Myiomma cobbeni Akingbohungbe, 2850

Krüger, Andreas, 2018, Vehicle-mounted net sampling of airborne micro-Heteroptera in western Liberia, West Africa: 1. Isometopinae (Miridae), Zootaxa 4378 (4), pp. 491-515 : 505-508

Myiomma cobbeni Akingbohungbe

( Figure 11 )

Myiomma cobbeni Akingbohungbe 2003: 2850 (Type by original designation, female).

Description. Male. Length 2.0 (figure 11 A). Maximum width across hemelytra 0.91. Head (figures 11B–D) dorsal width 0.43, dorsal length 0.18; facial width 0.32–0.36; facial length 0.34–0.4. Minimum frontal interocular space 0.01; posterior space 0.03. Maximum width of eye 0.2; height 0.29. Height of gena 0.23. Ocellus width 0.02; interocellar space 0.02. Maximum width of pronotum 0.78; median length 0.3 (figure 11B). Scutellum length 0.3; width 0.43; cuneus length 0.23; width 0.21. Rostrum 1.23 (figure 11E). Antennae I 0.08; II 0.58–0.6 (figure 11F); III 0.12; IV 0.11.

Head strongly deflexed; vertex broadly horizontal, together with eyes distinctly reflexed over anterior pronotal margin; from above 2.4x as broad as long, 0.62x as long as pronotum; slightly convex in front, triangular below eyes; broadest across postgenae. Color ivory-whitish, frons with red, somewhat T-shaped ornamentation centrally, postgenae behind lower eye corner, genae just below lower eye corner, and vertex around ocellae with dark brown spots. Entire disc generally pubescent with short semi-erect pale hairs. Genae considerably high, about 0.8x height of eye. Antennae I and II pale yellow to greyish; II subapically brown; III and IV brownish. II cylindrical, as thick as I; clothed with greyish erect hairs about twice as long as segment is thick. Rostrum I–III pale, IV dark brown; reaching as far back as seventh abdominal segment.

Pronotum trapeziform, about 2.6x as broad as long, lateral margins straight, sharply carinate; posterior margin bisinuate; calli obsolete; finely punctate. Disk bi-colored: anterior, lateral and posterior margins broadly ivorywhitish, a central transverse band, the very anterior marginal edge and posterior humeral angles dark reddish brown. Mesoscutum impunctate; orange with dark red marking anteriorly on each lobe. Scutellum granulate; mostly greyish-white, broad band along base and two subapical vittae dark brown; tip pale yellow.

Hemelytra generally dull reddish brown; costa orange; embolium, broad basal band on cuneus, median vitta on clavus, one vitta running along radial vein, and another mesad of claval suture greyish. Membrane greyish hyaline.

Venter largely dark reddish brown with pleura mostly ivory-whitish. Coxae, trochanters, fore and mid femora generally pale hyaline; hind femora with subapical dark brown ring plus a dorsal dark brown and a ventral reddish vitta proximally. Tibiae pale yellowish, fore and mid tibiae with alternating darker bands. Femoral trichobothrial pattern: two apical plus one subapical metafemoral, and one median mesofemoral, all with sunken bothria.

Genitalia as illustrated in figure 11G. Endosoma of aedeagus very short. Right paramere simple. Proximal bulb of left paramere granulate, pilose. Apical arm smoothly bent.

Specimens examined. 3♂ allotypes, Liberia: Bong county (trips to/from: LRU—Airfield—Dam 12— Fahn Gbolo ), 17.iv–12.v 1989 (leg. Garms).

Remarks. The decision of con-specificity with M. cobbeni , which was described from a single female from Ivory Coast, is based on i) the general agreement of habitus and the unique color features and ii) the geographic neighborhood of the two countries of origin. It has to be noted though that some morphometric characters and the mesofemoral trichobothrial pattern differ, but this may be attributable to sexual dimorphism.

Figures

FIGURE 11. Myiomma cobbeni male. A—habitus, dorsad; B—head, thorax dorsad; C—head, frontal view; D—head laterad; E—habitus, ventrad; F—antenna II; G—parameres and aedeagus.Scales:A+E = 1 mm; B–D, F = 0.4 mm; G = 0.05 mm.