Species Melanophila atropurpurea

Melanophila atropurpurea (Say)

Orig. Comb: Buprestis atropurpurea Say 1823 (1)

From the original description of Say 1823 (1):

"Black, slightly tinged with bronze or purplish ; elytra serrate and mucronate.

Inhabits Arkansas.

Body punctured : antennae black : labrum piceous: thorax with elevated obtuse punctures and slightly impressed dilated ones each side; an indented spot on the middle of the basal margin : elytra scabrous with minute reflected and depressed points; lateral edge regularly serrated ; tip mucronate : beneath dark purplish.

Length less than three-tenths of an inch.

Taken near the Rocky Mountains. The colour to the eye is black, but upon attentive observation it will be perceived to be tinged with purplish."

The key entries which distinguish this species from M. Occidentalis from Cobos 1986 (2), as translated into English to the best of my abilities are:

18 (17) Anterior notch of the epistomal open arch shallow. Antennae more or less blue, including scape. Apical recess of the last ventrite shallow, forming simple acute angulations at the lateral limits.

19 (20) Dark tan-copper above, below generally more clearly so. Pronotum disk with underdeveloped microsculpture, widely smoothed and bright in the middle. Vivid elytral sculpture, tightly granule-punctuated, almost no place for microsculpture. Nearctic species ATROPURPUREA SAY

w US (CA-TX-OK(?)-OR) / Mex. - Map (3)(4)

larvae in Abies, Pinus, Pseudotsuga (3)

Type locality: "Arkansa" (3), probably Arkansas Territtory which included most of present day Oklahoma when Say passed through as a member of the Long Expedition in 1920.