Saica elkinsi Blinn, 1994

María, Valentina Castro-Huertas & Melo, María Cecilia, 2024, Saica Amyot & Serville, 1843 (Reduviidae, Emesinae, Saicini): taxonomic revision and phylogenetic analysis with morphological characters, Zoosystema 46 (32), pp. 813-845 : 824-825

Saica elkinsi Blinn, 1994

( Figs 2 G-H; 7)

Saica elkinsi Blinn, 1994: 62 [key]. — Hagerty & McPherson 1999: 151 [dist.]. — Clem et al. 2019: 168, 170, 189 [dist.]. — Swanson 2020: 978 [cit.].

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Paratype. United States • 1 ♀; Florida: Dunellon ; 12.VI.1939; Oman ( USNM) (high-resolution images, Fig. 2 G-H) .

DIAGNOSIS. — Coloration uniformly pale reddish ( Fig. 2G, H ), basal process of scutellum with apex entire and semicircular in caudal view, macropterous and micropterous females recorded by Blinn (1994).

DISTRIBUTION. — United States (Arkansas, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Alabama, Virginia, Florida) ( Blinn 1994; Hagerty & McPherson 1999; Clem et al. 2018) ( Fig. 7 ).

REDESCRIPTION

Female

Micropterous or macropterous. Measurements in Table 2 .

Coloration ( Fig.2 G-H). Head: Pale reddish. Antenna reddish, except distiflagellomere pale brown. First and second labial segments reddish, third labial segment yellowish. Thorax: Reddish to orange, spines yellowish. Procoxal cavity, procoxa and protrochanter orange, profemur reddish with basal portion orange, protibia orange with apical portion reddish, protarsus orange; meso- and metalegs similar to proleg. Forewing yellowish with veins and pterostigma orange. Abdomen: Mostly orange, dorsally reddish.

Structure. Thorax ( Fig. 2H ): Humeral angle spines long, three times longer than their base. Mesonotal spine straight, three times as long as its base. Protuberance of the scutellum with apex entire and slightly concave posteriorly, lateral margins not expanded in caudal view. Metanotal spine straight, 0.2 times the length of the mesonotal spine. Forewing with two closed cells, apex of outer discal cell extending as far as apex of pterostigma. Abdomen: Abdominal segment 2 not conspicuously narrower than posterior segments; posterolateral angles of tergite 7 flat, without processes. Genitalia: Tergite 9 nearly quadrangular.

Male

Macropterous (based on original description and illustrations of Blinn [1994]). Similar to female in most respects. Genitalia: Posterior margin of pygophore flat. Posteromedial process of pygophore elevated basally and angulated medially. Ramus nearly straight and projected laterally, almost twice as long as its base, apical region narrowed with an apical acute and projected process.

REMARKS

Saica elkinsi is the northernmost species of the genus and the only one with micropterous females, a condition that can be useful to distinguish it.

Figures

FIG. 2. — Saica Amyot & Serville, 1843 species, habitus: A‒D, S. apicalis Osborn & Drake, 1915, male dorsal (A); male, lateral (B); female, dorsal (C); female, lateral (D); E‒F, S. carayoni Villiers, 1943,male holotype,MNHN;dorsal (E); lateral (F); G, H, S. elkinsi Blinn, 1994,female paratype, USNM:dorsal (G); lateral (H); I‒L, S. erubescens Champion, 1898; male dorsal (I); male, lateral (J); female, dorsal (K); female, lateral (L). Scale bars: 2 mm.

FIG. 7. — Distributional map of Saica Amyot & Serville,1843 species. Saica apicalis Osborn & Drake, 1915, S. carayoni Villiers, 1943, S. cruentata Bergroth, 1913, S. elkinsi Blinn, 1994, S. erubescens Champion, 1898, S. fuscipes Stål, 1862, and S. lativentris Villiers, 1943. Empty circles, distributional information from examined material,circles with a dot,distributional information from the literature.