Prolygus Carvalho, 1987

Yasunaga, Tomohide, Schwartz, Michael D. & Chérot, Frédéric, 2018, Review of the plant bug genus Prolygus and related mirine taxa from eastern Asia (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Miridae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae (Acta. Ent. Mus. Natl. Pragae) 58 (2), pp. 357-388 : 359

Prolygus Carvalho, 1987

Prolygus Carvalho, 1987: 137 (original description), type species by original designation: Lygus papuanus Poppius, 1914: 353 .

Prolygus: SCHUH (1995) : 941 (catalog); KERZHNER & JOSIFOV (1999): 172 (catalog); YASUNAGA (2001): 260 (diagnosis); ZHENG et al. (2004): 560 (diagnosis, key to Chinese spp.).

Diagnosis. Prolygus is distinguished from other similar taxa of the Lygus complex by the following combination of characters: Body elongate oval, small to medium in size (3.0– 4.5 mm); antenna uniformly linear, 0.66–0.75× as long as body; clavus at least basally with two or three rows of keeled lines parallel to claval vein (cf. Figs 1–4 , 12, 16, 18 , 49, 50–52 ); cuneus pale, sometimes median part darkened but not infuscate at apex; male with left paramere L- or C-shaped, with a flat, median projection at apex of hypophysis; right paramere long, not much shorter than left one (its total length usually greater than that of left paramere sensory lobe), with apical part of sensory lobe often inflated; endosoma composed of three lobes, usually with two lobal sclerites (PL and SL); secondary gonopore thick-rimmed, small; phallotheca slender, smooth; female with: sclerotized ring elongate ovoid, thick-rimmed, more or less narrowed medially; posterior wall with spinulate lateral and interramal lobes.

Biology. Little is known about the biology. Specimens of most species were collected using UV light traps. Several Asian species were found on inflorescences of broadleaf trees or shrubs.

Distribution. Known from the Oriental Region and across Wallacea east to New Guinea and several Pacific islands or atolls; at least three species occur in the eastern Palearctic Region (SW Japan and Taiwan).

Discussion. Prolygus was established by CARVALHO (1987) to accommodate sixteen New Guinean species. However, he included many species with irrelevant or questionable affinities which made the generic definition inadequate. Thirteen of the sixteen species (ca. 81%) placed in Prolygus by CARVALHO (1987) have, in our opinion, uncertain generic placements based on their original descriptions or subsequent redescriptions and illustrations: Prolygus albocuneatus Carvalho, 1987 , P. biscutellatus Carvalho, 1987 , P. erimensis ( Poppius, 1914) , P. femoralis ( Poppius, 1914) , P. finisterrensis Carvalho, 1987 , P. kandanus Carvalho, 1987 , P. kebarensis Carvalho, 1987 , P. maai Carvalho, 1987 , P. nakanaiensis Carvalho, 1987 , P. punctialbus Carvalho, 1987 , P. quatei Carvalho, 1987 , P. stali ( Poppius, 1914) , and P. watutensis Carvalho, 1987 . Definitive treatments for these taxa are beyond the scope of our current study. It would require additional material and further investigations of Lygus -complex and related taxa on a world-scale.

Prolygus can now be defined by the characters mentioned in above diagnosis. Based on the possession of these characters, placements of a dozen species in Prolygus are now contradictive. Accordingly, we regard six species as genuine members of Prolygus , but more than a few unidentified congeners are evidently present in the Indo- Pacific Region.

Figures

Figs 1–11. Habitus images of genuine Prolygus species, live individuals. 1–2 – P. disciger (Poppius, 1915) (1 –♁, Pingtung, Taiwan; 2 –♁, Chaiyaphum, Thailand), 3–5 – P. papuanus (Poppius, 1915) (3 – ♀, attracted to FL light in Brastagi, N. Sumatra; 4–5 – ♁, Kathmandu, Nepal), 6–11 – P. nigriclavus (Poppius, 1915) (6 – ♁, Kathmandu; 7 – ♀, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand; 8 – ♁, darkened individual, Nantou, Taiwan; 9–11 – reared ♁ emerging, Rasuwa, Nepal).

Figs 12–23. Scanning electron micrographs for genuine Prolygus species. 12–15 – P. disciger (Poppius, 1915), ♁: 12 – dorsal surface, 13 – cuneus and metatarsi, 14 – apical part of pygophore, left lateral view, 15 – scent efferent system; 16–17 – P. nigriclavus (Poppius, 1915), ♀: 16 – head and thorax, left lateral view, 17 – pretarsus (hind leg); 18–23 – P. papuanus (Poppius, 1915): 18 – ♀, dorsal surface, 19 – ♁, head and thorax, left lateral view; 20 – ♀, pretarsus (hind leg); 21 – ♀, dorsal vestiture (c: corium, p: pronotum, s: scutellum), 22 – ♁, apex of pygophore, left lateral view, 23 – ♁, metatarsus.

Figs 43–53. Habitus images of genuine Prolygus spp, dry-preserved specimens in dorsal and ventral (46, 53) view. 43–44 – P. alboscutellatus Carvalho, 1987:43 –♀ (N. Sumatra); 44 –♁ (Negros, Philippines).45–46 – P. disciger (Poppius, 1915):45 –♀ (Iriomote Island, Japan), 46 –♁ (Pingtung, Taiwan); 47 – P. loriae (Poppius, 1914), holotype, ♁ (ZMUF); 48 – P. nigriclavus (Poppius, 1915) (N. Sumatra); 49 – P. palauensis (Carvalho, 1956), holotype, ♁ (USNM); 50–53 – P. papuanus (Poppius, 1914): 50 – ♁ (Perak, Malaya), 51 – ♁ (N. Sumatra), 52–53 – ♀ (N. Sumatra).