Morbora hirtula BERGROTH 1904

Gerry Cassis & Loren Vanags, 2006, Jewel Bugs of Australia (Insecta, Heteroptera, Scutelleridae), Denisia 19, pp. 275-398 : 327-328

Morbora hirtula BERGROTH 1904

( Figs 11b , 13d-f, 15, Table 5 )

Morbora hirtula BERGROTH 1904: 356 (n.sp.); SCHOUTEDEN 1904: 87, pl. 5 fig. 10 (description; habitus); KIRKALDY 1909: 265 (catalogue); GROSS 1975: 91 fig. 22 (description; habitus); MCDONALD & CASSIS 2002: 548 (description; genitalia); CASSIS & GROSS 2002: 587 (catalogue)

Diagnosis: Morbora hirtula is recognised by the following combination of characters: dorsum with clove-shaped setae, intermixed with curly sericeous setae (Figs 13d-f); AIV longest segment; exocorium not expanded ( Fig. 11b ); CAI membraneous, lobe-like; CAII elongate, sickle-shaped, distally bifurcate; and, CAIII lyre-shaped and heavily sclerotized.

Description: Body small, males 4.97- 5.12, females 4.41-5.39.

Colouration. Dorsum dark brown, with contrasting markings, most notably with broad W-shaped marking on posterior 1/2 of scutellum ( Fig. 11b ).

Vestiture. Dorsum with dense distribution of erect, elongate, clove-shaped setae, intermixed with curly sericeous setae, mostly on head and pronotum; without fan-shaped setae (Figs 13d-f).

Structure. Antennae: AIV longest segment, little longer than AI. Labium: LII longest segment, LIII & LIV subequal in length. Pronotum: lateral margins moderately expanded ( Fig. 11b ); anterolateral angles not surpassing anterior margin of eyes ( Fig. 11b ). Hemelytra: costal margins not greatly expanded laterally. Male Genitalia: CAI membraneous, lobe-like, without sclerotization; CAII elongate, sickle-shaped, heavily sclerotized, distally bifurcate, antler-like; CAIII short, lyre-shaped, heavily sclerotized; vesica heavily sclerotized, distally tapered.

Measurements. Table 5 .

Material examined: Queensland: 3♀♀, 3 km NE of Mt Webb , 15°03’S 145°09’E, A Calder & J Feehan, 30 April-3 May, 1981, ANIC Berlesate 723, ex rainforest litter ( AM, ANIC) ; New South Wales: 4 km NE Mt Wog Wog , 17 km SE Bombala, 37°04’S 149°28’E, CR Margules, October 1991, ex pitfall ( ANIC) .

Distribution: Morbora hirtula is widely distributed in eastern Australia, and reaches the Northern Territory to the west. It is known from locations in Queensland, New South Wales, Tasmania and South Australia ( Fig. 15 ). It has been recorded from Victoria and the Northern Territory, but without precise locations.

Host plants and habitats: Morbora hirtula is also likely to be an epigaeic species; collected in pitfall traps or through litter extraction. It is broadly distributed across ecosystems, from open woodland to rainforest habitats.

Remarks: Morbora hirtula is best identified by the uniform distribution of elongate, clove-shaped setae on the dorsum, and lacks the fan-like setae that occur in its two congeners (cf. Figs 13a-i). Externally it is very similar to M. australis , but the male genitalia differs significantly in having three conjunctival appendages. This is also the case in M. schoutedeni , but in M. australis the bifurcation of CAII is more pronounced.

Figures

Fig. 11: Habitus of Morbora species (a) M. australis (b) M. hirtula (c) M. schoutedeni. Scale bars = 1 mm.

Fig. 15: Distribution of Morbora species.