New species of Isometopinae (Hemiptera: Miridae) from the Ivory Coast and Yemen

Myiomma cobbeni n. sp. and Paloniella nodifrons n. sp. are described from the Ivory Coast. Additionally, M. maculata n. sp., Isometopus yemenensis n. sp. and I. quadrivittatus n. sp. are described from the Republic of Yemen. The new species from Yemen represent the first records of Myiomma Puton and the subgenus Jehania Distant of Isometopus Fieber from the Middle East.     

The systematic position of the tribe Stenodemini (Heteroptera: Cimicomorpha: Miridae: Mirinae) in the light of the male internal reproductive system

The study focuses on the morphology and ultrastructure of the male reproductive system of 13 Hemiptera species representing the tribes Stenodemini and Pithanini: Acetropis carinata, Dolichomiris linearis, Leptopterna dolabrata, L. ferrugata, Megaloceroea recticornis, Notostira elongata, N. erratica, Stenodema (Brachystira) calcarata, Stenodema (Stenodema) holsata, S. (S.) laevigata, Trigonotylus caelestialium, T. pulchellus and Myrmecoris gracilis. The study also embraces three species which belong to the tribe Mirini, and play the role of an out-group in the conducted analyses. These species are: Adelphocoris seticornis, Calocoris affinis and Lygus rugulipennis. On the basis of total preparations, cross and longitudinal sections, we have studied the number of testicular follicles, their dimensions, types of connections between follicles and vas deferens, the structure of vasa deferentia, as well as the number, structure and origin of accessory glands. The above-listed features have provided complementary information, alongside morphological features, helpful in verifying the taxonomic position of the tribe Stenodemini.     

Biodiversity of the scentless plant bugs (Hemiptera: Rhopalidae) in southern South America

This paper provides a comprehensive faunal survey of the Rhopalidae from southern South America with emphasis on the fauna of Argentina, based on published and unpublished data. The biodiversity from Argentina comprises 38 recorded species from six genera: Arhyssus Stål 1870 (one species), Liorhyssus Stål 1870 (two species), Niesthrea Spinola 1837 (five species), Xenogenus Berg 1883 (two species), Harmostes Burmeister 1835 (20 species), and Jadera Stål 1862 (eight species). We established accurate distributions for most of the species and report new distributional information for 27 of them. Most of these records are from Argentinean provinces, but we also report five new country records: three from Argentina – Harmostes (Harmostes) splendens Harris 1944, H. (Neoharmostes) bergi Göllner-Scheiding 1998 and Arhyssus tricostatus (Spinola 1852); one from Brazil – Xenogenus picturatum Berg 1883; and one from Paraguay – Harmostes (Harmostes) gravidator (Fabricius 1794).     

The flower bug genus Orius Wolff, 1811 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Anthocoridae: Oriini) of Thailand

The flower bug genus Orius Wolff, 1811 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Anthocoridae: Oriini) in Thailand is reviewed. Eleven valid species are recognised; seven of them are described as new to science: Orius (O.) sakaerat, O. (O.) taksini, O. (O.) tomokunii, O. (O.) filiferus, O. (O.) machaerus, O. (O.) inthanonus and O. (Trichorius) crassus. Orius (Heterorius) dravidiensis Muraleedharan, 1977, which has been known from India, is recorded from Thailand for the first time, and is correctly placed in the subgenus Dimorphella Reuter, 1884. The subgenus Paraorius Yasunaga and Miyamoto, 1993 is proposed as a synonym of Dimorphella. Diagnoses, digital habitus images, scanning electron micrographs and illustrations of diagnostic features including both male and female genitalia are provided. Keys to the Thai species are offered to facilitate identification. Biology of Thai species is also discussed.     

The Rhopalidae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) of Argentina

In Argentina, five genera and 34 species are recorded, in the subfamilies Rhopalinae and Serinethinae. Harmostes apicatus Stål; H. brevispinus Blöte; H. corazonus Distant; H. corizoides Jensen-Haarup; H. dorsalis Burmeister; H. gravidator (Fabricius); H. imitabilis Harris; H. insitivus Harris; H. marmoratus (Blanchard); H. minor (Spinola); H. parafraterculus Göllner-Scheiding; H. petulans Harris; H. procerus Berg; H. prolixus Stål; H. reflexus viscens (Dallas); H. serratus (Fabricius); H. signoreti Reed; Jadera aeola aeola (Dallas); J. choprai Göllner-Scheiding; J. decipiens Göllner-Scheiding; J. golbachi Göllner-Scheiding; J. haematoloma (Herrich-Schaefer); J. obscura (Westwood); J. parapectoralis Göllner-Scheiding; J. sanguinolenta (Fabricius); Niesthrea agnes Chopra; N. josei Göllner-Scheiding; N. pictipes (Stål); N. similis Chopra; N. vincentii (Westwood); Liorhyssus hyalinus (Fabricius); L. lineatoventris (Spinola); Xenogenus gracilis Berg; X. picturatum Berg; and X. extensum Distant. New locality records are given for Buenos Aires; Catamarca; Corrientes; Córdoba; Chaco; Entre Ríos; Jujuy; La Pampa; Mendoza; Misiones; Neuquén; Río Negro; Salta; San Juan; San Luis; Santiago del Estero; Tierra del Fuego.     

Three new species and a new record of tenuipalpid mites (Acari: Tenuipalpidae) from Hungary

Three new tenuipalpid species are described and illustrated from Hungary: Cenopalpus cumanicus sp. nov., Cenopalpus adventicius sp. nov. and Tenuipalpus budensis sp. nov. (Acari: Tenuipalpidae). The authors give an account of one new record of Cenopalpus spinosus (Donnadieu, 1875) found on woody host plants, a species that has not previously been recorded in the Hungarian fauna. Additional species encountered during these surveys are: Brevipalpus lewisi (McGregor, 1949), Cenopalpus pulcher (Canestrini and Fanzago, 1876), Pentamerismus oregonensis McGregor, 1949, and Pentamerismus taxi (Haller, 1877).     

Field observations of Irbisia pacifica (Hemiptera: Miridae): feeding behavior and effects on host plant growth

The interaction between a grass-feeding mirid, Irbisia pacifica (Uhler), and plant growth of intermediate wheatgrass, Thinopyrum intermedium (Host) Barkw. & D. R. Dewey, was examined on a field site in northern Utah in 1985. With egg hatch beginning in April, the bug completed its life cycle within two months. Ovarian development was completed by 11 June, a week after all bugs had become adults. The proportion of feeding damage per leaf (35.1%) peaked on the seventh week of the twelve-week study (18 July). Green leaf area per tiller decreased initially from bug feeding and then continued to decrease because of seasonal aging. All plants senesced within three months. Grass bugs predominantly attacked the second and third youngest leaves. Analyses of age-specific leaf cohorts demonstrated that the major effect of bug feeding was the loss of green leaf area and potential foliage production over time. Bug feeding may also exacerbate other physiological stresses on the host plants.     

Review of the genus Bolbonaso Emeljanov with checklist and key to Indian Caliscelidae (Hemiptera: Fulgoroidea)

A list of species of the family Caliscelidae Amyot et Serville known from India with data on distribution and sources for identification and a key to genera are given. The genus Bolbonaso Emeljanov, 2007 is revised. A new species, Bolbonaso chandri sp. nov., is described from Eastern India (Assam and Meghalaya States). Bolbonaso tapirifacies (Parshad, 1981) is redescribed and recorded for the first time from Southern India (Karnataka State). The lectotype is designated for Chirodisca eximia (Stål, 1859) which is recorded for the first time from Pakistan. New faunistic data in Nepal are listed for Delhina eurybrachydoides Distant, 1912.     

Aquatic and semiaquatic Heteroptera of the Grand Canyon (Insecta: Hemiptera)

The aquatic and semiaquatic Hemiptera from 12 localities in Marble Canyon and Grand Canyon are reported, along with those from 1 locality in the Escalante Canyon. Fourteen species are recorded and compared to the water-bug fauna of the southwestern United States and western Mexico. Ochterus rotundus n. sp. is described from the Grand Canyon and the mountains of western Mexico.     

Some notes on the ecology of three milkweed bugs in India (Heteroptera: Lygaeidae)

Summary

Caenocoris nerii (Germar) is recorded for the first time in S. India, further distribution records of Spilostethus hospes (Fabricius) are noted, host plants and population trends of Spilostethus pandurus (Scopoli), S. hospes and C. nerii are recorded and discussed with reference to climate and altitude (with two tables and one figure).     

Review of the microphysid genus Loricula Curtis in Japan (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Microphysidae), with descriptions of three new species

Japanese fauna of the cimicomorphan family Microphysidae is documented. Four species of the genus Loricula Curtis are recognised, including three new species herein described from Japan, Loricula miyamotoi, L. nikko and L. yakushima, representing the first discovery of new taxa in the twenty-first century for the Asian Microphysidae. A single known species, L. pilosella Miyamoto, is rediagnosed. A key is provided to distinguish both sexes of the Japanese Loricula species.

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:C01445E4-FD3E-4953-932C-7835FC8BDD16     

Effective strategy of the overwintering of semiaquatic bugs: overwintering of Velia caprai (Heteroptera: Gerromorpha: Veliidae)

Overwintering of Velia caprai was studied during the winter months 2006–2007 in the area of South Bohemia (Czech Republic) by (1) field phenological observations and samples, (2) study of artificially established experimental cohorts in an unheated glasshouse, and (3) auxiliary experiments in a laboratory. Velia caprai has a unique way of overwintering within the gerromorphan bugs that is rare among insects generally; it can overwinter in both an adult and an egg stage. Most females reach sexual maturity before overwintering, mate with mature males, overwinter actively on the water surface and lay eggs during the winter. The dormant eggs can be induced to hatch by increasing temperatures. Winter oviposition can be interpreted as a sign of a risk‐spreading reproductive strategy. The overwintering of both adults and eggs provides a chance to adapt to changes in the local environmental conditions and could be an important determinant in broad variability of life‐history traits.     

Taxonomy and variation of the Lopidea nigridia complex of western North America (Heteroptera: Miridae, Orthotylinae)

External morphological variation in the Lopidea nigridia "complex" of western North America was examined using principal component analysis and showed continuous variation among populations in most characters. External morphology did not parallel paramere structure and did not substantiate previously recognized species. There was little correlation between dorsal coloration and paramere structure. Cluster analysis (UPGMA) using paramere and color characters failed to group populations coded as the same species and also failed to group all specimens of any one population. The variation in structure of the parameres and vesicae among populations of the nigridia complex was no greater than the interpopulational variation of these structures structures in the congeneric species marginata Uhler. Lopidea nigridia Uhler is treated as a polytypic species comprising three subspecies: Lopidea nigridia nigridia Uhler, a fuscous-white form from the sagebrush steppe of the Great Basin and the chaparral of southern California; Lopidea nigridia serica Knight, a solid red form from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains from Alberta to Colorado and east across the Northern Great Plains to southern Manitoba; Lopidea nigridia aculeata Van Duzee, a polymorphic form varying from solid red to fuscous red and white from the Cascade Mountains and eastern slopes of the coastal ranges of British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon, the Blue and Wallawa mountains of Oregon and Washington, and throughout the Coastal and Sierra Nevada ranges of California. The following new synonymies are created: Lopidea nigridia Uhler -- Lopidea raineri Knight, Lopidea scullent Knight, Lopidea rolfsi Knight, and Lopidea wilcoxi Knight; Lopidea nigridia aculeata Van Duzee -- Lopidea nigridia hirta Van Duzee, Lopidea usingeri Van Duzee, Lopidea discreta Van Duzee, Lopidea fallax Knight, Lopidea Yakima Knight, Lopidea audeni Knight, Lopidea eriogoni Knight, Lopidea calcaria Knight, Lopidea chamberlini Knight, Lopidea angustata Knight, Lopidea rubrofusca Knight, and Lopidea flavicostata Knight and Schaffner; Lopidea nigridia serica Knight -- Lopidea medleri Akingbohungbe.     

Partial revision of the Indo-Australian braconine wasp genus Gammabracon Quicke (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) with descriptions of new species from Indonesia (Mollucas), Malaysia,Philippines and Thailand

Ten distinctive new species of the taxonomically difficult braconine wasp genus Gammabracon Quicke, 1984 are described: G. apicoluteus sp. nov. from Malaysia (Negri); G. curticornis sp. nov. from Malaysia (Negri); G. philippinensis sp. nov. from the Philippines; G. siamensis sp. nov. from Thailand; G. striatus sp. nov. from West Malaysia; G. strandorum sp. nov. from Indonesia (Java), G. subvena sp. nov. from Malaysia (Negri and Sabah); G. townesorum sp. nov. from the Philippines; G. variipennis sp. nov. from Thailand; and G. wegeneri sp. nov. from Indonesia. Myosoma forticarinata Cameron, 1902 is transferred to Gammabracon, hence Gammabracon forticarinata comb. nov. A lectotype is designated for Gammabracon erythroura (Cameron). The status of Cratobracon strandiellus (Cameron) is discussed and a new combination proposed, Shelfordia strandiellus Cameron, 1910 comb. nov. (=Bracon strandiellus Cameron). Paucity of discrete morphological variation makes separation of most of the species with orange-red mesosoma, black metasoma and conspicuous back setae currently unrealistic and it may be that there is a single widespread and morphologically variable species.

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:56B8884E-99C8-4B53-9747-D011F552312D     

Morphometry and chaetotaxy of the nymphs of Ectemnostega (Ectemnostegella) quechua (Bachmann 1961) (Insecta: Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Corixidae)

The egg and the five nymphal instars of Ectemnostega quechua are described and illustrated for the first time. The eggs of Ectemnostega have a short stalk, and the shape, size and chorionic structure differ among groups of species. The nymphal characters most useful in identifying instars I–V of Ectemnostega are: body length; number of rostrum sulcations; number of setae on inner surface of protibiotarsus; spines and setae, and spines on posteroventral surface of mesofemur and mesotibia, respectively; setae on posterodorsal surface of mesotibia and mesotarsus; spines and setae on anteroventral surface and setae on posterior surface of metatibia; swimming hairs on anteroventral and posterodorsal surfaces of metatarsus; and the grade of development of wing pads. The nymphs of E. quechua can be easily distinguished from other species of Ectemnostega by the number of spines and setae on the posteroventral surface of mesofemur.     

Pygmy grasshoppers of the genus Formosatettix Tinkham, 1937 (Orthoptera: Tetrigidae: Tetriginae)

Formosatettix serrifemora Deng sp. nov., Formosatettix zhejiangensis Deng sp. nov. and Formosatettix guposhanensis Deng sp. nov. are described with detailed illustrations of external morphology. New synonymy is proposed: Formosatettix tianmushanensis Zheng and Li = Formosatettix xiai Zheng, Shi and Yin, syn. nov. An updated key to species of the genus is given.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:D64FA763-EBA7-453C-9D76-7209F5659478     

Scale insects of the families Asterolecaniidae and Eriococcidae (Hemiptera: Coccoidea) in New Caledonia

The scale insect families Asterolecaniidae and Eriococcidae are discussed from New Caledonia. One new genus Oacoccus gen. nov., and a new species Oacoccus nothofagi sp. nov. on Nothofagus sp., are described in the Asterolecaniidae, and a new species Eriococcus millei sp. nov. is described in the Eriococcidae. A new genus Rhopalotococcus gen. nov., and two new species Rhopalotococcus dugdalei sp. nov. and Rhopalotococcus metrosideri sp. nov., are also described in the Eriococcidae. Both species induce leaf galls on Metrosideros sp. Keys are provided for all the New Caledonian genera and species in the families Asterolecaniidae and Eriococcidae.     

Multi-scale patterns in the host specificity of plant-dwelling arthropods: the influence of host plant and temporal variation on species richness and assemblage composition of true bugs (Hemiptera)

The influence of temporal variation in the host specificity of invertebrates to estimates of biodiversity is rarely considered. While patterns at large spatial scales have stimulated much attention, such comparisons are constrained for southern-hemisphere biomes because the patterning of invertebrates on plants is largely unknown. Here, we analyse variation of plant-dwelling Hemiptera from 15 understorey plant species over 18 months in the south-west Australian biodiversity hotspot. Analyses showed significant interactions in species composition between sampling period and plant species. Fauna that were “effectively specialized” (host-specificity index) to plants changed with season, although this was also related to the number of singletons and overall species richness. Sampling from a single season also overestimated the degree of host specificity by 52% and underestimated the perception of species richness when an outbreak of a particular herbivore occurred. High host-specificity values (12.7 hemipteran species per plant) support the case for high estimates of global arthropod richness.