Khumbumiris schwartzi, Yasunaga & Duwal, 2016

Yasunaga, Tomohide & Duwal, Ram Keshari, 2016, Three noteworthy mirine plant bugs inhabiting subalpine zones of the Nepalese Himalayas (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Miridae: Mirinae), Journal of Natural History (J. Nat. Hist.) 51 (1 - 2), pp. 33-49 : 40-41

Khumbumiris schwartzi sp. nov.

( Figures 1 (e), 2(g, h), 3)

Type material

Holotype. Male, NEPAL, Khumbu Himal, Sagarmatha National Park , Namche Bazar – Phorte [Phurte], 27.81°N, 86.69°E, 3400–3500 m altitude, on Abies spectabilis , 29 August 2005, T. Yasunaga ( AMNH _ PBI 00380458 ) ( NMTU).

Diagnosis

The present new species is recognized easily by the generic diagnostic characters; similar in external appearance to Nepalocoris elysae Schwartz (Stenodemini) and Erimiris tenuicornis Miyamoto & Hasegawa (Mecistoscelini) , from which Khumbumiris schwartzi can be distinguished by the characters mentioned in the generic discussion above.

Description

Male. Body basically dark brownish, very slender in form; dorsum fuscous with yellow maculae ( Figure 1 (e)); general appearance most reminiscent of a certain member of Dryophilocoris Reuter (Orthotylinae) . Head sombre pale brown, weakly shining, with three darker stripes along mesal sulcus and laterally ( Figure 2 (g)); posterior margin of eye sanguineous ( Figure 1 (e)). Antenna dark brown; segment I reddish brown; segment II except for base and apex pale brown. Labium shiny pale brown; segment I a little more yellowish; apical half of segment IV darker. Pronotum dark brown, shining, medially pale or reddish brown, except for a pair of dark, mesal stripes on anterior half; calli transversely wrinkled; scutellum shiny fuscous, with a narrow, yellow, longitudinal stripe and a yellow spot at each corner; pleura mostly darkened. Hemelytron sombre brown, oily shiny, impunctate; anterior lateral margin of clavus and base of cuneus yellowish brown ( Figure 1 (e)); membrane smoky brown, with apical areolar cell yellowish brown. Coxae and legs pale brown; all femora shiny dark brown; apex of each tibia slightly darker. Abdomen shiny dark brown. Male genitalia as in generic description.

Female. Unknown.

Measurements

Holotype male. Total length of body 4.75; head width including eyes 0.72; vertex width 0.38; lengths of antennal segments I–IV 0.57, 1.31, 1.24, 1.01; labial length 1.52; mesal length of pronotum including collar 0.61; basal width of pronotum 1.14; maximum width across hemelytron 1.31; and lengths of metafemur, tibia and tarsus 1.81, 2.28, 0.72.

Etymology

Named in honour of our friend and mentor Michael D Schwartz, the world’ s leading expert on the mirine plant bug.

Distribution

Nepal (Khumbu District).

Biology

A single adult male of this mirid was captured from Abies spectabilis (D.Don) Spach (Pinaceae) , but the true host association needs further verification by occurrence of its immature forms. On the same coniferous species at the type locality [Phurte (or Phorte) Village, 3800 m altitude], several other mirids, an isometopine Sagarmathametopus fuscenscens described by Yasunaga and Duwal (2006), a typical green Lygocoris species (that currently cannot be given its unequivocal identity as all specimens were female), and Phytocoris sagarmathanus (described below) were found to co-occur.

Figures

Figure 1. Habitus images and subalpine habitats of new mirine plant bugs. (a) Rhododendron azalea in Langtang Himal, habitat for Lygocoris laligurans; (b) same, in Sagarmatha (Everest) National Park, Khumbu Himal; (c) Lygocoris laligurans, female adult; (d) an East Himalayan Fir, Abies spectabilis, habitat (and possibly breeding host) for both Khumbumiris schwartzi and Phytocoris sagarmathanus; (e) K. schwartzi, holotype male (AMNH_PBI 00380458); (f–g) P. sagarmathanus, females.

Figure 2. Habitus images of dry-preserved specimens. (a, b) Lygocoris laligurans; (c–f) Phytocoris sagarmathanus; (g–k) Khumbumiris schwartzi (AMNH_PBI 00380458); (i) pretarsus of foreleg; (j) metathoracic scent efferent system; (k) metatarsus.