Myiomma cobbeni, 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 : 2850-2852

Myiomma cobbeni sp. nov.

Female. Length 1.92. Maximum width across hemelytra 0.88. Head width across vertex 0.16; dorsal length 0.20; facial width 0.41; facial length 0.48. Minimum frontal interocular space 0.02; anterior space 0.04; posterior space 0.31. Maximum width of eye 0.26; dorsal width 0.07; height 0.28. Height of gena 0.14. Ocellus width 0.02; interocellar space 0.03. Maximum width of pronotum 0.76; median length 0.24. Scutellum length 0.32; width 0.38. Cuneus length 0.31; width 0.22. Rostrum 1.08. Antennal segments I 0.08; II 0.45; III 0.18; IV 0.15.

Head strongly deflexed; vertex broadly horizontal, together with eyes distinctly reflexed over anterior pronotal margin; from above about 0.83× as long as pronotum; in front subglobose (figure 2), broadest across postgenae, about 0.83× as broad as high. Disk strongly tumid convex, impunctate, granulate; pubescent with fine semi-erect and erect hairs with colour matching background. Vertex at base where ocelli are borne moderately swollen, deep red; finely longitudinally incised anteriorly. General coloration ivory-whitish with ornamentation as follows: somewhat irregular Y-shaped blotch at subexcavated base of gena plus discrete spot on postgena dark red to blackish; median longitudinal bar covering apex of frons and tylus, two adjacent spots along middle of frons immediately behind the bar, disk of lorum, all bright red; frons in addition with impressed dark brown spot on either side of median bar beneath jugum and inverted broken V-shaped dark brown marking towards base. Eyes red to dark red, somewhat pyriform, distinctly microhairy; broadly exposing occiput and postgena laterally, emarginate near ocelli. Ocelli dark red, translucent; about 1.5× width of each apart. Antennophore far removed from ventral margin of eye to apex of gena. Antennae mostly dark golden to reddish brown; base and apex of segment I, tip of II pale. I about half its length in thickness, glabrous; II clavate, slightly thicker subapically, there as thick as I; clothed with short semi-reclining golden hairs intermixed with dark red bristle-like ones much longer than segment is thick.

Pronotum subcampanulate, about 3.17× as broad as long; lateral margins sharply carinate, posterior margin broadly bisinuate. Disk moderately convex, calli more prominently so; finely transversely wrinkled and punctate. Anterior marginal band, broad fascia behind calli subtended by two large virtually confluent rays, posterior humeral angles, all dark reddish brown; disk otherwise ivory-whitish. Mesoscutum impunctate, granulate; orange with dark red triangular marking dorsally on each lobe, dull whitish on lateral carinae. Scutellum impunctate, finely transversely wrinkled; mostly whitish, broad triangular marking at base reddish brown; two sub-median vittae plus tip dark brown to black.

Hemelytra generally dull dark red, apical blotch on corium brighter; ornamented with ivory-white as follows: embolium, broad basal band on cuneus, median vitta on clavus, and one vitta running along radial vein plus another mesad of claval suture, both conjoined across apex of corium, forming rather striking elongate triangular marking on disk of corium. Embolium, cuneus, impunctate; corium, clavus finely punctate. Membrane dark reddish brown, glabrous, biareolate.

Dorsum generally densely pubescent with semi-reclining golden to reddish brown hairs intermixed with dark red semi-erect bristle-like hairs arising from fine aciculate punctures.

Venter largely dark reddish brown with propleura mostly ivory-whitish; axillary sclerite, anterior maculae on mesosterna and metapleura, ostiolar peritreme tubercle, lateral margin of second abdominal sternite, posterolateral maculae on other abdominal sternites, all ivory-whitish. Propleuron sparse with broad shallow punctures. Coxae, trochanters generally whitish hyaline suffused with golden yellow; fore-coxae distinctly darkened laterally on dorsal surface. Femora mostly deep to dark red, pale golden to whitish towards base and apex; fore and mid tibiae with alternating dark and light golden bands; hind tibiae, tarsi mostly dark golden. Femoral trichobothrial pattern: two apical plus one subapical metafemoral, and two median mesofemoral, all with sunken bothria and compact trichomae. Rostrum deep red on segment I, otherwise dark reddish brown; pubescent with fine erect short hairs, reaching as far back as seventh abdominal sternite. Dorsal habitus illustrated in figure 1.

Male. Unknown.

Comments

This new species shows some affinity with Myiomma nigra Smith from which it can readily be separated by the narrower pronotum which is 2.43× as broad as long compared to 3.17× in the new species, and the distinctive colour pattern of its dorsum with the presence of ivory-whitish vittae absent in M. nigra . The new species also shows affinity with M. rubra Smith which, however, has its dorsum predominantly bright red and devoid of any whitish vittae. Besides, the latter is a relatively smaller species with antennal segments I and II whitish, and the frons broadly reddish posteriorly together with the tylus, juga, genae and lora. It is named in honour of its collector and distinguished Hemipterist, the late Dr Rene H. Cobben.

H  : female, Ivory Coast: Adiopodoume , 25 April 1964 , R. H. Cobben (AEA) .