Blesingia Carvalho and Gross

Menard, Katrina L. & Schuh, Randall T., 2011, Revision Of Leucophoropterini: Diagnoses, Key To Genera, Redescription Of The Australian Fauna, And Descriptions Of New Indo-Pacific Genera And Species (Insecta: Hemiptera: Miridae), Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2011 (361), pp. 1-159 : 80-84

Blesingia Carvalho and Gross Figures 14–16 , 44P–Q ; plates 5, 8

Blesingia Carvalho and Gross, 1982: 42 (n. gen., descr., disc. key to spp.).

Pseudoleucophoroptera Schuh 1984: 235 (n. gen., diag., descr., disc.). NEW SYNONYMY.

TYPE SPECIES: Blesingia gularis Carvalho and Gross, 1982 , by original designation.

DIAGNOSIS: Recognized by relatively elongate face, with equal to or greater than M of total height of head below eyes, medially constricted lateral margins of hemelytron, trapezoidal pronotum lacking flattened pronotal collar, relatively elongate antennal segment 2, narrow and elongate metafemur, presence of row of fringelike setae on metafemur, and posterior margin of eyes obscuring anterior margin of pronotum.

REDESCRIPTION: Male: Macropterous, medium to large sized, elongate, medially constricted. Total length 2.96–4.06, width pronotum 0.94–1.12, maximum width across hemelytra 0.99–1.22. COLORATION: Brown, pale brown, and castaneous. Head: Brown. Eyes silver, dark brown, or purple. Labium completely brown or with medial sections paler. Antennal segment 1 completely golden to golden basally, dark distally, segment 2 brown, segment 3 completely brown or pale basally and brown distally, segment 4 completely brown. Thorax: Pronotum, scutellum and thorax dark brown. Dorsolateral margin of metepisternum and scent gland with relatively narrow white band, width equal to about one-eighth of total width of scent gland to J width, scent gland either continuous with thorax or paler. Legs: Procoxae entirely or partially white, mesocoxae reddish brown to brown, metacoxae dark basally pale distally for over half of length to completely dark brown. Profemora golden to dark brown, mid femora pale to dark brown, metafemur brown. Pro- and mesotibiae basally dark brown, distally golden, with metatibiae pale apically at joint with metafemora, dark brown for remainder of length or brown basally and golden distally, and with parallel rows of dark spicules. Basal tarsomeres golden and distally dark brown to all segments dark brown. Hemelytra: Brown with transparent transverse fascia on anterior margin of hemelytron occupying narrow band across most of anterior margin of corium to most of anterior surface, narrowing to band across clavus, dark brown posterior margin to fascia that transverses across entirety of hemelytron (pl. 5). Posterolateral margins of corium dark brown to reddish-castaneous color. Anterior margin of cuneus and sometimes posterior margin of corium anterior to cuneal fracture white with yellowish tinge at lateral margins, occupying less than one-fifth total area of cuneus to nearly M, posterior dark reddish brown to brown. Abdomen: Brown. SUR- FACE AND VESTITURE: Dorsal surface of body and hemelytron covered with long, pale brown simple setae and short, silverish setae concentrated anterior and posterior to transverse fascia of hemelytron. Medial portion of hemelytron and median of claval suture with reflective patches. Posteroventral surface of metafemora with row of setae forming distinctive fringe appearance. STRUCTURE: Head: Clypeus partially visible or obscured by frons in dorsal and lateral view. Area of head below eyes in anterior view relatively narrow and constricted laterally with width just wider than width of vertex to narrower than width of vertex. Vertex weakly concave to flat, with posterior raised for medial half and lateral margins declining forming shelflike appearance or completely flat, width equal to or less than width of eye. Eyes contiguous with anterior margin of vertex to weakly removed. Eye height greater than 1.5 total height of head, vertex partially visible to obscured in lateral view by anterior surface of eyes, and posterior margin of eyes obscures anterior margin of pronotum. At least M total height of head below eyes to up to half of total height, gula short to elongate, flat. Antennal segment 1 inverted-coke-bottle shaped, length surpassing apex of head; segment 2 long and wider in diameter than segment 1, increasing in diameter distally toward segment 3. Length of antennal segment 2 greater than 1.5 times total head width to two times head width, weakly curving medially. Antennal segments 3 and 4 slender and less than half to M of total length of segment 2. Labrum thin to swollen, laterally compressed and bladelike, diameter less than width labial segment 1. Labial segment 1 reaching past posterior margin of head, apex of segment 4 reaching apex of meso- to metacoxae. Thorax: Pronotum less than two times as wide as long to nearly as long as wide, dorsal surface flat to weakly swollen dorsally on posterior lobe, with or without dorsal indentation separating anterior and posterior lobes, lateral margins narrow anteriorly, widening posteriorly forming almost bell-shaped pronotum in dorsal view to nearly straight and forming trapezoidal-shaped pronotum. Thin, partially reflexed collar present. Mesoscutum exposed, scutellum weakly transversely rounded. Scent gland less than or equal to third total area of metepimeron. Legs: Elongate, narrow, metatibiae convexly curved near median and weakly laterally compressed medially to tubular and straight. Claws of moderate length and width, pulvilli less than half of claw length. Parempodia parallel and setiform. Hemelytra: Elongate, lateral margins weakly constricted medially, dorsally transversely rounded. Cuneus triangular, length approximately equal to M total length of membrane to less than J length of membrane, cuneal fracture angled anteromesially, and with partial thickening on lateral marfo]gin in some taxa. Abdomen: Narrow, elongate. GENITALIA: (figs. 15–16): Pygophore: Small and with minute to small protuberance on ventral-posterior surface, occupying about M to J length of abdomen, ventral margin sloping upward toward apex. Endosoma: Small, slender, twisted, S-shaped, composed of two sclerotized straps, fused into tube toward base and separating toward apex, unified by membrane. Secondary gon- opore small, weakly sclerotized or horsecollar shaped, located at apex of endosoma (fig. 15A, E; Schuh, 1984: fig. 782). Phallotheca: Fairly small, C-shaped, apex gently tapering toward point (fig. 15B, G; Schuh, 1984: fig. 784). Right Paramere: Paramere relatively short, smaller than left paramere, parallel sided, without an apical spine (fig. 15D). Left Paramere: Moderately sized; posterior process broad, with sensory pits, gently curving dorsally and with convex dorsal margin, and relatively elongate compared to anterior process; anterior process stout but without sensory pits on interior margin, dorsal margin below median of total height of left paramere; dorsomedial margin flat and at nearly 45 ° angle to base of paramere (fig. 15F; Schuh, 1984: fig. 783) to convex (fig. 15C).

Female: Macropterous, medium sized, medially constricted. Total length 2.97–3.56, width pronotum 0.80–0.96, maximum width across hemelytra 0.94–1.19. COLORATION: Similar patterning to male but much darker brown and larger portion of cuneus white (pl. 5). SURFACE TEXTURE AND VESTI- TURE: As in male. STRUCTURE: Head: Clypeus not as produced as in male, vertex convex, width slightly wider than width of one eye. Eyes less than half total height of head in lateral view to over K, dorsal surface of eyes continuous with dorsum of vertex to weakly removed. Gula more elongate and developed than in male. Antennal segment 2 long and more slender than segment 1 at basal joint with antennal segment 1, increasing in diameter distally toward segment 3, clublike in some females. Abdomen parallel sided, anterior half to J of length posterior from thorax sharply declining ventrally, posterior half of abdomen parallel to dorsal surface of abdomen. Ovipositor spine present. GENITALIA (fig. 44P–Q): Two separate, triangular-shaped vestibular sclerites, no visible lateral tube, but with thin apical sclerite covering vulva. Lateral margins of first gonapophyses between dorsal and ventral labiate plates sclerotized; sclerotized rings weakly sclerotized (fig. 44Q). Posterior wall mostly membranous, with posterior margin sclerotized across margin and possessing medial invagination similar to Aitkenia (fig. 44P), lateral regions of interramal sclerites sclerotized (fig. 44P).

HOSTS: Mostly Myrtaceae , but also recorded from Asteraceae , Chenopodiaceae , Lamiaceae , and Solanaceae .

DISTRIBUTION: Papua New Guinea and Australia.

DISCUSSION: Blesingia was described on the female-based type species of B. gularis , female B. latezonata , and male-based B. tamborinea and B. elegans . Blesingia latezonata and B. elegans are found to be junior synonyms of Leucophoroptera quadrimaculata and are synonymized. Male B. gularis and B. tamborinea represented the genus in the phylogenetic analysis of the tribe (Menard and Wooley, in press). Leucophoroptera fasciatipennis , Aitkenia grandis , A. cantrelli , and Pseudoleucophoroptera now are united in Blesingia and therefore are placed as new combinations or synonymized. Males are documented for the type species B. gularis and also for B. fasciatipennis (Poppius) .

Figures

Figure 14. Distribution map of Blesingia spp.

Figure 15. Male genitalia of Blesingia spp. (A–G).

Figure 16. Drawings of male genitalia of Blesingia tamborinea glued to card with holotype. A. Phallotheca, B. Right paramere, C. Left paramere.

Figure 44. Female genitalia of Aitkenia exocarpos (A–D), Arafuramiris queenslandensis (E–G), Ausejanus albisignatus (H–K), Austrodapus nitens (L–O), Blesingia gularis (P–Q), Collessicoris bellissimus (R–S), and Leucophoroptera quadrimaculata (T–U). Ls5 lateral reduced interramal sclerites; PM–PW5 posterior margin sclerite on the posterior wall; Osp5 ovipositor spine; SR5 sclerotized rings; As 5 anterior sclerite of first gonapophysis; Vg 5 vestibular sclerite of first gonapophysis.