Aposthonia borneensis ( Hagen, 1885 )

Poolprasert, Pisit, Sitthicharoenchai, Duangkhae, Butcher, Buntika Areekul & Lekprayoon, Chariya, 2011, Aposthonia Krauss, 1911 (Embioptera: Oligotomidae) from Thailand, with description of a new species, Zootaxa 2937, pp. 37-48 : 40-42

Aposthonia borneensis ( Hagen, 1885)

(Figs. 2A–C, 3A)

Oligotoma borneënsis Hagen, 1885: 146 (as “ O. saundersii Westwood ”); Krauss, 1911: 39 (= “ O. saundersii Westwood ”); Davis, 1940: 371, figs. 23–27; Ross, 1943: 102, figs. 6–8; Davis, 1948: 100, fig. 1

Aposthonia vosseleri Krauss, 1911: 48 , pl. II, fig. 14; Friederichs, 1934: 409, 410 ( v. vosseleri ), 427 (female); Davis, 1948: 373 (= borneënsis Hagen )

Oligotoma vosseleri (Krauss) . Enderlein, 1912: 101, fig. 65; Silvestri, 1912: 334, fig. 6

Aposthonia vosseleri intermedia Friederichs, 1934: 410 (as a form); Davis, 1940: 374 (= borneënsis Hagen )

Aposthonia vosseleri obscura Friederichs, 1934: 412 ; Davis, 1940: 375 (= borneënsis Hagen )

Oligotoma jacobsoni Silvestri, 1912: 334 ; Davis, 1940: 373 (= borneënsis Hagen )

Aposthonia vosseleri jacobsoni (Silvestri) . Friederichs, 1934: 411

Oligotoma maerens Roepke, 1919: 5 , figs. 1–12; Davis, 1940: 374 (= borneënsis Hagen )

Oligotoma nana Roepke, 1919: 20 , figs. 13–15; Davis, 1940: 374 (= borneënsis Hagen )

Aposthonia vosseleri nana (Roepke) . Friederichs, 1934: 412.

Oligotoma masi Navás, 1923: 39 ; Navás, 1932: 923; Davis, 1940: 374, fig. 32 (= borneënsis, Hagen , see reference to masi type)

Aposthonia borneensis (Hagen) . Ross, 1978: 5, fig. 2; Ross, 2000b: 30; Ross, 2007: 592, fig. 14; Yang, 1999: 66, fig. 18-1c

Diagnosis. Males of A. borneensis can be distinguished from congeners by the basal region of the left cercus being distally expanded and lobed, and by the presence of an outcurved hook on the left cercus-basipodite. The female is chestnut brown with blackish brown cranium, golden prothorax and brown legs except for the pale femoral-tibial joints.

Lectotype. Male. Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ), U.S.A.

Type locality. Malaysia (Borneo).

Material examined. The studied material consisted of 17 males and 26 females, all collected by P. Poolprasert from the following 14 sites (collection accession numbers in parentheses): Site 1, 1 male and 1 female (CUMZ- EMB-Oli.2010.01-02); Site 2, 1 male and 3 females (CUMZ-EMB-Oli.2010.03-06); Site 3, 1 male, (CUMZ-EMB- Oli.2010.07); Site 4, 2 males and 4 females (CUMZ-EMB-Oli.2010.08-13); Site 5, 2 males and 8 females (CUMZ- EMB-Oli.2010.14-23); Site 7, 1 male and 3 females (CUMZ-EMB-Oli.2010.24-27); Site 8, 2 males and 3 females (CUMZ-EMB-Oli.2010.28-32); Site 10, 1 male and 1 female (CUMZ-EMB-Oli.2010.33-34); Site 11, 1 male (CUMZ-EMB-Oli.2010.35); Site 12, 1 male (CUMZ-EMB-Oli.2010.36); Site 13, 1 male and 2 females (CUMZ- EMB-Oli.2010.37-39); Site 14, 1 male and 1 female (CUMZ-EMB-Oli.2010.40-41); Site 16, 1 male and 3 females (CUMZ-EMB-Oli.2010.42-45); Site 18, 1 male (CUMZ-EMB-Oli.2010.46).

Distribution. China (Canton, Hainan), Hong Kong, Indonesia (Java, Sumatra), Laos, Malaysia (Borneo), Papua New Guinea, Vietnam and Thailand.

Description. Alate male (n = 17, mean (range) ± SD): Head width × length 1.1 (0.9–1.2) ± 0.11 × 1.5 (1.3–1.6) ± 0.10 mm; body length 8.2 (7.6–8.6) ± 0.23 mm, width 1.5 (1.3–1.6) ± 0.12 mm; forewing 6.5 (5.9–6.8) ± 0.26 mm, hindwing 5.7 (5.3–6.2) ± 0.22 mm. Head capsule brownish, slightly longer than broad with large, prominent, kidney-shaped eyes, sides behind eyes rounded, converging posteriorly. Clypeus pale, labrum pale, with large brown middle spot, maxillary palpi brown, labial palpi similar in color. Submentum trapezoidal with medial concave anterior margin (Outline as fig. 2A), blackish. Mandible dark. Antennae brownish throughout, 19-segmented. Prothorax yellowish, much narrower than head, longer than broad, meso- and metathorax generally dark fuscous, with paler articulations. Wings medium brown throughout; anterior medial vein (MA) not forked. All legs fuscous except the articulations, tarsi of the front legs pale. Hind leg with only one basitarsal papilla. Abdomen grayish brown throughout with terminalia darker. Terminalia with left (10L) and right (10R) hemitergites of segment 10 of equal width. Process of 10 L (10LP) elongate, slender, narrowly rounded distally, process of 10R (10 RP) greatly elongated, narrow, membranous inner side, with small outer hook at the apex. Process of H (HP) simple, rounded. Left paraproct (LPPT) narrow, sclerotized, hooked outward and upward terminally and acutely pointed. Left cercus-basipodite (LCB) represented by a blackish plate at base of left cercus. Basal segment of left cercus (LC1) dilated distally and lobed without echinulation.

Apterous female (n = 26, mean (range) ± SD): head width × length 1.2 (1.0–1.3) ± 0.09 × 1.8 (1.3–1.9) ± 0.13 mm; body length 9.9 (9.3–10.3) ± 0.29 mm, width 1.5 (1.3–1.6) ± 0.05 mm. Head capsule blackish brown, convex, longer than broad. Eyes dark, smaller and less kidney-shaped than in male. Antennae brown throughout without white tips, 16-segmented. Prothorax golden, cream-white intersegmental banding anterior and posterior to mesoscutum. All legs brown except for whitish mid and hind coxae and trochanters. Hind leg with only one basitarsal papilla. Abdomen chestnut-brown throughout; tenth sternum symmetrically divided longitudinally into two lateral plates. Cerci entirely medium brown.

FIGURE 2. Important characters of male Aposthonia borneensis (A–C), A. ceylonica (D–F) and Aposthonia problita sp. n. (G–I). A, D, G) Head. B, E, H) Dorsal views of terminalia. C, F, I) Ventral views of terminalia. Abbreviations: 10L and 10R = left and right hemitergites of the tenth segment; 10LP and 10 RP = left and right tergal processes; EP = epiproct (segment 11); H = hypandrium (sternite 9); HP = hypandrium process; LPPT = left paraproct; LC1 and LC2 = first and second segments of the left cercus; RC1 and RC2 = first and second segments of the right cercus; SMT = submentum.

Remarks. Ross (1943, 1978) provided a thorough description of this species. However, we have added more detail regarding some important morphological characteristics of Thai specimens, including the head, papilla and genitalia of the male. Thai female specimens differ from previously described specimens in color pattern ( Fig. 3 A). In the current survey the habitat of this species was always on the bark of shade trees and near residential or developed areas, such as orchards, botanic gardens (ornamental plants) and plantations, but never in forest habitats. This species is an anthropogenic “weed” species with a wide distribution in the commercial areas of many localities in southern Asia, Indonesia, Laos and Malaysia, and has previously been recorded from Nan Province in Thailand ( Ross 1978). These records suggest that this species is now relatively common and widespread throughout Thailand.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Light micrographs of females. A) Aposthonia borneensis. B) A. ceylonica. C) A. problita sp. n.