Nysius femoratus Van Duzee

Malipatil, M. B., 2010, Review and Revision of Nysius Dallas of Australia and South West Pacific (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Orsillidae), Zootaxa 2410 (1), pp. 29-44 : 39

Nysius femoratus Van Duzee

Nysius femoratus Van Duzee, 1940: 182–3 .

Type specimens examined: Holotype female, “Anuda Island east of Santa Cruz Islands 15 July 1933 ” “No. 5132,” dissected, shrivelled spermatheca mounted on clear gel sheet, in California Academy of Sciences , San Francisco.

Description: Measurements are of the holotype female.

Body length 3.8; maximum width 1.30.

Coloration: Head fulvous brown, median line anteriorly and a broad lateral vitta next to eyes and beneath black; eyes reddish-fuscous. Antennae generally light brown, with 1 st segment testaceous dark brown. Bucculae narrowly pale. Labium fuscous brown, distal 2 segments almost uniformly fuscous. Pronotum fuscous with patches testaceous. Scutellum black, extreme tip pale. Hemelytra whitish hyaline; a spot on inner angle of clavus connecting with commissure, and about 3 vittae on corium and radial vein, in part fuscous; membrane hyaline, a median vitta widened behind fuscous. Body beneath black, with anterior margin and a lateral spot on propleura and ostiolar orifice, fulvous brown; disc of venter black with pale spot posteriorly. Legs pale testaceous yellowish; femora except apex black, polished; tips of tarsi infuscated.

Structure: Body above except hemelytra polished, coarsely punctate, clothed in part with very minute pale setae.

Head: Length of head 0.70; width across eyes 1.02; interocular space 0.52; interocellar space 0.26; eyeocellar space 0.10; eye length 0.30; eye width 0.25. Bucculae with a few distinct punctures, ending before base of head. Labium extending to hind coxae, length of segments: I 0.50; II 0.41; III 0.38; IV 0.37. Antennae with 1st segment slightly incrassate, length of segments: I 0.30; II 0.67; III 0.57; IV missing.

Thorax: Pronotum coarsely punctae, median length 0.75; width anterior margin 0.82; width posterior margin 1.27. Scutellum length 0.62; width 0.73. Length of hemelytra 2.63; length of corium 1.91; claval commissure 0.37. Sides of pronotum and hemelytra with short bristly setae in addition to yellow pubescence.

Abdomen: Ventral trichobothria on sterna III and IV almost in a straight line.

Male: Aedeagus almost similar to that in N. vinitor .

Female: Abdominal terga sclerotised as in N. vinitor . Spermatheca as in N. vinitor , with one loop and 2–3 twists, apical sac part globose and slightly broader than subapical part.

Other details as in original description, and generally as in N. vinitor .

Distribution. Anuda Island just east of Santa Cruz Islands ( Solomon Islands).

Diagnosis. N. femoratus can be readily distinguished from N. caledoniae by its uniformly black and shiny femora.