Blaptostethus pallescens Poppius, 1909

Ballal, Chandish R., Akbar, Shahid Ali, Yamada, Kazutaka, Wachkoo, Aijaz Ahmad & Varshney, Richa, 2018, Annotated catalogue of the flower bugs from India (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae, Lasiochilidae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 58 (1), pp. 207-226 : 210-211

Blaptostethus pallescens Poppius, 1909

( Figs 16–17 , 22–24 )

Blaptostethus piceus var. pallescens Poppius, 1909: 41 . SYNTYPES: 1 ♀, India, Bombay [= Mumbai] (MCSN); 1 spec., Kenya, ‘Ostafrika, Waboniland’ (NHMW).

Blaptostethus pallescens : CARAYON (1972a): 329 (upgraded to species rank).

Material examined. INDIA: KARNATAKA: Bangalore, unknown date and collector, 17 9 ♀♀ ( TKPM, NBAIR) .

Distribution in India. Karnataka: Bangalore ( BALLAL et al. 2009); Maharashtra: Mumbai ( POPPIUS 1909); Tamil Nadu: Madras [= Chennai], Coimbatore ( MURALEEDHARAN 1977b).

General distribution. Réunion ( CARAYON 1958b, as Lasiochiloides pleneti), Egypt (TAWFIK & EL- HUSSEINI 1971), East Africa ( PÉRICART 1996), Madagascar (PÉRICART 1996).

Biology. The species inhabits corn (Zea sp.), Terminalis bellarica, Tithonia diversifolia and castor bean plant (Ricinus communis) and is found associated with the aphid Rhopalosiphum maidis (Fitch, 1856), thrips and the two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch, 1836 . This predator has also been evaluated as a biocontrol agent and potential predator of the maize stem borer, Chilo partellus (Swinhoe, 1885), and Tetranychus urticae ( JALALI & SINGH 2002; BALLAL et al. 2003a, 2009) and the mealybugs Phenacoccus solenopsis and Paracoccus marginatus ( BALLAL et al. 2012b). It has also been recently collected from Spathodea companulata (rain-drop tree) and from dry fallen leaves and flowers. TAWFIK & EL- HUSSEINI (1971) reported that this species was commonly found on corn and fed on a variety of insects and mites.

Figures

Figs 13–18. Habitus photographs of selected Indian Anthocoridae. 13 – Cardiastethus exiguus Poppius, 1913, feeding on papaya mealybug; 14 – Orius (Dimorphella) tantillus (Motschulsky, 1863), feeding on eggs of Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner, 1808); 15 – Cardiastethus affinis Poppius, 1909, feeding on scale insects; 16–17 – Blaptostethus pallescens Poppius, 1909, feeding on thrips and Spodoptera litura eggs; 18 – Xylocoris (Arrostelus) flavipes (Reuter, 1875), feeding on mite. Photo credits: C. Ballal.

Figs 19–27. Life stages of Indian anthocorids (egg, nymph, adult). 19–21 – Cardiastethus exiguus Poppius, 1913; 22–24 – Blaptostethus pallescens Poppius, 1909; 25–27 – Xylocoris flavipes (Reuter, 1875). Photo credits: C. Ballal.