ARS | Publication request: Chaetocnema Stephens, 1831 (Insecta, Coleoptera): proposed conservation of usage by designation of Altica hortensis Geoffroy, 1785 as the type species

Submitted to: The Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: September 28, 2007
Publication Date: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Leaf beetles are important pests of many crops worldwide, and likewise are of great importance in the biological control of invasive weeds. To ease communication about one group of these beetles, we have made a case to formally continue to use a name that has been in the literature for generations, despite some attempts to render this name obsolete. This will be beneficial to the hundreds of workers in biological worldwide who need to communicate the familiar names to colleagues, and it will stabilize the scientific literature on this group of beetles.

Technical Abstract: The purpose of this application, in relation to Article 70 of the Code, is to conserve the widespread usage of the generic name Chaetocnema Stephens, 1831 for a group for flea beetles (Chrysomelidae: Alticini) by validating Maulik’s (1926) designation of Altica hortensis Geoffroy, 1785 as the types species of Chaetocnema in place of Haltica concinna Marsham, 1802.