Saica ochracea Distant, 1902

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 : 828-829

Saica ochracea Distant, 1902

( Figs 3 G-H; 5E; 8)

Saica ochracea Distant, 1902: 175 . — Maldonado Capriles 1990: 479 [cat.].

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Holotype. Ecuador • ♂; Paramba ; 3500 m; 1.IV.1997; Rosenberg: dry season; UCR_ENT00018447 ; NHMUK01358906 ; BMNH(E) 1688179 (high-resolution images, Fig. 3 G-H).

DIAGNOSIS. — General body coloration ochraceous, with anterior portion of pronotal posterior lobe and lateral margins of pronotum dark brown; legs dark brown, with protibia and protarsus orange ( Fig. 3 G-H); apex of paramere conspicuously acute ( Fig. 5E ), and posteromedial process of pygophore deeply concave medially with ramus projecting laterally ( Fig. 5E ).

DISTRIBUTION. — Ecuador ( Distant 1902) ( Fig. 8 ).

REDESCRIPTION

Male

Macropterous. Measurements in Table 2 .

Coloration ( Fig. 3 G-H). Head: Pale brown, darker laterally. Antenna and labium dark brown. Thorax: Pale brown, except for posterior lobe of the pronotum dark brown dorsally and laterally. Procoxal cavity pale brown; procoxa, protrochanter and profemur dark brown; protibia and protarsus orange; meso- and metalegs similar to proleg except for meso- and metatibiae dark brown. Forewing yellowish. Abdomen: yellowish.

Structure. Thorax ( Fig. 3H ): Humeral angle spines short, three times longer than their base. Mesonotal spine straight, three times longer than its base. Metanotal spine straight, 0.2 times the length of mesonotal spine. Forewing with two closed cells, apex of outer discal cell extending as far as apex of pterostigma. Abdomen: Abdominal tergite 2 not conspicuously narrower than posterior segments. Genitalia: Posterior margin of pygophore flat. Posteromedial process of pygophore (mpp) not elevated basally and deeply concaved medially ( Fig. 5E ). Ramus longitudinally curved and projected laterally, longer than two times its base, apical region narrowed with an apical acute and projected process. Paramere apex acute ( Fig. 5E ).

REMARKS

Saica ochracea is similar to S. tupackatari n. sp. as both species are brownish, but S. ochraceus shows the anterior portion of the posterior lobe and lateral margins of the pronotum darker, the legs are uniformly dark brown except for the protibiae and protarsi orange, and the ramus of the posteromedial process of pygophore is apically wide. They also seem closely related by the length and shape of the metanotal spine that is sinuous and more than 0.5 longer than its base. Species only known from the male holotype.

Figures

FIG. 3. — Saica Amyot & Serville, 1843 species, habitus: A, B, S. fuscipes Stål, 1862 female holotype, NHMW: dorsal (A); lateral (B); C, D, S. lativentris Villiers, 1943: male, dorsal (C); male, lateral (D); E, F, S. meridionalis Fracker & Bruner, 1924: female, dorsal (E); female, lateral (F); G, H, S. ochracea Distant, 1902, male holotype, BMNH: dorsal (G); lateral (H); I, L, S. recurvata (Fabricius, 1803) male dorsal (I); male, lateral (J); K, female, dorsal; L, female, lateral. Scale bars: 2 mm.

FIG. 5. — Saica Amyot & Serville,1843,male genitalia,pygophore:caudal view (A‒J): A, S. apicalis Osborn & Drake,1915;B, S. carayoni Villiers,1943;C, S. erubescens Champion, 1898; D, S. lativentris Villiers, 1943; E, S. ochracea Distant, 1902; F, S. recurvata (Fabricius, 1803); G, S. rubripes Champion, 1898;H, S. subinermis Hussey,1953; I, S. tibialis Stål, 1862; J, S. tupackatari n. sp.; lateral view (K‒Q): K, S. apicalis; L, S. erubescens; M, S. lativentris; N, S. recurvata (Fabricius, 1803); O, S. rubripes Champion,1898; P, S. tibialis Stål, 1862; Q, S. tupackatari n. sp. Abbreviations: ao, anterior opening of pygophore; br, transverse bridge of pygophore; go, genital opening; mpp, medial process of pygophore; pa, paramere; pmr, posterior margin of ramus; ps, paramere socket. Scale bars: 0.5 mm.

FIG. 8. — Distributional map of Saica Amyot & Serville, 1843 species. Saica meridionalis Fracker & Bruner, 1924, S. ochracea Distant, 1902, S. recurvata (Fabricius, 1803), S. rubripes Champion, 1898, S. subinermis Hussey, 1953, S. tibialis Stål, 1862, and S. tupackatari n. sp. Empty circles, distributional information from examined material, circles with a dot, distributional information from the literature.