Pelocoris politus Montandon, 1895

Mazzucconi, Silvia Ana, Reyes, Cristina Armúa De & Estévez, Ana Lía, 2022, Aquatic and semiaquatic Heteroptera (Insecta: Hemiptera) from Iberá Natural Reserve (Corrientes Province, Argentina), Zootaxa 5104 (4), pp. 451-505 : 487

Pelocoris politus Montandon, 1895

Pelocoris politus Montandon, 1895 : Boll. Mus. Zool. Anat. Comp. Torino, 8–9.

Material examined. Galarza RS: 1 ♀, Isirí Stream near Luna Lagoon, sample 7, 17.iv.2013 ; 3 ♂, Isirí Stream near Luna Lagoon, 19.iv.2013 . Itatí RS: 1 ♂, 1 ♀, Itatí Lagoon , 28°41.92’S, 58°6.49’W, 28.iii.2014 ; 4 ♂, 2 ♀, Itatí Rincón Island , 28°42.73’S, 58°6.69’W, 29.iii.2014 ; 3 ♂, Corriente River , 28°44.18’S, 58°8.70’W, 30.iii.2014 . Laguna Iberá RS: 1 ♂, Iberá Lagoon , 28°34’3.94’’S, 57°11’22.15’’W, 1.xii.2012 ; 2 ♂, 1 ♀, Corriente Stream , 28°32’11.91’’S, 57°12’42.96’’W, 2.xii.2012 ; 2 ♂, 3 ♀, Fernández Lagoon, 11.xii.2014. San Ignacio RS: 1 ♀, vehicle path, roadside marshland and ditches, 27°54.551’S, 56°53.254’W, 3.iii.2015. San Nicolás RS: 1 ♀, Carambola Stream , 28°10.866’S, 57°26.224’W, 14.xii.2013 ; 1 ♂, Carambola Stream , 28°14.610’S, 57°26.378’W, 14.xii.2013 . Yahaveré RS: 3 ♂, 6 ♀, Campo Angelita , roadside marshes, 28°25’40.9”S, 57°49’12.3”W, 6.xi.2015 ; 1 ♀, Paso Batalla , roadside marshes, 28°24’02.5”S, 57°52’56.5W, 6.xi.2015 ; 3 ♂, 1 ♀, Medina Lagoon , 28°33’52.6”S, 57°45’28.7”W, 7.xi.2015 ; 1 ♀, Caaby Aguilar , roadside marshes, 28°24’03.4”S, 57°51’31.3”W, 8.xi.2015 .

General distribution. Colombia, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina ( Moreira et al. 2011b).

Habitat. Pelocoris politus has been found in rivers and lagoons ( Roback & Nieser 1974; Nieser 1975; López Ruf 1988, 1992, 1994b).

At the INR, P. politus was collected from unshaded margins with dense floating, emergent and submerged vegetation (mainly Azolla filiculoides , Pontederia azurea , P. cordata , Myriophyllum aquaticum , Hydrocleys nymphoides and Salvinia biloba ) in lentic habitats (Iberá Lagoon, Fernández Lagoon, Medina Lagoon, Itatí Lagoon, marshes, marshlands and ditches), and lotic habitats (Corriente Stream, Isirí Stream, Carambola Stream and Corriente River) in standing or slow-moving water.

Remarks. Pelocoris politus is one of the most widespread species of water bugs in the INR. It was collected together with P. bipunctulus and P. procurrens . This is the first record of this species from INR. Pelocoris politus was previously recorded from Corrientes Province by López Ruf (1988, 1992, 1994b) and López Ruf et al. (2006).