Nesidiorchestes hawaiiensis Kirkaldy

Schwartz, Michael D. & Tatarnic, Nikolai, 2008, Nesidiorchestes hawaiiensis Kirkaldy: new tribal assignment and lectotype designation (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Miridae: Orthotylinae: Orthotylini), Zootaxa 1677, pp. 57-68 : 63-67

Nesidiorchestes hawaiiensis Kirkaldy

Nesidiorchestes hawaiiensis Kirkaldy, 1902: 139 . pl. 4, figs. 15, 15a, 16, 16a (sp. n.); Carvalho, 1958: 21 (cat.); Schuh, 1995: 62 (cat.).

Diagnosis. Species specific coloration ( Figs. 1 A, B) with the dark brown ventral aspect of the body, including the head ventral to the eye, labium, lateral aspect of the thorax including the evaporative surface of the scent efferent system, abdomen, and the legs except for the apex of the femur and entire tibia; and the pair of long, black, subapical bristles on the dorsal surface of the hind femur.

Redescription. Male: Short, small, total length 1.75–1.88. COLORATION: Dorsal aspect patterned with pale yellowish brown and somewhat variably shaped brown to dark reddish brown areas ( Figs. 1 A, B). Head: Clypeus reddish brown with medial pale mark, sometimes clypeus pale; frons pale medially, bilaterally flanked by four or five parallel dark stripes, dark patch dorsal to antennal insertion; vertex with paired bilateral crescent brown shaped marks and reddish brown medial posterior margin; gena, mandibular and maxillary plates, and buccula dark reddish brown; eyes dark; labrum pale brown; labium dark brown; antenna with segments I and II pale yellow brown, II slightly and variably darkened distally; III and IV brown. Thorax: Pronotal disc pale yellowish with obscure dark brown medial mark on midline and medial and obscure reddish brown posterior margin, posterior margin widest medially; obscure brown mark sublaterally and adjacent to callus posterolaterally; mesoscutum pale laterally with reddish brown medially and faintly sublaterally; scutellum dark brown with apex yellowish brown; dark brown on propleuron, except for pale extreme ventral margin, mesepisternum, sternum, mesepimeron, metepisternum, and evaporative surface of scent gland. Hemelytra: Pale yellowish brown with three variable and broken lines marking obsolete claval suture, and radius and costal veins; lines clearly interrupted subapically; entire margin of corium pale except for subapical blotch. Legs: Coxa, trochanter, and femur except for apices, dark brown; apex of femur, tibia, and tarsus pale yellowish brown. Abdomen: Dark brown with lateral margin paler; genital capsule dark brown, except for dorsum, proctiger, and parameres yellowish brown. Genitalia: Genital capsule as in figures 1A, 2B, H, 3; left paramere as in figures 2H, 3, basal portion strongly protruding, ventral portion sinuate, apex blunt; right paramere as in figures 2H, 3, with small pointed basal and apical apices; phallotheca as in figure 3; vesica as in figure 3, with dorsalmost lobe of spiculum sinuate at base, gradually attenuate distally, with subapical process of variable length ( Fig. 4 ), terminating in pointed spiculate apex; medial and ventral lobes strongly ramified with many thin, multidivided dendritic projections, apices with microspicules ( Fig. 3 ); medial lobe longest of three, terminating in relatively wider spiculate apex, ventral lobe terminating in needlelike apex; conjunctiva attached to base of vesical spiculum by large, recurved, paddle-shaped, thickly membranous process; sclerotized part of ductus seminis relatively long.

Female: Very similar to male in structure, vestiture, and coloration, pale base of ovipositor; total length 2.15–2.45. STRUCTURE. Genitalia ( Fig. 5 ): posterior wall with interramal sclerite broadly overlapping medially; interramal lobe broad basally, incised medially, narrowed to point distally; apices converging medially; dorsal region of posterior wall with paired, anteriorly convex, microserrate membranous lobes, anterior surface medial portion of lobes wide, narrowed toward lateral margins of wall; posteromedial surface of wall with small, sclerotized, shield shaped medial process adjoining base of ovipositor; dorsal labiate plate as in figure 5; sclerotized rings as in figure 5; anterior wall of vestibulum as in figure 5.

Measurements. Male (n=10 unless noted otherwise; mean followed in parentheses by range): Length (n=7), 1.82 (1.75–1.88); clypeus to cuneus 1.58 (1.53–1.68); width, 0.98 (0.95–1.00). Head length, 0.30 (0.29–0.31); width through eyes, 0.65 (0.63–0.67); vertex width, 0.37 (0.36–0.39). Length of antennal segment I, 0.32 (0.30–0.34); II, 1.11 (1.03–1.18); III, 0.72 (0.69–0.79); IV (n=3), 0.50 (0.49–0.51). Labium length (n=8), 0.81 (0.78–0.84). Pronotal length, 0.29 (0.28–0.31); width, 0.71 (0.69–0.73). Scutellum length, 0.21 (0.20–0.23); width 0.28 (0.26–0.31). Hind tibia length, 1.50 (1.43–1.60). Cuneus absent.

Female (n=11; unless noted otherwise; mean followed in parentheses by range): Length (n=10), 2.30 (2.15–2.45); clypeus to cuneus 1.85 (1.65–1.93); width, 1.15 (1.08–1.20). Head length, 0.31 (0.30–0.32); width through eyes, 0.68 (0.65–0.71); vertex width, 0.40 (0.39–0.42). Length of antennal segment I, 0.33 (0.31–0.35); II, 1.11 (1.00–1.23); III (n=9), 0.80 (0.74–0.85); IV (n=7), 0.52 (0.50–0.55). Labium length, 0.89 (0.82–0.94). Pronotal length, 0.32 (0.28–0.33); width, 0.77 (0.70–0.83). Scutellum length, 0.24 (0.23–0.25); width 0.31 (0.28–0.33). Hind tibia length (n=10), 1.67 (1.50–1.85). Cuneus absent.

Distribution. Known from several localities on the flanks of the Ko’olau Mountain range of southeastern Oahu.

Host. Only brief notes of habitat were reported in the specimen label data; most individuals were sifted from dead leaves. Zimmerman (1948, pg. 200) provided these personal observations: “I have collected this remarkable species by sifting dead leaves and ground litter in the mountains behind Honolulu. It is an agile and active jumper. I have seen it make leaps of about 1.5 inches high and 3 inches long in rapid succession”.

Lectotype (Here designated): USA: Hawaii: Honolulu Co., “15; 816” [Oahu, Ko’olau Mountains, head of Pauoa Valley, nr. Mt. Tantalus, 21.34516 0 N 157.80333 0W, 610 m, Dec. 1900, Perkins]; “ Nesidorchestes hawaiiensis Kirk. Type (no 4)”; “Sandwich Is. 1913-323”; “figured specimen” 1? [specimen #4 of 5 hand numbered specimens, mounted on same card] (AMNH_PBI 00085496) (BMNH).

Paralectotypes. Same label data as lectotype [specimen #1, 1ɗ; #’s 3&5, 2Ψ; #2 damaged, legs only] (AMNH_PBI 00085496) (BMNH).

Specimens examine. USA: Hawaii: Honolulu Co.: Oahu: M[oun]t. Tantalus, Honolulu, 21.33083 0 N 157.81583 0W, 474 m, Apr 1954, Bianchi, 1ɗ, 2Ψ (AMNH_PBI 00191259) (USNM). Manoa, Palolo Ridge, 21.32502 0 N 157.78334 0W, 320 m, 27 Mar 1937, E. C. Zimmerman, 1ɗ (AMNH_PBI 00113284), 1Ψ (AMNH_PBI 00113264) (BPBM). Mount Tantalus, 21.33582 0 N 157.81815 0W, 409 m, 23 Jan 1937, E. C. Zimmerman, 1ɗ (AMNH_PBI 00113258), 1Ψ (AMNH_PBI 00113265), 2Ψ (AMNH_PBI 0 0 113274, AMNH_PBI 00113275) (BPBM); 27 Feb 1937, E. C. Zimmerman, 2ɗ (AMNH_PBI 0 0 113259, AMNH_PBI 00113273) (BPBM); 10 Feb 1937, E. C. Zimmerman, 3ɗ (AMNH_PBI 00113266-AMNH_PBI 00113268), 2Ψ (AMNH_PBI 0 0 113269, AMNH_PBI 00113270), 1 nymph (AMNH_PBI 00113271) (BPBM); 28 Feb 1937, E. C. Zimmerman, 1ɗ (AMNH_PBI 00113272) (BPBM). Mount Tantalus, 21.32722 0 N 157.81467 0W, 425 m, 0 2 May 1976, F. G. Howarth, 3Ψ (A MNH_PBI 0 0 113263, AMNH_PBI 00113277-AMNH_PBI 00113278) (BPBM). Mount Tantalus, 21.3284 0 N 157.8247 0W, 396 m, 0 9 Apr 1905, W. M. Giffard, 2Ψ (AMNH_PBI 0 0 113279, AMNH_PBI 00113280) (BPBM). Mount Tantalus, 21.3328 0 N 157.8151 0W, 610 m, 19 Mar 1940, D. Anderson, 1ɗ (AMNH_PBI 00113281) (BPBM); 0 1 Aug 1968, W. C. Gagne, 1ɗ (AMNH_PBI 00113282) (BPBM). Tantalus, 21.336 0 N 157.8129 0W, 611 m, 0 3 Dec 1938, Y. Kondo, 1Ψ (AMNH_PBI 00113276) (BPBM).

The locality given in the original description is “Oahu, N.W. Koolau, 2000 ft. (December: Perkins). Five examples.” The five syntypes at the BMNH are mounted on a single card, have the collection lot number “15 816,” and additional information in the form of a handwritten determination label and two labels added at the time of accession to the BMNH (see above). An online reference at the Bishop Museum (BPBM, 2007) provides the insect field collection numbers of R. C. L. Perkins; number 816 is listed and reported as “Oahu, head of Pauoa, Dec, 1900.” D. A. Polhemus (pers. comm.) suggests that this locality would correspond to the modern label given in the specimens examined above and “lies immediately behind modern Honolulu, and not far from the Pali Highway (which is just one valley over to the northwest).” All specimens examined were collected on the leeward side of the southeastern half of the Ko’olau Mountains. A similar distribution is known for Nesiomiris ( Gagné, 1997; four species), Orthotylus ( Polhemus, 2004; three species), and Sarona (Asquith, 2004; one species).

It is well known that at least within the Hawaiian Orthotylini , the members of a given genus are predominately single island endemics and host specific, those species inhabiting the same island usually breeding on different species of plants ( Asquith 1994, 1995; Gagné, 1997). Unfortunately, we are not aware of the host association of N. hawaiiensis . Typically, species of the same genus distributed on the same island are differentiated by external features of overall size, appendage length, coloration, and genitalia.

It is our opinion that all the specimens examined above conform to the description and illustrations of Kirkaldy and are conspecific with the syntypes housed in the BMNH. The measurements fall within a small range and the coloration pattern shows little variation. The structure of the male genitalia is strikingly similar in all the specimens examined, except for minor variation confined to the apices of the vesical spicules, especially the dorsalmost lobe ( Fig. 4 ).

Because the syntypes in the collections of the BMNH match all the features of the original description, we hereby designate the specimen adjacent to the handwritten number 4 as the lectotype of N. hawaiiensis to stabilize Kirkaldy’s concept of the species.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Dorsal habitus photograph of male Nesidiorchestes hawaiiensis. A. Lectotype (AMNH _ PBI 00085496). B. Zimmerman specimen (AMNH _ PBI 00113258).

FIGURE 3. Male genitalia (AMNH _ PBI 00113258).

FIGURE 4. Male genitalia: Subapical process variation in the dorsalmost vesical lobe, left lateral view; numbers are USI codes preceded by “ AMNH _ PBI ”.

FIGURE 5. Female genitalia (AMNH _ PBI 00113263).