Pherolepis Kulik, 1968

Zhang, Xu & Liu, Guo-Qing, 2009, Revision of the pilophorine plant bug genus Pherolepis Kulik, 1968 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Miridae: Phylinae), Zootaxa 2281, pp. 1-20 : 3

Pherolepis Kulik, 1968

Pherolepis Kulik 1968: 140 .

Type species: Pherolepis aenescens ( Reuter, 1901)

Diagnosis: Body broad and stout, weakly ovate; both male and female macropterous with membrane weakly declining; frons and clypeus more or less protuberant beyond anterior margin of eyes; posterior margin of vertex forming a complete carina; mandibular and maxillary plate rather broad; labium stout, at least reaching posterior margin of mesocoxae; pronotum broadly trapeziform with almost straight lateral margin; scutellum flattened, weakly swollen mesially; hemelytron rather broad and flattened, the corium covered with appressed or recumbent simple setae and scalelike or sericeous, appressed, curved and shining setae. Coloration of dorsal body usually brown, castaneous or almost black, sometimes reddish especially on lateral surface.

Pherolepis are most similar in body appearance and dorsal coloration to Druthmarus Distant (1909) and Hypseloecus Reuter (1891) , but could be separated from Druthmarus by never strongly enlarged antennal segment II, from Hypseloecus by lacking patches of scalelike setae on pronotum, propleuron and the whole abdominal surface. The structure of male genitalia in Pherolepis is closest to that of Pilophorus , whereas Pilophorus are more or less ant-mimetic and the scalelike setae on hemelytron always in the form of two transverse bands or several distinct patches.

Male genitalia: Vesica L-shaped, more or less curved, never twisted, apically with an elongate spicule and a broad membrane, mesially with a distinctive, lanceolate projection; gonopore less developed; left paramere conventional phyline; right paramere lanceolate, leaf-shaped; phallotheca sclerotized, beaklike apically.

Female genitalia: Bursa copulatrix rounded; sclerotized rings large, weakly quadrangular; vestibulum small, basal margin weakly enlarged with remainder tubular and curved; lateral oviduct tubular and slender, sometimes elongate; accessory gland forming a weakly sinuate tube.

Hosts: Four species, P. a e n e s c e n s, P. amplus , P. fasciatus and P. kiritshenkoi are recognized to feed on Salix (Salicaceae) and Ulmus (Ulmaceae) ( Kerzhner, 1970), but nothing is known of their habits. Baoying Qi (1996) noted that P. amplus had been predaceous-phytophagous when he summarized the predatory Mirids from Nei Mongol Autonomous Region of China. But he did not point out the prey. I collected specimens of P. robustus sp. nov. from a Pinus sp. where they had been feeding on the needles and buds.

Distribution: China, Far East of the USSR, Mongolia and Japan.

Note: Kerzhner (1970, 1988) described the hemelytron of Pherolepis amplus Kulik and P. kiritshenkoi (Kerzhner) covered with silvery scales. But according to the examination of related specimens and scanning electron micrographs, we consider that the “silvery scales” of the two species should be defined as sericeous setae, which are strongly shining and weakly flattened. Whereas slivery scales or scalelike setae which scattered on hemelytron of P. aenescens (Reuter) and P. fasciatus (Kerzhner) are silvery, distinctly flattened.