Bertilia valdiviana (Philippi, 1865)

Roth, Steffen, Hahn, Steffen, Montani, María Eugenia & Coscarón, María Del Carmen, 2023, Contribution to the Cimicidae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) fauna from Argentina: biology and geographical distribution, Zootaxa 5323 (4), pp. 587-594 : 591

Notes on the only known Argentinian locality of Bertilia valdiviana and its possible host species

Bertilia valdiviana is one of the most puzzling cimicid species for several reasons (but see Coetzee & Segerman 1992 for a similar case). First, the latest record of the species is 72 years old ( Wygodzinsky 1951). Second, its host is unknown ( Usinger 1966). Third, its reported habitats are highly unusual for any other cimicid species. Usinger (1966: 305), referring to “Philippi and Ross and Michelbacher” and “Wygodzinsky and Kuschel”, reported that the species occurs “under bark” and “under stones”. In an attempt to find the species, we (SR & SH) visited the locality where Wygodzinsky collected material which served as the basis of the only comprehensive redescription of the species ( Wygodzinsky 1951; Usinger 1966): the El Trébol Lagoon, west of San Carlos de Bariloche, Río Negro (41.065S, 71.495°W), in December 2018. A search under the bark of about 40 standing or laying trunks of Nothofagus sp. (Nothofagaceae) yielded no specimens. Wygodzinsky (1951) also reported specimens from under stones at the foot of a rock formation and assumed that the species is associated with a bat host, because bat fecal pellets were found. This information was not mentioned by Usinger (1966), or the occurrence under rocks was mistranslated (from Spanish “roca”, Wygodzinsky 1951: 193) into occurrence under stones. We were able to locate the very rock formation ( Fig. 6 ), found bat fecal pellets and a dead bat, but a 4 man-hours search did not result in any cimicid specimen. Nevertheless, based on the information provided by Wygodzinsky (1951) and on our inspection, an association of B. valdiviana to bats is very likely, and it is in accordance with the host preference of most other related cimicid species ( Usinger 1966; Roth et al. 2019). We think this information is useful for further studies on this rare species.

Figures

FIGURES 3–6. 3, Propicimex tucmatiani (Wygodzinsky, 1951), a male found at INTA Delta Station, dorsal view. 4, Same individual, terminalia. 5, Terminalia of a conspecific female from the same collecting event. 6, Rock formation at El Trébol Lagoon, west of San Carlos de Bariloche, Río Negro (41.065°S, 71.495°W) examined looking for the presence of Bertilia valdiviana in December 2018.