Volkeliopsis frontalis Poppius

Sadowska-Woda, Izabela & Chérot, Frédéric, 2008, Redescription of the monotypic genus Volkeliopsis Poppius (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Miridae: Bryocorinae), Zootaxa 1676, pp. 51-56 : 52-55

Volkeliopsis frontalis Poppius

Volkeliopsis frontalis Poppius, 1915: 82 –83 (monotypy) Volkeliopsis frontalis: Carvalho, 1952: 60 (catalog)

Volkeliopsis frontalis: Carvalho, 1957:149 (catalog) Volkeliopsis frontalis: Schuh, 1995: 533 (catalog)

Type material examined. Holotype (ɗ): PHILIPPINES ISLANDS: “Mt. Makiling Luzon, Baker ” / “ Volkeliopsis frontalis n. gen. et. sp” / “Mus. Zool. H: fors; spec. typ. No 10169, Volkeliopsis frontalis Popp. ” / “ Holotypus (male)” / “Mus. Zool. Helsinki Loan no HE 5256” / “ Volkeliopsis frontalis g. n. sp. n. B. Poppius 1915 ” ( MZHF).

Other material examined: 1 ɗ: PHILIPPINES ISLANDS: Luzon: Mt Makiling, Baker leg. ( MZHF).

In his original description, Poppius (1915: 83) mentioned only one specimen (“1 exemplar”), so the second one cannot be included in the type series. However, the identification of the “true” holotype is uncertain because the two specimens have the same origin (same place and collector). The “ type ” label, too recent, cannot help. We suggest considering the damaged specimen as the holotype because it bears an apparently original handwriting label with following indications: “ Volkeliopsis frontalis n. gen. et sp”.

Redescription. Body stout, relatively wide, shining, covered with pale, rather long, semi-erect simple setae. Total length of the body 4.77–6.81 mm, total width 3.0– 3.13 mm. Head, pronotum, and scutellum light yellowish brown to orange-brown, eyes blackish brown, hemelytra brown to dark brown with grayish membrane ( Figs 1, 7 ).

Head broad, short, with strongly pedunculate eyes ( Fig. 4 ). Length of head (dorsal view) 0.9 mm, width across eyes 1.5 mm. Clypeus free, not covered by frons, barely or not visible in dorsal view, orange-brown, with brown patches. Lorae and juga orange-brown, large, lacking tubercles, with spare short recumbent simple setae. Frons prominent, orange-brown, darker medially, practically smooth, with several semi-erect simple setae and two wide submedian tubercles ( Figs 3, 4 ). Eyes pedunculate, glabrous, blackish brown. Ocular peduncles distinctly removed from pronotal collar ( Fig. 4 ). Anterolateral part of frons distinctly notched by large antennal socket. Antennae covered with rather long, dense, dark, semi-erect or erect simple setae ( Fig. 2 ). First antennal segment short, its length about equal to head length anterior to eyes, wide, three times wider than long, yellowish brown, second antennal segment thick, dark brown, slightly thickened apically ( Figs 1, 2 ). Third and fourth segments broken in the two available specimens (all segments lacking on holotype), but according to Poppius (1915), third segment apically thick, about half shorter than length of second. Length of antennal segments in mm: I: 0.36, II: 2.09. Vertex smooth, glabrous, orange-brown, narrower posteriorily. Posterior margin of vertex rounded, devoid of carina. Rostrum thick, yellowish brown, tinged with dark brown at acute apex, extremely short, reaching slightly beyond apex of procoxae [extending to mesocoxae according to POPPIUS (1915)]. Length of rostrum 1.14 mm, last segment 0.44 mm, length of other individual segments immeasurable in the examined specimens ( Fig. 6 ). First segment thicker, not reaching posterior margin of head.

Pronotum wide, yellow-orange or orange-brown, punctured, punctuation wide and deep ( Fig. 5 ). Length of pronotum 1.36 mm (excluding pronotal collar), length the anterior margin 0.99–1.45 mm, lateral margins 1.45–1.5 mm, posterior margin 2.68–2.86 mm. Pronotal collar orange, wide, smooth, with sparse black erect setae. Anterior lobe of pronotum very small, smooth, separate from pronotal disk. Callosities distinct, elongated, relatively flat to weakly elevated, smooth, dark brown. Pronotal disk strongly punctured, with dark, stiff, semi-erect or erect simple setae. Posterior margin concave medially. Humeral angles rounded. Mesoscutum totally covered.

Scutellum punctured, slightly swollen, lateral margins rounded, anterior margin right, slightly curved medially, posterior margin triangular. Length of anterior margin 1.09–1.36 mm, lateral margin 1.18–1.36 mm ( Figs 1, 7 ).

Hemelytra. Clavus and endocorium dark brown, anteriorily orange-brown, punctation narrow, shallow, pilosity simple, dense, relatively long and stiff, semi-erect or erect. Exocorium narrow, darker, practically black. Cuneus black. Membrane brown, with brown veins and only one cell, reaching beyond pygophore. Stub lacking. Maximum wide across hemelytra 2.13–2.5 mm ( Figs 1, 7 ).

Legs. Short ( Fig. 9 ). Forefemora dark brown, tinged light yellowish brown at the extreme apex, foretibiae yellowish brown with slightly darker extreme apices, covered with dense, protruding setae, becoming slightly denser apically. Foretarsi black (except anterior part of first segment yellow), first segment practically as long as second and third together. Claw yellow.

Abdomen: Connexivum wide ( Fig. 6 ), flat, dark red-brown or orange brown, black on margins, laterally rounded, its vestiture identical to hemelytra. Ventral surface brown, setae narrower. Total length of pygophore: 1.77 mm; total width of pygophore: 2.68 mm.

Male genital structures. Left paramere ( Fig. 9 ) large. Right paramere ( Fig. 10 ) distinctly smaller than left, simple. Ductus semini s (Ds, Fig. 11 ) elongated, coiled, with rings, secondary gonopore (G2) rounded, unarmed, simple, phallotheca ( Ph) elongated, practically flat, slightly twisted, sclerotized at dorsal side only, endosoma sensu Kerzhner & Konstantinov (1999) membranous, with sclerotized armament (five small slightly curved sub-triangular sclerites; arrows), probably undivided into a vesica and a conjunctiva sensu Kerzhner & Konstantinov (op. cit.) ( Fig. 11 ).

Female. Unknown.

Distribution: Philippine Islands: Luzon.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 8. Volkeliopsis frontalis Poppius, 1915, male. 1. Dorsal habitus. 2. Dorsal view of head and pronotum. 3. Frontal view of head of holotype. 4. Dorsal view of head of holotype. 5. Pronotum of holotype. 6. Lateral view of habitus. 7. Dorsal view of scutellum and hemelytra of holotype. 8. Second leg.

FIGURES 9 – 11. Volkeliopsis frontalis Poppius, 1915, holotype, male genitalia. 9. Left paramere. 10. Right paramere. 11. Phallus (probably dissected by G. Schmitz; original drawing).