Neella floridula ( Distant, 1883 )

Alvarez-Zapata, Alejandra, Ferreira, Paulo S. F. & Serna, Francisco, 2022, A taxonomic synopsis of the Eccritotarsini (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Miridae Bryocorinae) of Colombia, Zootaxa 5178 (2), pp. 101-151 : 130

‡ Neella floridula ( Distant, 1883)

Sysinas floridulus Distant, 1883: 249 (original description).

Neella floridula: Reuter, 1908a: 153 (new combination).

Diagnosis. Body light orange, red and black. Posterior pronotal lobe red or predominantly red, sometimes with black spot. Hemelytral membrane black with light apex. Body length 4.50–6.00 mm ( Distant 1883; Reuter 1908a).

Associated plants. Arum sp. (Araceae) ( Distant 1883), Dieffenbachia aurantiaca Engl. (Araceae) ( Etl et al. 2016), Cattleya sp. (Orchidaceae) , Vanilla mexicana Mill. (Orchidaceae) ( Swezey 1945) and Orchidaceae ( Mumford 1966) .

Individuals are attracted to Cis -jasmone, a component present in the scent bouquet of Dieffenbachia aurantiaca Engl (Araceae) , which is crucial in finding the host plant ( Etl et al. 2016). According to Etl et al. (2016), N. floridula visits the inflorescences at night, when scent emission occurs, and shows feeding and copulation activities during this time.

Distribution. Brazil ( Kirkaldy 1902), Costa Rica ( Etl et al. 2016), Mexico ( Distant 1883), Nicaragua ( Mumford 1966; Swezey 1945), Panama ( Distant 1883).— Colombia (without details) ( Swezey 1945).

We have one specimen belonging to this genus, which we couldn’t place to species. The genus is in need of revision.