14. Tychius flavus Becker, 1864

(Figures 35–38, 159–162, 263–264, 317, 374, 407, 439, 465)

Tychius flavus Becker, 1864: 488 . Caldara, 1985a: 344; 1990: 173.

Tychius difficilis Tournier, 1874: 490 . Franz, 1942: 117. Caldara, 1985a: 344; 1990: 173.

Material examined. CHINA: Xinjiang: Fukang Observatory Ecol. Syst. Desert (44°17’N; 87°56’E, 474m), 23-V- 2007, leg Ye Liu (1); Jimunai County (47°22’N; 85°53’E, 1089 m), 3-VII-2014, leg Chunyan Jiang (4); Baihaba grassland (1153 m), 23-VII-2009, leg Xinlei Huang (2) .

Redescription. Length 1.90–2.50 mm (Fig. 35–38). Integument reddish brown, usually darker on pronotum, basal third of elytra and abdomen; on dorsum covered with uniformly pale brown to yellowish scales, those of elytral striae wide subelliptical, of same size and width as scales of interstriae. Rostrum (Fig. 159–162) in lateral view distinctly tapered distad of antennal insertion (Rl/Rw 3.50–3.61 in male, 3.61–4.17 in female; Rl/Pl 0.77–0.86 in male, 0.78–0.90 in female). Antennal funicle 7-segmented. Eyes large, globose, distinctly convex. Pronotum moderately transverse (Pw/Pl 1.10–1.23), with slightly rounded sides, widest between basal and middle third, somewhat convex. Elytra short (Ew/Pw 1.17–1.28; El/Ew 1.40–1.60), suboval, with slightly rounded sides, widest in basal half, convex. Femora (Fig. 263–264) with very small tooth. Profemora and protibiae (Fig. 317) without sexual characters. Claws with robust medial teeth, slightly longer than half of claw. Male genitalia: body of penis (Fig. 374) wide and short, on dorsal view slightly narrow at middle and with a transverse more sclerotized band, slightly narrowed only near to apex, with a distinct blunted tip (Fig. 407), as long as apodeme. Female genitalia: spermatheca (Fig. 439) with distinct ramus curved inward, distinct short collum, robust nodus, thin cornu narrowed in apical part; spiculum ventrale (Fig. 465) with arms moderately spaced each other and sinuous at middle.

Remarks and comparative notes. Due to the shape of the scales of the elytral striae (wide and not seta-like) and the shape of the male genitalia, this species was placed by Caldara (1990) in a distinct group together with T. argentatus Chevrolat, 1859, a species with a large circum-Mediterranean distribution living on Loteae. Otherwise, the general habitus is very similar to several species of the T. stephensi group, mainly T. aureolus, T. medicaginis and T. junceus .

Biology. In China, this species lives mainly on introduced Medicago, specifically M. sativa L. and M. falcata L. It was also reported as collected on Melilotus officinalis L., but this needs to be confirmed.

Distribution. This species was known from central and eastern Europe to Central Asia. New record from China (XIN).