Engytatus henryi, Polhemus, Dan A., 2018

Polhemus, Dan A., 2018, A new species and new records of Engytatus from the Hawaiian Islands (Heteroptera, Miridae), ZooKeys 796, pp. 97-106 : 99-102

Engytatus henryi sp. n.

Description.

Male with general form slender, elongate, parallel-sided (Fig. 1); overall length 3.90-4.10, length from tip of tylus to cuneal fracture 2.60-2.80, maximum width (across base of cuneus) 1.00-1.05. General coloration pale yellowish green, with base of head, anterior margin of pronotum, and entire abdomen bearing more saturated green to bluish-green coloration.

Head length 0.30, width across eyes 0.52, pale yellowish green with more saturated bluish-green coloration at posterolateral margins; eyes relatively small, dark reddish-black, length 0.15, width 0.10; vertex width 0.32, bearing scattered moderately long, semi-erect, pale setae. Antennae long, slender, all segments very pale yellowish, segment I bearing 3 erect, golden, spinose setae, all segments thickly covered with short, semi-erect pale setae, lengths of segments I–IV = 0.40, 1.10, 1.15, 0.50. Rostrum length 1.25, reaching apices of middle coxae, pale golden yellow, extreme tip dark.

Pronotum length 0.60, width 0.80, pale yellowish green, bearing scattered semi-erect pale setae. Scutellum length 0.40, width 0.35, pale yellowish-green, bearing scattered semi-erect pale setae.

Hemelytra translucent, uniformly pale yellowish green except extreme posterior apex of cuneus brown (Fig. 1); entire hemelytral surface set with simple, semi-recumbent pale setae; wing membrane very pale grey, veins yellowish green.

Legs slender, elongate (Fig. 1), very pale yellow, tarsi pale golden brown; all leg segments clothed with very short, pale, recumbent setae; anterior margins of all femora bearing ~10 evenly spaced, slender, erect, spine-like setae; posterior margin of fore femur with numerous slender, erect, pale setae; posterior margins of middle and hind femora each with 3-4 very long, slender, erect pale setae, lengths of setae subequal to greatest width of corresponding femur on which they occur; anterior margin of hind tibia with scattered long, erect, spine-like setae, lengths of setae ~2 × the tibial width.

Ventral surface predominantly pale green, clothed with short, recumbent pale setae, these setae becoming longer and more numerous adjacent to genital cavity.

Male genitalia with right paramere slender and finger-like (Fig. 4); left paramere stout and bilobate basally, basal lobe bearing acuminate tuft of long, dark setae, distal lobe with slender, elongate, darkly sclerotized process, apex of distal lobe with acuminate tuft of long setae (Fig. 6); proctiger with two small apical lobes on right side when viewed laterally (Figs 2, 3), left side with larger, hook-like process (Figs 5, 7).

Female length overall length 4.20-4.30, length from tip of tylus to cuneal fracture 2.90-3.00, maximum width (across base of cuneus) 1.05-1.10; similar to male in general structure and coloration, but slightly more yellowish.

Host plant.

Abutilon sandwicense (O. Degener) Christophersen ( Malvaceae ).

Types.

Holotype, male, HAWAIIAN ISLANDS, Oahu, Waianae Mountains, middle section of Kaluaa Gulch, W. of Schofield Barracks, 1600 ft. [485 m.], 21°27'49"N, 158°06'34"W, 26 April 2017, CL 8527, D. A. Polhemus (BPBM). Paratypes: HAWAIIAN ISLANDS, Oahu: 10 males, 16 females, same data as holotype (BPBM, USNM).

Etymology.

The name " henryi " is a patronym honoring Dr. Thomas J. Henry for his many years of scientific effort devoted to the study of Heteroptera, particularly Miridae .

Discussion.

Engytatus henryi runs to E. cyrtandrae in the key of Gagné (1968), by virtue of its parallel-sided form, pale dorsal pubescence, elongation of the head behind the eyes, uniformly pale antennae, and pale-colored body and wings with only a small dark mark at the extreme apex of the cuneus (Fig. 1). It differs from E. cyrtandrae in its larger size, with the overall length across both sexes being 3.90-4.10 mm, versus 3.13-3.28 mm in E. cyrtandrae ; by having a much different set of structures at the apex of the pygophore, consisting of two small, rounded lobes on the right side (Figs 2, 3) and a large, hooked lobe on the left (Figs 5, 7), rather than a pair of more developed processes on the right side, one acuminate and the other bulb-like, as in E. cyrtandrae (see figs 5 a–b in Gagné 1968); and by the shapes of the male parameres (Figs 4, 6).

Ecological notes . The type series of E. henryi was taken from a stand of Abutilon sandwicense (Fig. 8) in a fenced enclosure along the middle reach of Kaluaa Gulch, on the windward side of the Waianae Mountains in western Oahu. Abutilon sandwicense is a sprawling to arborescent, large-leaved shrub that was formerly common in the understory of Hawaiian mesic forests, but has been badly reduced in extent by wildland fire and the depredations of feral pigs, such that it is now listed as Endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act.