Salicarus concinnus V. G. Putshkov, 1977

Figs 1 A – F, 4 A – C, 7 A, B, 9 A – C, 10 A, B

Salicarus (Salicarus) concinnus V. G. Putshkov, 1977: 365.

Salicarus concinnus: Konstantinov (2023): 874 (phylogenetic placement, figures, discussion).

Material examined.

Holotype: Tajikistan • ♂ Kondara Canyon, Valley of Varzob River, 38.83333 ° N, 68.83333 ° E, 1100 m, 08 Jul 1955, Lopatin, (AMNH _ PBI 00233863) (ZISP) . Paratypes: Kazakhstan • South Kazakhstan Prov.: Daubaba nr Tyul’kubas, Shimkent Dist., 42.46666 ° N, 70.26666 ° E, 18 Jun 1966, Unknown collector, Salix sp. ( Salicaceae), 1 ♂ (AMNH _ PBI 00233874) (ZISP) . Kyrgyzstan • Gava, 41.26666 ° N, 72.83333 ° E, 03 Aug 1937, A. N. Kiritshenko, 2 ♂ (AMNH _ PBI 00233872, AMNH _ PBI 00233873) (ZISP) . Tajikistan • Kondara Canyon, Valley of Varzob River, 38.83333 ° N, 68.83333 ° E, 1100 m, 19 Jun 1937, Gussakovskiy, 1 ♀ (AMNH _ PBI 00233768) (ZISP) • 30 Jun 1943, A. N. Kiritshenko, 2 ♂ (AMNH _ PBI 00233866, AMNH _ PBI 00233867), 4 ♀ (AMNH _ PBI 00233761 - AMNH _ PBI 00233764) (ZISP) • 05 Jul 1943, A. N. Kiritshenko, 1 ♀ (AMNH _ PBI 00233760) (ZISP) • 10 Jun 1955, Zakieva, 1 ♀ (AMNH _ PBI 00233769) (ZISP) • 16 Jun 1955, Lopatin, 1 ♀ (AMNH _ PBI 00233758) (ZISP) • 08 Jul 1955, Lopatin, 1 ♂ (AMNH _ PBI 00233864), 2 ♀ (AMNH _ PBI 00233756, AMNH _ PBI 00233757) (ZISP) • 09 Jul 1955, Lopatin, 1 ♂ (AMNH _ PBI 00233865), 1 ♀ (AMNH _ PBI 00233759) (ZISP) • 13 Jun 1956, Denisova and Ivanova, 3 ♀ (AMNH _ PBI 00233765 - AMNH _ PBI 00233767) (ZISP) • 28 Jun 1956, Kiriyanova, 2 ♀ (AMNH _ PBI 00233770, AMNH _ PBI 00233771) (ZISP) . Uzbekistan • Angren River, 15 km NO Angren, 41.1 ° N, 70.3 ° E, 18 Jun 1966, I. M. Kerzhner, 4 ♀ (AMNH _ PBI 00233868 - AMNH _ PBI 00233871), 8 ♂ (AMNH _ PBI 00233868 - AMNH _ PBI 00233871) (ZISP) • Karzhantau Mt. Ridge, 41.73333 ° N, 70.03333 ° E, 01 Jul 1939, Obukhova, Salix wilhelmsiana ( Salicaceae), 1 ♀ (AMNH _ PBI 00233773) (ZISP) • Tugay Ugama, Karzhantau Mt. Ridge, 41.73333 ° N, 70.03333 ° E, 17 Jul 1939, Obukhova, Salix sp. ( Salicaceae), 4 ♂ (AMNH _ PBI 00233875 - AMNH _ PBI 00233878), 1 ♀ (AMNH _ PBI 00233772) (ZISP) .

Other specimens examined: Tajikistan • 6 km W Kuibyshevsk, Valley of Vakhsh River, 37.96666 ° N, 68.75 ° E, 14 Jul 1943, A. N. Kiritshenko, 1 ♀ (AMNH _ PBI 00233774) (ZISP) . Turkmenistan • Charshanga, 30 km W Kelif, 37.5 ° N, 66.015 ° E, 07 Jun 1934, Bregetova, 2 ♀ (AMNH _ PBI 00233775, AMNH _ PBI 00233776) (ZISP) . Uzbekistan • Karzhantau Mt. Ridge, 41.73333 ° N, 70.03333 ° E, 01 Jul 1939, Obukhova, Salix wilhelmsiana ( Salicaceae), 1 ♂ (AMNH _ PBI 00233879) (ZISP) .

Diagnosis.

Recognized by the following combination of characters: Body oval, total length 3.0–3.7; antenna uniformly pale yellow, with thin segment II (Fig. 4 A, B), coloration of dorsum variable, ranging from entirely or largely brown to pale yellow with darkened basal margin of pronotum (Fig. 1 A – F); hemelytron clothed with a mixture of short adpressed simple setae and scarce, narrow, apically acuminate, silvery scale-like setae (Fig. 4 C); pronotum and scutellum with short simple setae only; apical blades of vesica robust, almost straight, and parallel each other (Fig. 7 A, B).

Salicarus concinnus is most similar in size, body proportions, vestiture, and vesica structure to S. roseri and S. urnammu . The vestiture of the dorsum in all three species is mainly composed of short, adpressed simple setae, with the addition of scarce, narrow, apically acuminate scale-like setae on the hemelytron in the case of S. concinnus and S. urnammu . In S. roseri, scale-like setae are present on the thoracic pleura only. The color pattern of the dorsum in these species is highly variable, although in S. concinnus, it tends to be more uniform, frequently being either dark brown with a yellowish vertex or whitish yellow with a darkened posterior margin of the pronotum. In contrast, in dark specimens of S. urnammu and pale specimens of S. roseri, the anterior part of the pronotum is most frequently darkened, and the hemelytron usually has a more or less darkened endocorium (Figs 2 F – I, 3 A – D). The vesica in these species is relatively large, with short and robust, knife-shaped apical blades. However, in both S. roseri and S. urnammu, the apical blades of the vesica are apically diverging (Fig. 7 G – J), while they are parallel to each other in S. concinnus (Fig. 7 A, B).

Redescription.

Male. Coloration. Variable, ranging from entirely or largely brown to pale yellow with darkened basal margin of pronotum (Fig. 1 A – C). Head: Brown, with narrow whitish edging along eyes gradually expanding towards vertex to whitish yellow, with large brown spot on frons, sometimes uniformly whitish yellow; vertex always whitish entirely or along posterior margin; antenna uniformly pale yellow; labrum dirty yellow; entire labium brown even in pale specimens, with dark brown segment IV. Thorax: Pronotum dorsally ranging from brown, darker towards base, to pale yellow, with narrowly brown posterior margin; lateral sides of pronotum uniformly brown to pale yellow with narrow brown edging; exposed part of mesonotum and scutellum from uniformly brown to pale yellow, sides of mesonotum sometimes with orange tinge. Hemelytron uniformly brown, pale brown or whitish yellow; membrane pale brown, semitransparent. Coxae entirely or basally brown; femora always brown in basal two-thirds, with pale yellow apices; tibiae and tarsi uniformly pale yellow. Thoracic pleura always brown to dark brown. Abdomen: Uniformly brown to dark brown.

Surface and vestiture. Dorsum smooth, shiny. Pronotum, scutellum, and hemelytron with short, subequal in length to scale-like setae on hemelytron, adpressed simple setae, usually dark brown, sometimes yellowish; hemelytron additionally with silver scale-like setae; thoracic pleurites clothed with dense scale-like setae only (Fig. 4 A – C); appendages and abdomen with thin and short, adpressed, whitish simple setae; tibial spines black.

Structure. Body oval, 2.4–2.8 × as long as posterior width of pronotum, total length 3.0–3.7; head vertical, rather vide, slightly protruding beyond eyes anteriorly and ventrally; vertex flat, posteriorly attenuate and covering anterior margin of pronotum, 2.1–2.3 × as wide as eye; frons weakly convex; clypeus flat, not visible in dorsal view; antennal segment II thin and short, 0.5–0.6 × as long as posterior width of pronotum, 0.9 × as long as width of head; pronotum with broadly rounded anterior and posterior corners, 1.9–2.1 × as wide as long, 1.5–1.6 × as wide as head.

Genitalia. Right paramere oval, ~ 1.9 × as long as wide, with basal part broadly rounded and expanded proximally beyond basal process; apical process comparatively short, subrectangular (Fig. 9 A). Left paramere with long, thin, and straight apical process and relatively thin, apically broadly rounded sensory lobe (Fig. 9 B). Vesica relatively large, with almost straight, robust and parallel subapical blades (Fig. 7 A, B).

Female. Coloration, surface and vestiture. As in male (Fig. 1 D – F). Structure. Similar to male, body 2.3–2.6 × as long as posterior width of pronotum; total length 3.0–3.5; vertex 2.3–2.6 × as wide as eye; antennal segment II 0.5 × as long as posterior width of pronotum, 0.8–0.9 × as long as width of head; pronotum 2.0–2.2 × as wide as long, 1.5–1.7 × as wide as head.

Genitalia. Dorsal labiate plate with large and broadly oval sclerotized rings (Fig. 10 A). Vestibulum S-shaped, thin (Fig. 10 B).

Distribution.

Central Asia. Known from Southern Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan (Putshkov 1977).

Hosts.

Feeds on fructiferous Salix spp. (Putshkov 1977).