Meschia quadrimaculata Distant, 1910

Gao, Cuiqing & Malipatil, M. B., 2019, Meschia zoui sp. nov., first representative of the family Meschiidae from China (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Lygaeoidea), Zootaxa 4603 (1), pp. 172-182 : 173-176

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4603.1.9
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:F4068A81-94E5-4840-8519-3E95B2DA3701
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/272E8786-BD4E-1047-9CC6-F8B1FCB5DF0A
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Meschia quadrimaculata Distant, 1910
status

Treatment

Meschia quadrimaculata Distant, 1910 View in CoL

( Figs. 1–2 View FIGURE 1 View FIGURE 2 )

Meschia quadrimaculata Distant, 1910: 38 View in CoL (original description); Scudder, 1957: 28 (in key).

Specimens examined. 1 Ƌ, INDIA: Karnataka \ Bangalore : GKVK \ 12°58' N, 77°35' E, 930m \ 06.vi.2016. Light GoogleMaps Trap \ Yeshwanth H.M (pr) [VAIC]. 1 ♀, INDIA: Karnataka \ Doddaballapura , 880mt \ 13°20' N, 77°18' E \ 17. ix. 2010. Light trap \ A.N. Reddy (pr) [ VAIC] GoogleMaps .

Redescription. Colouration: Head, pronotum and scutellum ochraceous with dense brownish ochraceous punctures. Head with small conical protuberances anterior to juga pale ( Fig. 1d, e View FIGURE 1 ). Clypeus and spots on inner side of ocelli dark brown. Antennae brown with fourth segment excluding base and apex more or less fuscous, and base of first segment yellowish brown ( Fig. 1c View FIGURE 1 ). Pronotum with lateral margin and median longitudinal line pale. Pronotal posterior margin with four vague irregular fuscous or dark spots. Scutellum with basal part of lateral margin and median longitudinal line pale and impunctate. Corium pale ochraceous with ochraceous punctures, and also with black markings on middle of apical margin. Apical angle of corium marking with irregular dark fuscous puncture lines in one of the specimen examined. Membrane hyaline, passing apex of abdomen ( Fig. 1a View FIGURE 1 ). Ground colour of body beneath and legs pale ochraceous. Punctures beneath head concolorous with ground color. Labium golden-orange, with tip blackish brown ( Fig. 1b View FIGURE 1 ). Pleura scattered coarse ochraceous punctures, with a dark lateral line on each pleura. Metathoracic scent gland opening pale ochraceous, with tip fuscous. Punctures on distal upper side of femora dark. Tarsi ochraceous. Clavus dark brown. Median area of base of sterna golden-orange in one of the specimen examined.

Structure and measurements (male specimen measured): Body ( Fig. 1a, b View FIGURE 1 ) length including wings 3.80; maximum width 1.64. Head: length 0.68; width across eyes 1.29; interocular space 0.80; interocellar space 0.41; eyeocellar space 0.16; eye length 0.32; eye width 0.24. Labium extending to middle of abdominal sternum VII, length of segments: 0.64, 0.94, 0.64, 0.60. Labrum length 0.14. Antennae ( Fig. 1c View FIGURE 1 ), length of segments: 0.26, 0.69, 0.52, 0.67. Thorax: pronotal median length 0.85; width at anterior margin 0.83; width at posterior margin 1.50. Anterolateral angle of pronotum without a pointed extension ( Fig. 1d View FIGURE 1 ). Scutellum length 0.69, width 0.87. Length of hemelytron 2.43; length of corium 1.64; length claval commissure 0.21. Clavus punctate in three longitudinal rows, with some scattered irregular punctures between inner two rows of punctures.

Abdomen: Connexiva exposed beyond middle of corium. Outer laterotergites bicolored, with posterolateral areas darker ( Fig. 1a View FIGURE 1 ). Female sterna IV–VII increasingly narrowed medially and moved forward for reception of ovipositor.

Male genitalia ( Fig. 2 View FIGURE 2 ). Dorsal pygophore opening with middle part of lateral margin parallel, with a pair of small, obtuse protuberances; posterior margin of dorsal pygophore opening and cuplike sclerite not fused ( Fig. 2a View FIGURE 2 ); median indentation in posterior margin deep and broadly rounded towards caudal end ( Fig. 2a View FIGURE 2 ); tip of cuplike sclerite slightly narrowed, with median longitudinal ridge from lateral view. Phallus with basal apparatus, ejaculatory reservoir, helicoid process and gonoporal process sclerotized; phallotheca sclerotized, with dorsal area weakly sclerotized (rectangle highlighted area in Fig. 2d View FIGURE 2 ); phallotheca and conjunctiva without any processes; vesica with a lateral membranous lobe ( Fig. 2c View FIGURE 2 ); ejaculatory reservoir well developed, with a pear-shaped body and a pair of broad wings ( Fig. 2c View FIGURE 2 ); gonoporal process twisted about 2.5 times ( Fig. 2b View FIGURE 2 ); secondary gonopore as in Fig. 2b View FIGURE 2 . Paramere with dorsal lobe pointed and ventral lobe obtuse; middle part of blade not obviously broadened ( Fig. 2e, h View FIGURE 2 ).