Myiomma maculata, Akingbohungbe, 2003

Akingbohungbe, A. E., 2003, New species of Isometopinae (Hemiptera: Miridae) from the Ivory Coast and Yemen, Journal of Natural History 37 (23), pp. 2849-2862 : 2852-2854

Myiomma maculata sp. nov.

Male. Length 2.32. Maximum width across hemelytra 1.00. Head width across vertex 0.20; dorsal length 0.16; facial width 0.41; facial length 0.46. Minimum frontal inter-ocular space 0.02; anterior inter-ocular space 0.08, posterior space 0.32. Maximum width of eye 0.20; height 0.28. Height of gena 0.08; height of lorum 0.10. Ocellus width 0.03; interocellar space 0.05. Maximum width of pronotum 0.82; median length 0.32. Scutellum length 0.38; width 0.41 (0.40; 0.42); Cuneus length 0.42; width 0.28. Rostrum 0.98 (1.02; 0.94). Antennae I 0.07; II 0.68; III 0.13 (0.14; 0.12); IV 0.14.

Head deflexed, vertex broadly horizontal, from above about half as long as pronotum; obovate in front (figure 4), about 0.89× as broad as high, disk strongly tumid convex; vertex at base swollen convex, weakly depressed anteriorly. Frons weakly marginate apically, distinctly higher than tylus. Gena moderately low, about 0.29× as high as eye; weakly subexcavated with antennophore at its apex distad of eye margin. Lorum depressed, elongate, about 1.25× as high as gena. Postgena tuberculate, broadly exposed laterally together with occiput. Entire head dark red with occiput pale yellow, impunctate. Frons, juga, tylus pubescent with dark red semi-reclining hairs intermixed with shorter fine erect ones arising from aciculate punctures. Eyes glabrous, apparently reddish (somewhat bleached in specimens); distinctly separated mesally on frons, about 0.02 apart; more widely so behind vertex, about 0.06 apart; distinctly emarginate near ocelli. Ocelli whitish translucent, about 2× width of each apart. Antenna with segment I glabrous, reddish to dark brownish dorsally, pale whitish ventrally, about 0.71× as thick as long. II cylindrical, narrowed towards middle, at base and apex about as thick as I; broadly recurved outwards, largely pale whitish with subapical dark red band; densely clothed with reddish brown erect bristle-like hairs twice as long as thickness of segment. III linear, IV fusiform; both reddish, clothed with short semi-reclining pubescence.

Pronotum subcampanulate, about 2.56× as broad as long; lateral margins sharply carinate, posterior margin distinctly bisinuate. Disk dark red, finely transversely rugose punctate; pubescent with short dark reddish brown reclining hairs; calli weakly prominent. Mesoscutum, scutellum impunctate, dark red with basal threefifths of scutellum contrasting whitish; both dense with short reclining reddish brown hairs, some arising from fine aciculate punctures.

Hemelytra generally translucent; basal two-thirds of embolium, large sub-median blotch on corium, median band on clavus, pale whitish; remainder of disk golden to reddish brown shading to distinct dark apical band on corium. Cuneus dark golden with basal third or so contrasting whitish. All impunctate, dense with short rather obscure reddish brown semi-reclining hairs arising from fine aciculate punctures; these intermixed with dark red deciduous bristles (those on whitish bands on scutellum and cuneus golden yellow). Membrane dark golden, glabrous, biareolate.

Venter largely deep red; thorax, pygophore much darker shading to black. Propleura shallowly transversely rugose punctate. Coxae mostly reddish, whitish towards apex. Femora similarly coloured with basal annulus on mesofemur also pale whitish. Fore tibiae with three, and mid tibiae with two red to dark red alternating with pale whitish bands. Hind tibiae broadly reddish infuscate at base, pale whitish apically. Fore tarsi, tarsomere II of mid and hind tarsi dark reddish, remainder of tarsi pale whitish. Femoral trichobothrial pattern: two subapical metafemoral plus one sub-median mesofemoral, all with sunken bothria and compact trichomae. Rostrum largely reddish to dark reddish brown, extending as far back as third abdominal sternite.

Dorsal habitus illustrated in figure 3; genitalia illustrated in figures 11–13.

Female. Unknown.

Comments

This species is the first record of Myiomma from the Middle East. Its affinities are with M. bredoi Akingbohungbe from Lubumbashi, Republic of Congo. In my 1996 key to Myiomma spp. , it will run to couplet 13 where it can readily be separated from M. albiscutellata Smith on the basis of the coloration of the dorsum which is largely dark brown to blackish in that species. From M. bredoi , the new species can readily be separated by its much larger size, its narrower pronotum which is 2.56× as broad as long compared to 2.86× in bredoi , its dark red ostiolar peritreme compared to whitish in the latter species, and the distinctive structure of the right paramere of its genitalia etc.

H  : male, Yemen: Sana’a Sana’a, September 1993, M. Knapp (LC) .

P: male, same data (LC).