lower lobes small, ovate-oblong. Genae elongate, about as tall to distinctly taller than lower eye lobes. Antennal tubercles prominent, widely separated; tubercles not armed at apex (females) or armed with a small projection or with a short to long, blunt horn (males); antennae about as long or slightly longer (female) or as much as twice as long (males) as overall body length; scape clavate, about as long or shorter than antennomere IV; antennomere III nearly straight or slightly curved, longer than scape and antennomere IV. Pronotum transverse, roughly cylindrical, with lateral tubercles. Elytra with sides roughly parallel to slightly attenuate; elytral apices individually rounded; elytra generally uniform in coloration or speckled, or with distinct maculae; base of elytra with two prominent tubercles at humeri. Basal 1/3 of elytra with dense punctation, surface coarsely punctate to granulate-punctate. Procoxae simple, without projection (females) or with distinct, curved hook (males). Mesosternal process with apex variable, from subtruncate to deeply emarginate. Metafemora moderate to short in length, about 1/3–1/4 as long as elytra.

  • The combination of the following characters will help to distinguish this genus: distinctly small eyes, widely separated; roughly cylindrical pronotum with lateral tubercles; individually rounded elytral apices; and elytra with sides roughly parallel to slightly attenuate.

  • Similar genus/genera: strongly resembles Ischiocentra and Ischiosioma.
Geographic Distribution
  • South America (Brazil)
Host Plants/Trees
  • Unknown
Girdling Behavior
  • Unknown
Notes

The genus Cordites currently contains two species:
  Cordites armillata (Thomson, 1868) [♀ specimen]
  Cordites armillata (Thomson, 1868) [type specimen, ♀]
  Cordites pubescens (Thomson, 1868) [type specimen]
  Cordites pubescens (Thomson, 1868) [=C. modesta type specimen, ♂]

Generic Synonymies
  • The type species of this genus was originally described in the genus Ischiocentra.
Selected References
 

Cordites armillata
♀ specimen
© E.H. Nearns

 

© 2011-2015 Nearns, E.H., Lord, N.P., and K.B. Miller
The University of New Mexico and Center for Plant Health Science and Technology, USDA, APHIS, PPQ.