Laccocoris spurcus congoensis Poisson, 1949

Mbogho, Aaron Y. & Sites, Robert W., 2013, Naucoridae Leach, 1815 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) of Tanzania, African Invertebrates 54 (2), pp. 513-513 : 525

Laccocoris spurcus congoensis Poisson, 1949

Figs 19 , 30

Laccocoris spurcus congoensis: Poisson 1949: 67–69 .

Diagnosis: Laccocoris spurcus congoensis can be distinguished from its two known congeners in Tanzania by the longer body length of> 10 mm and the labrum half as long as wide and not reaching the distal labial segment. This subspecies has sharp posterolateral corners of the pronotum ( Fig. 19 ) and all of our specimens have brachypterous hindwings. However, if a different wing morph is discovered as is known to occur in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the posterolateral corners of the pronotum probably will be of a different shape.

Material examined: TANZANIA: Mbeya Region: Maboo stream at Mbeya Peak village , 8°50.432'S 33°25.060'E, 2433 m, 4.viii.2010, R.W. Sites & A. Mbogho, vegetated pool of small high elevation stream, L-1207 ( NMSA, UMC; 12♂, 10♀, 19 nymphs) .

Distribution: Laccocoris spurcus congoensis was known from the Democratic Republic of Congo (Poisson 1949, 1951 b), whereas the nominate subspecies is known only from Cape Province in South Africa. In Tanzania, L. s. congoensis was found in only one locality at high elevation at Mbeya Peak in Mbeya Region.

Discussion: Laccocoris spurcus is one of the largest species of Laccocoris in Africa. The nominotypical subspecies is known from South Africa (Stål 1865). Poisson (1949) described a subspecies from Democratic Republic of the Congo which is known to have wing polymorphism with which are associated differences in pronotum shape. Poisson (1949) reported that approximately 90 % of the individuals from Democratic Republic of the Congo were brachypterous and 10 % macropterous. We collected only hindwing brachypterous individuals of this species from a single location in Tanzania.

Figures

Figs 17–19. (17) Laccocoris limicola female from L-1158, (16) Laccocoris limigenus male from L-1225, (19) Laccocoris spurcus congoensis female from L-1207. Sizes are proportionate among figures.

Fig.30.Distribution maps of13 speciesof Naucoridae known from Tanzania.Notincluded is Neomacrocoris usambaricus, which was recorded from West Usambara. (Map for N. bondelaufa and N. vuga is reproduced from Sites & Mbogho (2012), with permission by Magnolia Press.)