Montandoniola thripodes Bergroth, 1916

Yamada, Kazutaka, Yasunaga, Tomohide & Miyamoto, Syôiti, 2010, A review of Japanese species of the genus Montandoniola (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Anthocoridae), Zootaxa 2530, pp. 19-28 : 20-24

Montandoniola thripodes Bergroth, 1916

( Figs. 1–4 , 14 , 21 )

Montandoniola thripodes Bergroth, 1916: 233 (sp. n.); Carayon, 1961: 542 (note); Carayon & Ramade, 1962: 208 (note); Herring, 1966: 93 [syn. with M. moraguesi (Puton) ]. Restored by Pluot-Sigwalt et al., 2009: 33 (illustration, redefinition).

Montandoniola pictipennis ( Esaki, 1931) : Hiura, 1959: 2 (misidentification).

Montandoniola moraguesi (Puton, 1896) : Hiura, 1979: 122 (note, figure); Miyamoto & Yasunaga, 1989: 167 (list); Yasunaga, 1993: 169 (note, figure); Yasunaga, 2001: 287 (note) (misidentifications).

Diagnosis. In addition to the redefinition of M. thripodes by Pluot-Sigwalt et al. (2009), we herein provide the following revised diagnostic characters for Japanese specimens: Head ( Figs. 1–4 ) dark brown to black; length excluding neck as long as width across eyes. Antennal segments I and II dark brown to black; segments III and IV pale yellow; segment IV somewhat fuscous ( Figs. 1, 3 ); segment II ( Figs. 1, 3 ) greatly enlarged, slightly longer than head width across eyes; segment IV weakly flattened. Labium ( Figs. 2, 4 ) dark brown to black, extending near fore coxae; apex of segment III pale yellow; segment IV pale yellow, except for dark apex. Pronotum ( Figs. 1, 3 ) dark brown to black; anterior margin about as wide as or slightly narrower than mesal length; lateral margin nearly straight; lateral carina well developed anteriorly; posterior margin concave, 2.37–2.55 times as wide as anterior margin. Scutellum ( Figs. 1, 3 ) overall black. Hemelytra ( Figs. 1, 3 ) dark brown to black with whitish central patch on most of clavus and corium; membrane mesially with distinct dark stripe, except for basal semi-transparent area. Legs ( Figs. 2, 4 ) dark brown to black; fore and mid tibiae pale yellow, except for dark extreme bases; hind tibiae with paler extreme apex; male fore tibiae armed ventrally with a row of 16–22 minute, fuscous teeth, female without minute teeth ( Fig. 14 ); tarsi pale yellow, with dark apex. Ostiolar peritreme angular posteriorly. Abdomen ( Figs. 2, 4 ) black and tinged with reddish brown.

Male genitalia: Pygophore covered with many long setae on right side and 8–10 very long, stout setae on posteroventral surface, of which the longest are longer than length of pygophore, with scattered short setae anterior to genital opening; flagellum straight, long, thin, shorter than twice width of cone, not surpassing left edge of pygophore, basally very close to cone; cone very thin and acute apicad, with conspicuous indentation at base.

Description of female genitalia. Copulatory tube ( Fig. 21 ) mesally fused on intersegmental membrane between sterna VII and VIII, very close to base of ovipositor, shortened, cylindroid, about twice as long as maximum width.

Measurements [% (n = 10)/ Ψ (n = 10)]. Body length 2.70–3.00/ 2.95–3.25; head length (excl. neck) 0.38–0.41/ 0.38–0.41; head width across eyes 0.39–0.41/ 0.38–0.41; vertex width 0.17–0.19/ 0.19–0.21; width between ocelli 0.11–0.13/ 0.13–0.16; length of antennal segments I-IV 0.12–0.14/ 0.13–0.15, 0.40–0.44/ 0.38–0.47, 0.23–0.28/ 0.24–0.28, and 0.28–0.31/ 0.26–0.31; length of labial segments II-IV 0.11–0.13/ 0.12–0.14, 0.31–0.36/ 0.33–0.39, and 0.23–0.25/ 0.23–0.26; anterior pronotal width 0.34–0.36/ 0.34–0.37; mesal pronotal length 0.33–0.36/ 0.37–0.40; basal pronotal width 0.77–0.89/ 0.85–0.96; length of embolial margin 0.69–0.81/ 0.75–0.81; length of cuneal margin 0.46–0.54/ 0.50–0.61; maximum width across hemelytra 0.78–0.92/ 0.89–0.98.

Material examined. JAPAN: Ryukyus: [Tokara Isls.] 1Ψ, Takarajima Is., 26.v.–1.vi.1953, S. Miyamoto ( OMNH). [Amami-Ôshima Is.] 3Ψ (one shown in Fig. 14 ), Sokaru, Setouchi-chô, 12.ix.2002, K. Yamada ( TKPM). [Okinawa Is.] 3%3Ψ (one shown in Figs. 3, 4 ), Hedo, Kunigami-son, 24.iii.2002, T. Ueda & K. Yamada ( TKPM); 2 % (one shown in Figs. 1, 2 ) 3Ψ (one shown in Fig. 21 ), same locality, 25.iii.2002, K. Yamada ( TKPM); 3 %14Ψ, Shurisakiyama, Naha-shi, 19.v.1993, T. Yasunaga ( TYCN); 3%3Ψ, 4 nymphs, Naha-shi, 30.i.1993, N. Shingaki ( TYCN). [Kume Is.] 1%, Higa, 21.iii.1977, Y. Hori ( TYCN). [Ishigaki Is.] 1Ψ, Urasoko-rindô, 29.x.1998, K. Takahashi ( TKPM). [Iriomote Is.] 1Ψ, Takana, 6.iv.2003, M. Takai ( TKPM). [Yonaguni Is.] 1%2Ψ, Mt. Kuburadake, 18.v.2000, T. Ishikawa ( TKPM).

Distribution. Hong-Kong ( Bergroth 1916); Japan [the Ryukyus: Tokara (Takarajima Is.), Amami- Ôshima, Okinawa, Kume, Ishigaki, Iriomote and Yonaguni Islands]. This species is recorded from Japan for the first time. Hiura (1959) recorded M. pictipennis from Tokara Islands on the basis of a female collected in 1953 by S. Miyamoto. However, we examined it and confirmed that the specimen is actually M. thripodes .

Remarks. Montandoniola thripodes was originally described from Hong-Kong by Bergroth (1916). No additional specimen has been recognized since the original description. In this study, we found it on the Ryukyu Islands of Japan and described the female genitalia for the first time.

The copulatory tube of M. thripodes somewhat resembles that in M. confusa Streito & Matocq, 2009 , but can be distinguished by its location and length: located very near base of ovipositor in M. thripodes , but mesally located in middle of sternum VII in M. confusa ; and, about twice as long as wide in M. thripodes , but slightly longer than wide in M. confusa .

Montandoniola thripodes and M. pictipennis have erroneously been reported as M. moraguesi in Japan ( Hiura 1959; Yasunaga 1993); these three species are similar in general appearance and may be easily confused with one another. However, M. thripodes may be easily distinguished from M. pictipennis by antennal segment II being slightly longer than the head width across eyes (in M. pictipennis , about 0.8 times as long as head width across eyes), the pale yellow mid tibiae, except for the darkened extreme base (cf. mid tibiae dark brown, except for the pale yellow apical half), and the significantly different shape of the male paramere and female copulatory tube (see Pluot-Sigwalt et al. 2009, Figs. 33, 36, 39; Figs. 17–21 ).

Biology. No information on biology of this species is currently available. In our field observations on Amami-Ôshima and Okinawa Islands, most specimens were found to be associated with leaf-curl galls induced by the Cuban laurel thrips, Gynaikothrips ficorum (Marchal, 1908) ( Thysanoptera : Phlaeothripidae ) on Ficus microcarpa (Moraceae) .

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 13. Japanese Montandoniola species. 1 – 4, M. thripodes, male (1, 2) and female (3, 4); 5, 6, M. pictipennis, male; 7 – 13, M. kerzhneri sp. nov., female, holotype. 1 – 8, Habitus, dorsal (1, 3, 5, 7) and lateral (2, 4, 6, 8) views; 9, 10, head and pronotum, dorsal (9) and lateral (10) views; 11, ostiolar peritreme and evaporative area of left metapleura, lateroventral view; 12, left fore leg, outer view; 13, left mid leg, dorsal view. Scale bars: 1.0 mm for 1 – 8; 0.2 mm for 9, 10, 12, 13; 0.1 mm for 11.

FIGURES 14 – 16. Female left fore tibiae. 14, M. thripodes; 15, M. pictipennis; 16, M. kerzhneri sp. nov. Arrows indicate minute teeth. Scale bars: 0.2 mm.

FIGURES 17 – 22. Male (17 – 20) and female (21, 22) genitalia of M. pictipennis (17 – 20), M. thripodes (21) and M. kerzhneri sp. nov. (22). 17, Pygophore with paramere, dorsal view; 18, paramere, dorsal view; 19, 20, ditto, two different orientations; 21, 22, copulatory tube, dorsal view. Scale bars: 0.1 mm.