Arhaphe cicindeloides Walker, 1873

Stehlík, Jaroslav L. & Kment, Petr, 2011, Redescription of Pararhaphe and review of Arhaphe (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Largidae) of America north of Mexico, Zootaxa 3058, pp. 35-54 : 45-48

Arhaphe cicindeloides Walker, 1873

( Figs. 5 , 15–17)

Arhaphe cicindeloides Walker, 1873: 36 (description). Syntypes: 3 spec., Mexico, Oajaca [= Oaxaca] (from Salle‘s collection), 1 spec., Mexico (from Glennie‘s collection) (BMNH).

Arhaphe cicindeloides: Distant (1883): 227 , pl. XXI: Fig. 2 . (habitus illustration, catalog, faunistics).

Arhaphe cicindeloides: Uhler (1886): 16 (checklist, synonym of A. carolina ).

Arhaphe cicindeloides: Lethierry & Severin (1894): 240 (catalog, distribution).

Arhaphe cicindeloides: Distant (1902): 44 (comments on Walker‘s species).

Arhaphe cicindeloides : Van Duzee (1916): 24 (checklist).

Arhaphe cicindeloides (partim): Van Duzee (1917): 205 (catalog, distribution).

Arhaphe cicindeloides (partim): Hussey (1929): 27 –28 (catalog, distribution).

Arhaphe cicindeloides: Bliven (1973): 126 –127 (proposed synonymy with A. carolina ).

Arhaphe cicindeloides (partim): Henry (1988): 160 (catalog, distribution).

Arhaphe divisa Brailovsky, 1981: 85 , 98–101 (description, habitus photo, faunistics). Holotype: 3, Mexico, Durango, Los Becerros, 2,560 m a.s.l., 22.vi.1940, C. Bolívar lgt. (UNAM). New synonym.

Type material examined. Lectotype (here designated): Ƥ, “58 135 Mex. (Oaxaca)” [p] // “B.C.A. Hem. 1 Arhaphe cicindeloides ” [p] // “ Lectotypus ” [p, red label] ( BMNH).

Paralectotypes: 3, “ Mexico. Sallé Coll.” [p] // “Distant Coll. 1911-383” [p] ( BMNH); 3, “ Type ” [p, white round label with green margin] // “58 / 86” [hw, round light-blue label] // “2. Arhaphe cicindeloides ” [p, long white label] ( BMNH).

Additional material examined. MEXICO: Durango: El Salto, 3.viii.1951, 6 3 5 ƤƤ, H. E. Evans lgt. ( CUIC, MMBC, NMPC). Estado de México: Toluca, 31.vii.?4, 1 Ƥ, Univ. Kan. Mex. Exp. ( MMBC). Oaxaca: Oaxaca, 2 ƤƤ ( NHMW).

Redescription. Coloration. Body, wide median transversal stripe across corium, narrow stripe on inner margin of corium, and membrane black; remaining parts of corium, posterior pleural flange III and epicoxal lobe III pale yellowish.

Structure. Head small ( Fig. 5 ), smooth, prominently rounded basally; frons lightly, clypeus strongly elevated. Both membranes overlapping, markedly surpassing apex of corium, reaching base of mesotergite VI in male and sometimes nearly midlength of mesotergite VI in female.

Puncturation. Head glabrous. Pronotal lobe, scutellum, clavus, and median transverse stripe on corium punctured although the punctures are not very prominent (quite visible after moistening the specimen).

Pilosity. Head with fine silver adpressed pubescence except center of frons and vertex posteriad to posterior margins of eyes, this forming a very conspicuous black matt quadrangular spot contrasting with the surrounding silvery head dorsum ( Figs. 15, 17 ). A silvery adpressed pubescens also covering entire callar lobe, slightly surpassing on anterior margin of pronotal lobe ( Fig. 12 ), dorsal laterotergite V, tergite VI, and most of body venter except of join of mesosternum and metasternum, ventrite II, adjacent bare spots on ventral laterotergites III and IV (surpassing on zygosternites), bare anterolateral spots on ventral laterotergites V and VI, and entire ventrite VII ( Fig. 16 ). Entire dorsum of head (including the black spot), pronotum, scutellum, clavus, corium, and visible abdominal tergites covered with long erect black hairs, somewhat shorter on corium and tergites ( Fig. 16 ). Ventral parts of head with shorter silver hairs, abdominal venter with shorter silver erect hairs and intermingled longer black erect hairs, ventrite VII only with black erect hairs. Femora and tibiae covered with both short silvery pubescence and long erect black (sometimes silver) hairs.

Measurements (mm). Male (n = 1). Body length 6.70; head: length 1.13, width (including eyes) 1.70, interocular width 1.08; length of antennomeres: 1–1.08, 2–0.97, 3–0.65, 4–1.24; pronotum: length 1.51, width 1.78; scutellum: length 0.86, width 0.92; corium: length 2.32, width 0.97.

Female (n = 1). Body length 6.70; head: length 1.40, width (including eyes) 1.78, interocular width 1.19; length of antennomeres: 1–1.13, 2–1.13, 3–0.76, 4–1.27; pronotum: length 1.62, width 2.00; scutellum: length 0.92, width 0.97; corium: length 2.86, width 1.19.

Differential diagnosis. This species is easy to distinguish from all remaining described species of Arhaphe by the exceptional pattern of pubescence on the head dorsum, which is covered by silvery adpressed hairs except for a black matt quadrangular spot in the middle of the frons, and vertex behind the posterior margins of the eyes ( Figs. 15, 17 ). Arhaphe arguta differs from A. cicindeloides by its larger size; remarkably larger head without silvery adpressed pubescence, which is covered only with long black erect hairs; and the wing membrane limited to a crescent along the inner margin of corium, not surpassing corial apex ( Figs. 8–9).

Taxonomy. Uhler (1886: 16) first synonymised this species with A. carolina , but all subsequent authors, except Bliven (1973), recognised it as distinct. Barber (1911) used the name for a species collected in Arizona, which was referred to as A. cicindeloides by all subsequent authors except of Bliven (1956, 1973). Bliven (1973) synonymised A. cicindeloides with A. carolina with the following comment: “Distant‘s figure of cicindeloides B.C.A. Tab. XXI, fig. 2) is carolina . The latter has a definite recognition feature in the white membrane with the black tip. In 1911 (p. 28) Barber arbitrarily and without presenting one shred of evidence, attached the name cicindeloides to a species found in Arizona, undoubtedly to prevent his newly-described mimetica from being obliterated by the inept and unscrupulous insect-namers who were as prevalent then as they are now.“ Bliven (1973) also proposed A. snowi as a new name for A. cicindeloides sensu Barber (1911) . Henry (1988) wrote: “Because no one has restudied Walker‘s type (s) (and in my opinion, Distant‘s (1893, Biol. Centr.-Am., Rhyn., 1: plate 21, fig. 2) figure of cicindeloides agrees with current concepts of the species), it seems best to continue recognizing A. cicindeloides and consider Bliven‘s snowi a synonym.“

However, the present revision of the type material revealed that A. cicindeloides sensu Barber (1911) and other authors is not conspecific with the types of A. cicindeloides Distant. Arhaphe arguta ( Bliven, 1956) is the oldest available name for A. cicindeloides sensu Barber (not Distant), with A. snowi being its junior synonym. For this reason, all the previous records of A. cicindeloides from the United States as well some of the Mexican records ( Brailovsky 1981) must refer to A. arguta . On the other hand, A. divisa Brailovsky, 1981 fits the original description of A. cicindeloides , and must be considered its junior synonym.

Biology and ecology. Unknown. The remarks on biology and ecology of the species by Barber (1910) and Torre-Bueno (1942), as well as the description of 5th instar by Bergroth (1921) belong to A. arguta .

Distribution. MEXICO: Distrito Federal ( Distant 1883), Durango ( Brailovsky 1981, as A. divisa ; this paper), Estado de México (this paper), Guanajuato ( Brailovsky 1981, as A. divisa ), Michoacán ( Brailovsky 1981, as A. divisa ), Oaxaca ( Walker 1873, Distant 1883; this paper), Zacatecas ( Brailovsky 1981, as A. divisa ).

Torre-Bueno (1913: 59) listed both A. carolina and A. cicindeloides from Southern Pines in North Carolina ; the identity of his A. cicindeloides cannot be established.

Figures

FIGURES 3 – 7. Head and pronotum in lateral view: 3 — Arhaphe arguta (Bliven, 1956); 4 — A. breviata Barber, 1924; 5 — A. cicindeloides Walker, 1873; 6 — A. mimetica Barber, 1911; 7 — Pararhaphe sphaeroides (Distant, 1883).

FIGURES 1 – 2. Female abdomen in lateral view: 1 — Arhaphe arguta (Bliven, 1956); 2 — Pararhaphe sphaeroides (Distant, 1883).

FIGURES 16 – 21. Habitus of body (16, 18, 20 — dorsal view; 17, 19, 21 — lateral view): 16 – 17 — A. cicindeloides Walker, 1873 (Mexico: Durango: El Salto; ƤƤ); 18 – 19 — A. mimetica Barber, 1911 (3, paralectotype, USA: Arizona: Huachuca Mts.); 20 – 21 — Pararhaphe sphaeroides (Distant, 1883) (Ƥ, holotype, Guatemala) (Photos: P. Kment).

FIGURES 9 – 14. Habitus of body (9, 11, 13 — dorsal view; 10, 12, 14 — lateral view): 9 – 10 — Arhaphe arguta (Bliven, 1956) (USA: Arizona: Madera Canyon; 9 — 3, 10 — Ƥ); 11 – 12 — A. breviata Barber, 1924 (USA: Kansas: Kiowa Co.; Ƥ paratype); 13 – 14 — A. carolina Herrich-Schaeffer, 1850 (13 — 3, USA: Florida: Putnam Co.; 14 — Ƥ, USA: Florida: Alachua Co.). (Photos: P. Kment).