Merragata hebroides White, 1877

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 : 459

Merragata hebroides White, 1877

Merragata hebroides White, 1877 : Ann. Mag. of Nat. Hist., 4 th ser., 114.

Material examined. Yahaveré RS: 1 ♀, Concepción de Yaguareté Corá, house for researchers, swimming pool, 28°23’25.7”S, 57°53’15.9”W, 8.xi.2015 .

General distribution. Hawaiian and Canary Islands (introduced), Canada, the USA, Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, the Greater Antilles, the Lesser Antilles, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyanas, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay ( Moreira et al. 2011b).

Habitat. This species is found in shallow water mostly with dense vegetation, algal growths, logs and other floating debris in lentic habitats (ponds, lakes, swamps and dams) ( Drake 1917; Drake & Cobben 1960; Bennett & Cook 1981; Torres et al. 2007; Muñoz Riviaux et al. 2010) and in lotic habitats (streams and rivers) in standing or slow-moving water ( Drake & Cobben 1960; Bennett & Cook 1981; Torres et al. 2007; Franco et al. 2021; Rodrigues et al. 2021b). It was also found on brackish water with algal growths in the Lesser Antilles ( Drake & Cobben 1960).

At the INR, only one specimen was collected in a swimming pool in Concepción de Yaguareté Corá .

Remarks. This is the first record of M. hebroides from INR. This species was previously recorded from Corrientes Province by López Ruf et al. (2003).