Orthocephalus solidus (Seidenstücker)

Namyatova, Anna A. & Konstantinov, Fedor V., 2009, Revision of the genus Orthocephalus Fieber, 1858 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Miridae: Orthotylinae) 2316, Zootaxa 2316, pp. 1-118 : 87-88

Orthocephalus solidus (Seidenstücker)

Figures 3, 16, 19

Strongylocoris solidus Seidenstücker, 1971: 38–40 .

Orthocephalus solidus Drapolyuk and Kerzhner, 2000: 303 .

DIAGNOSIS: Female recognized by the following combination of characters: vestiture of dorsum composed of short, pale, simple setae only, absence of scalelike or flattened setae, orange antennal segment I, basal half of segment II and legs (fig. 3), bursa copulatrix without medial sclerites (fig. 16). Possibly confused with O. modarresi in coloration but that species easily distinguished by the long, erect, bristlelike, black setae and silver scalelike setae on the dorsum. General appearance similar to females of O. scorzonerae but that species differs in vestiture and the presence of medial sclerites (fig. 16). O. solidus is most similar to females of O. putshkovi ,but differs in the larger size, measurements, and absence of flattened silver setae.

REDESCRIPTION: Male: Unknown.

Female: Brachypterous, with strongly convex body, length 3.7. COLORATION (fig. 3): Head: Black, spot near inner margin of eye black, indistinct; antennal segment I orange, darkened at extreme base, segment II orange with darkened apical half; labium brown. Thorax: Pronotum and pleurites black; evaporatorium black, of same color as pleurites; scutellum black; coxa dark brown; femora orange, with darkened basal half; tibia orange, tarsal segment I and II orange, segment III brown; hemelytra black. Abdomen: Uniformly dark brown. SURFACE AND VESTITURE: Dorsum rugose. Entire dorsum, pleurites, abdomen, legs and antennal segment I clothed with dense, adpressed, fine pale brown simple setae; antenna, anterior angle of pronotum and inferior margin of femur with long black bristlelike setae. STRUCTURE AND MEASUREMENTS: Body 3.0× as long as width of pronotum. Head: Shape of head and eye similar to that of O. scorzonerae (as in fig. 20 F), 1.4× as wide as high, vertex 3.8× as wide as eye; depression along posterior margin of head indistinct; eye in contact with anterior pronotal margin; antennal fossa located at a distance from inferior margin of eyes; antennal segment I shorter than or as long as eye diameter; antennal segment II thin, not incrassate, 0.7× as long as basal width of pronotum, 0.6× as long as width of head; labium reaching middle coxae. Thorax: Pronotum 2.0× as wide as long and 0.9× as wide as head, with posterior margin straight and lateral margin distinctly carinate, calli slightly raised; hemelytra reaching abdominal tergum IX, clavus and cuneus not delimited, claval commissure somewhat shorter or as long as inner claval margin, posterior and lateral margins rounded; femora relatively short and broad, hind femur approximately as wide as middle one. GENITALIA (fig. 16): Dorsal labiate plate with comparatively rounded sclerotized rings, medial sclerites absent; posterior wall of bursa copulatrix with trapeziform sclerite uniformly sclerotized, depression on the anterior margin broad and not reaching middle of sclerite, anterior angles of this sclerite not dentate, posterior margin without sclerites (fig. 19); sclerites encircling vulva straight and not forming circle (as in fig. 19, O. styx ).

DISTRIBUTION: Central Turkey (Kayseri).

HOST: Unknown.

DISCUSSION: Strongylocoris solidus was described by Seidenstücker from a single female and subsequently moved to Orthocephalus ( Drapolyuk and Kerzhner, 2000) without comments on this action. This species resembles Strongylocoris in general appearance, with the distinctly transverse head, eyes in contact with the pronotum, and absence of scalelike setae or flattened silver setae (the presence of which is a characteristic for other Orthocephalus species ). However, this female shares the following characters common to Orthocephalus : segment I of the hind tarsus is half as long as segment II, the dorsum is impunctate, and the hemelytra are shortened. In Strongylocoris segment I of the hind tarsus is always approximately as long as segment II, the dorsum is distinctly punctate, and females are always macropterous. On the basis of these characters we support the placement of this species in Orthocephalus .

Orthocephalus solidus is most similar to O. putshkovi in head shape, coloration, general appearance, and genitalic structure. These species can be separated by size and type of vestiture. O. putshkovi is distinguished by the presence of flattened silver setae, whereas such setae are absent in O. solidus . As already mentioned above, all Orthocephalus species except O. solidus have flattened or scalelike setae on their dorsum and it seems highly probable that the flattened setae of the single female of O. solidus was obliterated. However, we refrain from synonymizing O. putshkovi with O. solidus here. Additional material from Turkey is highly desirable to clarify this issue.

SPECIMENS EXAMINED: Holotype: TURKEY: Kayseri, 38.42 ° N 35.28 ° E, 21 May 1963 – 31 May 1963, Seidenstücker , 1♀ ( AMNH _ PBI 00224358 ) ( ZSM).