Tupiocoris cucurbitaceus (Spinola)

Ferreira, Paulo Sérgio Fiuza, Martins, David Dos Santos, Ferreira, Luciano Santana Fiuza & Fornazier, Maurício José, 2024, Synopsis of Miridae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) in Atlantic Forest Dominion, Espírito Santo State, Brazil: keys, diagnoses, new species, plant associations, and geographic distribution. Part I: Bryocorinae, Cylapinae and Deraeocorinae., Zootaxa 5468 (2), pp. 201-254 : 212-213

Tupiocoris cucurbitaceus (Spinola) ( Fig. 4-E )

Phytocoris cucurbitaceus Spinola 1852:196 ; Dicyphus cucurbitaceus : Carvalho & Drake 1943:294 (new combination); Kelton 1980A:387 (note, clarification); Tupiocoris cucurbitaceus : Cassis 1986:153 (new combination); Schuh 2002 –2013 (catalog online); Ferreira & Henry 2011:11 (description, key to species of Minas Gerais, Brazil, diagnosis hosts, distribution).

Diagnosis. Overall color pale green. Head black with a yellowish green spot on vertex. Antennal segment I brown to black, segment II black with pale apex, segment III pale to brown, and IV pale yellow. Pronotum black with wedgeshaped area in the middle, yellow; collar white. Scutellum black, with yellow basal angles. Hemelytra greenish; apical half of the clavus red; corium near the clavus and the inner apex red; apex of corium with black spot; cuneus yellowish with a red inner margin and black apex ( Ferreira & Henry 2011). Male genitalia as figure 10-E.

Plant Associations. Asteraceae : Urolepis hecatantha (DC.) R. King and H. Rob. ( Logarzo et al. 2005; Strassera 2021); Cucurbitaceae : Cucurbita sp. and cucurbits in general ( Silva et al. 1968; Ferreira & Rossi 1979; Strassera 2021); Fabaceae : Phaseolus vulgaris L.; Adesmia sp. ( Strassera 2021); Geraniaceae : Geranium spp. ; Pelargonium hortorum L. H. Bailey ( Schuh 2002 –2013); Poaceae : Cynodon spp. ( Veléz et al. 2020); Rosaceae : Rubus sp. ( Lindberg 1958); Solanaceae : Nicotiana tabacum L. ( Ferreira & Rossi 1979); Solanum lycopersicum L; Solanum tuberosum L. ( Ferreira et al. 2001; López et al. 2012); Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. ( Ferreira et al. 2001; Ferreira & Henry 2011).

Prey. Myzus persicae ( Hemiptera : Aphididae ); Trialeurodes vaporariorum ( Hemiptera : Aleyrodidae ) (Nogueira et al. 2019B); Cicadellidae ( Hemiptera : Auchenorrhyncha) ( Wheeler 2001); Ephestia kueniella ( Lepidoptera : Pyralidae ) ( Polack et al. 2017); Sitotroga cerealella ( Lepidoptera : Gelechiidae ) ( López et al. 2012); Tuta absoluta ( Lepidoptera : Gelechiidae ); Tetranychus urticae (Acarina: Tetranychidae ) ( López et al. 2012).

Distribution. Argentina ( Strassera 2021), Brazil (Espírito Santo (Venda Nova do Imigrante) ( Veléz et al. 2020), Minas Gerais, Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Santa Catarina (Nogueira et al. 2019A; Ferreira & Henry 2011), Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru ( Strassera 2021).

Espírito Santo material examined. Brazil: Espírito Santo: 1♀, Venda Nova, Sítio São José , Coord. 20º 24’ 19.59” S / 41º 7’ 1.47” W, Col.: M. C. Vélez, 04/III/2013; 3♀, Domingo Martins, ES, BR. 15-16/10/2018 — varredura—INCAPER-CRDR. Agricultura orgânica, David, Luciano, Fiuza cols.

Remarks. Tupiocoris cucurbitaceus has been the subject of extensive studies concerning its importance as a biological control agent of tomato pests. Its zoophytophagous diet is an important resource for biological control strategies. The mirid can feed on eggs and other stages of development of its prey. Females are more voracious than males and nymphs. Information about the importance of T. cucurbitaceus in biological control can be found in Polack et al. (2017), López et al. (2012, 2019), Strassera et al. (2020), Strassera (2021).

Figures

FIGURE 4. Tribe Dicyphini, A—Campyloneuropsis infumatus; B—Engytatus itatiaianus; C—Engytatus varians; D— Macrolophus praeclarus; E—Tupiocoris cucurbitaceus.