Salicarus Kerzhner, 1962

Salicarus Kerzhner, 1962: 381. Type species by original designation: Capsus roseri Herrich-Schaeffer, 1838 .

Salicarus: Putshkov (1977): 365 (revision); Kerzhner (1964): 996 (key, figures).

Salicarius [sic!]: Wagner (1975 a): 99 (key, descriptions, figures).

Diagnosis.

Body broadly oval, with short appendages (Figs 1 – 3); head vertical, clypeus barely visible in dorsal view, posterior margin of vertex attenuate, covering anterior margin of pronotum (Figs 4, 5, 6 E); dorsum and / or thoracic pleura clothed with scale-like setae and simple setae (Figs 4, 5, 6 C); parempodium apically spatulate; pulvillum small, not reaching midpoint of claw (Fig. 6 A, D); vesica large, strongly coiled at middle, apically with two long and thin, gradually tapering blades tightly fused along almost entire length (Figs 7 A – D, 8), or slightly dilate apically (Fig. 7 G – J); secondary gonopore large, located close to middle of vesica, equipped with gonopore sclerite; vestibulum of bursa copulatrix S-shaped, contrastingly long and thin (Fig. 10). Refer to Konstantinov (2023) for additional discussion.

Redescription.

Male. Coloration. Dorsum and venter uniformly chestnut to dark brown with whitish antennal segments III and IV in S. nitidus species group (Fig. 3 E – L), in other species ranging from uniformly dark brown to pale yellow, often exhibiting significant polymorphism within a species (Figs 1, 2).

Surface and vestiture. Dorsum shiny to moderately shiny, head and pronotum usually smooth, scutellum and hemelytron weakly rugose. Vestiture composed of dense simple setae intermixed with one of two types of scale-like setae: wide, apically serrate, densely covering dorsum, thoracic pleura, abdomen, and sometimes appendages ( S. nitidus species group, Fig. 5) or narrow, apically acuminate, always located on thoracic pleura and usually also on dorsum or hemelytron only (other species, Figs 4, 6 C). Thoracic pleurites devoid of simple setae and densely clothed exclusively with scale-like setae located above metathoracic scent gland evaporatory area, with no vestiture in ventral half (Fig. 6 E). Simple setae usually adpressed, sometimes semierect, ranging from as long as to almost twice as long as scale-like setae; in addition, in S. nitidus species group, pronotum laterally and hemelytron proximally with robust, dark, contrastingly long, erect to semierect bristle-like simple setae. Appendages with simple, adpressed to semierect, usually pale setae; antennal segments I and II in S. nitidus species group with contrastingly dense, dark and robust simple setae (Fig. 5); head and fore coxa ventrally with contrastingly long simple silver setae; pronotum with a pair of black erect bristle-like setae at anterior corners; femora with several similar black setae dorso-apically; tibial spines dark brown to black.

Structure. Body elongate-oval to oval, total length 2.0–4.0. Head: Flattened and strongly sloping, barely protruding beyond anterior margin of eyes (Figs 4, 5, 6 E); eyes occupying almost entire height of head in lateral view, posterolateral margins of eyes contiguous with anterolateral margins of pronotum; vertex flat, with attenuate posterior margin covering anterior margin of pronotum, frons vertical, clypeus not visible or barely visible in dorsal view; antenna inserted near ventral margin of eye; segment I either short, swollen, widest at apex, about twice as long as width at apex ( S. nitidus species group, Fig. 5), or cylindrical, thin (other species, Fig. 4); segment II shorter than head width, in S. nitidus species group swollen along entire length, usually distinctly fusiform, in other species rod-shaped, slightly dilated distally; segments III and IV filiform; labium reaching meso- or metacoxa. Thorax: Pronotum trapezoidal, about twice as broad as long, calli indistinct; mesonotum only slightly exposed; metathoracic scent gland evaporatory area broadly triangular, peritreme oval, broadly rounded apically. Metathoracic spiracle with well-developed sculpture dorsally (Fig. 6 E, F). Cuneal fracture deeply incised at base. Legs: Comparatively short, femora swollen, broader medially, tibia cylindrical, second and third tarsal segments of nearly equal length, claw (Fig. 6 A, B) with relatively narrow base, strongly bent at midpoint, pulvillus small, not reaching or barely reaching midpoint of claw, attached to the claw along entire length; parempodia apically spatulate.

Genitalia. Genital capsule cone-shaped, without distinctive ornamentation, as long as or slightly longer than wide at base. Sclerotized apical part of phallotheca narrow, beak-shaped, somewhat constricted at base (Fig. 9 C, F, I, L, O, R, U). Right paramere oval to elongate-oval, usually basally broadly rounded, and well expanded proximally beyond basal process, with contrastingly long, straight, apical process (Fig. 9 A, D, G, J, M, P, S). Left paramere of typical phyline shape, with straight apical process and triangular, sensory lobe (Fig. 9 B, E, H, K, N, Q, T). Vesica large, strongly coiled at middle, with two long and thin, gradually tapering apical blades tightly fused along most length; secondary gonopore large, located close to middle of vesica, with small gonopore sclerite (Figs 7, 8).

Female. Coloration, surface, and vestiture. As in male. Structure. Similar to male, usually smaller on average (Table 1). Antennal segment II in S. nitidus species group somewhat shorter and more strongly swollen, distinctly fusiform.

Genitalia. Dorsal labiate plate with large and wide, broadly oval or apically tapering sclerotized rings (Fig. 10 A – C, G). Posterior wall membranous, with indistinctly bordered longitudinal sclerotized bands at sides (Fig. 10 D, F). Sclerites encircling vulva triangular, symmetrical (Fig. 10 E, H). Vestibulum characteristically long and thin, S-shaped (Fig. 10 B, E, H).

Species groups.

Three distinct groups of species can be recognized within Salicarus, and the species treatments below are arranged alphabetically within each group:

Salicarus nitidus species group. This group includes S. cavinotum, S. genistae, S. nitidus, and S. perpusillus . Species in this group are characterized by their uniformly dark color, dorsum densely covered with wide, apically serrate scale-like setae (scales type 2 sensu Stonedahl 1990), small size with a stumpy body, and total length ranging from 2.0 to 2.8. They have strongly swollen antennal segments I and II, with segment II distinctly fusiform. Species of this group have a Euro-Mediterranean distribution and utilize legumes ( Fabaceae) of the tribe Genisteae ( Genista, Calicotome, Echinospartum) as hosts.

Salicarus roseri species group. This group includes S. concinnus, S. roseri, and S. urnammu . Species in this group are characterized by their highly variable color pattern, relatively large, oval body with a total length of 3.0–4.0. The dorsum vestiture consists of short, adpressed simple setae, while narrow, apically acuminate scale-like setae (scales type 1 sensu Stonedahl 1990) are scarce and limited to the hemelytron (if present). The vesica in these species is relatively large, with short and robust, knife-shaped apical blades. Species in this group feed on Salix spp. and tend to have a wide distribution: Palearctic in the case of S. roseri, Central Asia for S. concinnus, and western Asia for S. urnammu .

Salicarus fulvicornis species group. This group includes S. halimodendri and S. fulvicornis . Species in this group are variable in coloration, with elongate males (3.6–4.0) and more ovoid females (3.5–3.9). The entire dorsum, except the head, is clothed with a mixture of silvery narrow, apically acuminate scale-like setae, and dense, comparatively long simple setae that are approximately 1.5 × as long as the scales. The apical blades of the vesica are very long, thin, gradually curved, and abruptly furcate. Species of this group feed exclusively on Caragana spp. ( Fabaceae: Hedysareae) and are mainly distributed in Central Asia and Mongolia.