Aphelocheirus ellipsoideus Liu & Ding, 2005

Xie, Tong-Yin & Liu, Guo-Qing, 2015, A new species and notes on the genus Aphelocheirus (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Aphelocheiridae) from China, Zootaxa 4058 (3), pp. 437-443 : 441-442

Aphelocheirus ellipsoideus Liu & Ding, 2005 ( Figs. 1 C–F; 3A–D)

Aphelocheirus ellipsoideus Liu & Ding, 2005: 272 .

Description. Macropterous male. Body length 7.10–8.10mm, body width 4.60–4.90mm, moderate size for genus, form elongate. General colour blackish brown.

Head. Dark brown, shining, minutely alveolate; eyes black, shining, lateral margins weakly sinuate; interocular space between eyes shiny, dark brown. Preocular portion of head moderately long, 0.3 times as long as eye length. Antennae golden brown; rostrum gold at base and dark red at apex, glabrous, attaining anterior margin of hind coxae.

Thorax. Pronotum ( Fig.1 E, F) dull blackish brown, coarsely rugose, bearing very short recumbent golden setae, posterior portion expanded. Maximum width at posterolateral corners, 3.9 times median length. Lateral margins yellowish, each bearing a few short stout setae, posterolateral angles rounded. Scutellum dark brown, width/length = 2.1/ 1.0, surface coarsely rugose, lateral margins weakly sinuate. Mesoscutum black, cymbiform, bearing short recumbent setae. Hemelytra dark brown, large, complete and rugose, exceeding tip of abdomen, bearing short recumbent setae; lateral margins of hemelytra ( Fig.1 E, F) dark brown, poster margins of hemelytra light brown; clavus, corium and embolium well defined, membrane brown. Hind wing veination obscure in varying degrees ( Fig. 3 A). Prosternum sharply carinate medially, propleuron with inner projection deeply notched, with apex round.

Abdomen. Dorsal surface dark brown, coarsely rugose, bearing recumbent dark setae, posterolateral angles of segments III–V prolonged into slender spinose projections, acute posteriorly. Ventral surface brown to dark brown, covered with fine recumbent gold setae; abdominal segments V–VII asymmetrical. Segments III–V with irregular glabrous pits adjacent to and inward of spiracular rosettes, abdomen with segments III–VI weakly and broadly carinate medially, IV–VII each with median protruberance bearing 2–6 short stout setae, III with row of small glabrous pits present extending inward from spiracular rosette and along base of segment ( Fig. 3 B).

Legs. White to yellowish, shining, covered with fine recumbent white setae; fore trochanter, femur, tibia and tarsus with thick hair pads on inner faces; fore, middle and hind coxae with combs of white setae distally; hind femur with many fine white setae and gold spines along anterior margin. Middle femur, tibia and tarsus sparsely set with stout golden spines anteriorly; hind tibia sparsely set with stout golden spines anteriorly, transverse row of golden spines apically; hind tibia and tarsus with long swimming hairs posteriorly; claws white basally, brown apically, curved.

Genitalia. Left paramere curving, tip wide; right paramere thick, tip slightly pointed; aedeagus slender, with many small teeth and three large teeth distinctly.

Female. Colour and vestiture generally as in male. Subgenital plate roughly triangular, tip broadly rounded, bearing hair tufts laterally and apically ( Fig. 3 C).

Brachypterous male. Body blackish brown, with yellowish brown blotches dorsally. Head yellowish, slightly rugose, shining, rostrum attaining anterior margin of hind coxae; pronotum brown, surface rugose, shining, lateral and posterior margins yellowish brown, with two small tumescences on posterolateral angles, yellowish brown; propleuron with inner projection deeply notched, apex slightly pointed; scutellum yellowish brown, with a small brownish blotch at middle of lateral margin; hemelytra brown, rugose, lateral margin yellowish brown, widely separated medially; abdomen dorsally brown, connexivum yellowish brown, surface rugose, with small yellowish brown blotches, posterolateral angles of tergites III–V spinose; ventral surface smooth; legs yellowish brown.

Brachypterous female. Similar to brachypterous male in general structure and coloration ( Fig. 1 D).

Material examined. Macropterous form. CHINA, Hainan Province: 9♂, 11♀, Wuzhi Mountain, (18.9480N, 109.6226E), alt. 232m, 4. VII. 2014, Qiang XIE, Yan-hui WANG & Yan-zhuo WU leg..

Brachypterous form. Holotype ♂, Diaoluo Mountain (18.7346N, 109.8370E), 31. III. 1980, Huan-guang ZOU leg.; 1♂, 4♀, Diaoluo Mountain Nature Reserve (18.8346N, 109.8240E), alt. 920m, 21. IV. 2008, Bo CAI leg.; 4♂, 3♀, Wuzhi Mountain (18.9480N, 109.6226E), alt. 570m, 8. VIII. 2013, Qiang XIE & Yan-hui WANG leg.; 5♂, 3♀, Wuzhi Mountain, (18.9480N, 109.6226E), alt. 232m, 4. VII. 2014, Qiang XIE, Yan-hui WANG & Yan-zhuo WU leg..

Distribution. China (Hainan Province)

Figures

FIGURE 1. Dorsal habitus photographs of Aphelocheirus spp. A. A. menglaensis sp. nov. (♂); B. A. menglaensis sp. nov. (♀); C. A. ellipsoideus Liu & Ding (♂); D. A. ellipsoideus Liu & Ding (♀); E. A. ellipsoideus Liu & Ding (♂); F. A. ellipsoideus Liu & Ding (♀); (C – D: Brachypterous form; E – F: Macropterous form).

FIGURE 3. Aphelocheirus ellipsoideus Liu & Ding. A. Right hind wing (macropterous form); B. Ventral view of posterior abdominal segments of macropterous male; C. Ventral view of posterior abdominal segments of macropterous female; D. Ventral view of posterior abdominal segments of brachypterous female.