Pherolepis aenescens ( Reuter, 1901 )

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 : 4-6

Pherolepis aenescens ( Reuter, 1901)

( Figs. 1, 2 , 12–21 )

Neocoris aenescens Reuter, 1901:188 .

Monosynamma aenescens Cavalho, 1958: 75 . Pherolepis atrans: Kulik, 1968: 140 .

Hypseloecus aenescens Kerzhner, 1970: 639, 1988:115 . Pherolepis aenescens Schuh, 1989: 4, 1995: 457 .

Specimens examined: CHINA: Nei Mongol Autonomous Region: 2 males, Zhenglan Banner (42°13'N, 116°00'E), 23.VII. 2005, alt. 1300m, Xu Zhang and Xiao-ming Li leg.. Beijing: 1 male, Xishan Mountain (39°55'N, 116°24'E), 28. V. 1957, Song-he Ying and Shao-hua Li leg.; 1 male, same data as above, 12. VII. 1957. Heilongjiang Province: 1male, Ningan City (44°21'N, 129°28'E), 7. VII. 2003, Xin Yu leg.; 1 female, Jiamusi City (46°47'N, 130°22'E), 1. VIII. 1984. Henan Province: 1 female, Anyang City (36°06'N, 114°21'E), 3. VIII. 1995. Gansu Province: 1 male, Pingliang City (35°32'N, 106°40'E), 29. VII. 1992, Guoqing Liu leg.. Hui Autonomous Region of Ningxia: 1 male, Jingyuan County (35°29'N, 106°19'E), 27. VII. 1992, Guo-qing Liu leg..

Diagnosis: Recognized by the brown, castaneous to almost black body ( Figs. 1, 2 ), recumbent and suberect simple setae on the lateral surface of the head ( Fig. 12 ), the smooth, polished and shining pronotum with hardly visible, short, appressed simple setae, the almost black pronotum, the brown propleuron, the flattened scutellum covered with dense, appressed, lanceolate, scalelike setae laterally and apically, the same type of setae on proximal half of the hemelytron ( Fig. 13 ), and the form of male genitalia ( Figs. 16–21 ). Easily distinguished from its congeners by the particular pattern of scalelike setae arranged on proximal half of the hemelytron ( Figs. 1, 2 , 13 ), as well as by the unique form of vesica ( Fig. 16 ) and left paramere ( Figs. 17, 18 ).

Redescription: Male ( Fig. 1 ): Macropterous, oval, broad, medium-sized.

Coloration: General coloration of dorsum brown-castaneous to almost black; vertex, frons and clypeus black; mandibular and maxillary plates reddish brown; buccula deep brown; labium deep brown with segment I and II relatively reddish; antennal segment I brown, segment II reddish brown, segment III and IV uniformly castaneous; pronotum, mesoscutum exposed, scutellum and mesepisternum black; hemelytron yellow-brown, cuneus deep castaneous with lateral margin red-brown; coxae dirty yellow, femora deep brown with basal margin yellowish, tibiae yellow-brown, tarsal segment I and II pale-yellow with segment III black; abdominen deep brown with central margin black.

Surface and vestiture: Vertex, frons and pronotum with appressed, irregularly scattered simple setae; hemelytron with two types of setae: appressed, flattened scalelike setae and relatively short, declined simple setae; scalelike setae scattered on mesepisternum in the form of a band, mesepimeron with several patches of scalelike setae.

Structure: Head ( Fig. 12 ): Transverse in dorsal view, weakly elongate in lateral view, clypeus invisible in dorsal view; vertex flattened and broad, posterior margin in the form of a complete carina; mandibular plate flattened and triangular, maxillary plate weakly humped, buccular narrowly elongate; labium slightly stout, reaching posterior margin of mesocoxae; antennal segment I cylindrical, weakly enlarged, segment II slender, elongate, straight, distally weakly enlarged, segment III weakly enlarged mesially, length of segment IV distinctly shorter than that of segment III. Thorax: Pronotum broad, trapeziform, anterior margin weakly convex, finely conforming to posterior margin of vertex, lateral margin straight, posterior marign concave mesially, anterior and posterior lobe not demarcated, posterior lobe moderately elevated; scutellum flattened, weakly humped mesially; hemelytron broad, exterior margin weakly convex; clavus slightly elevated along claval commissure; cuneus slightly declivous, lateral margin weakly rounded; femora stout, rounded mesially, tibiae elongate, meta-tibiae weakly curved. Abdomen: Moderately broad and stout.

Male genitalia ( Figs. 16–20 ): Vesica L-shaped; elongate, lanceolate, spinelike projection located on proximal 2/3 of vesica with a distinctly sharp process basally ( Fig. 16 ); left paramere boat-shaped with blunt and short hypophysis and sensory lobe ( Figs. 17, 18 ); right paramere broadly flattened, leaflike ( Fig. 19 ); phallotheca stout with apex broadly enlarged ( Fig. 20 ).

Female ( Fig. 2 ): Macropterous. Surface and coloration similar to male, the size weakly bigger than male, body broader.

Female genitalia: Structure as figure 21.

Host: Salix sp., Ulmus pumila .

Distribution: China (Heilongjiang, Beijing, Nei Mongol, Henan, Gansu, Ningxia, Shaanxi), Far East of the USSR (Primorsk Territory, Transbaikal), Mongolia.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 11. Habitus views of Pherolepis spp. 1. aenescens (male); 2. aenescens (female); 3. amplus (male); 4. amplus (female); 5. kiritshenkoi (male); 6. longipilus (male); 7. longipilus (female); 8. nigrinus (male); 9. nigrinus (female); 10. robustus (male); 11. robustus (female)

FIGURES 12 – 15. Scanning electron micrographs of morphological structures of P. aenescens (male): 12. Lateral view of head; 13. Scalelike setae on dorsum; 14. Parempodia; 15. Scent-gland evaporatory area

FIGURES 16 – 21. Pherolepis aenescense (Reuter): 16 – 20. Male genitalia (scale = 0.10 mm): 16. Vesica; 17. Left paramere; 18. Left paramere, apical view; 19. Right paramere; 20. Phallotheca. 21. Female genitalia (scale = 0.20 mm), dorsal view.