Nysius caledoniae Distant

Malipatil, M. B., 2010, Review and Revision of Nysius Dallas of Australia and South West Pacific (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Orsillidae), Zootaxa 2410 (1), pp. 29-44 : 35-38

Nysius caledoniae Distant

( Fig. 4–5 , 12–15 )

Nysius caledoniae Distant, 1920: 151 .

Type specimens examined: Holotype male, “ Central New Caledonia 18.xi.1914 P.D. Montague 1918-87”, “ Nysius caledoniae Dist. ’, “ Nysius caledoniae Distant G. Schmitz det. 1986” . Paratype 1 female, “ Gonde , New Caledonia 5.xi.1914 P.D. Montague 1918-87”, “ Nysius caledoniae sp. n. W.L. Distant 1920 ”. Both types dissected, in NHM .

Nysius clevelandensis Evans, 1929: 351–352 . [grey cluster bug]

Holotype male, “ Lectotypus male”, “Type”, “J.H. Smith”, “Pres. By Imp. Bur. Ent. Brit. Mus. 1929-97”, “ Nysius clevelandensis male sp.n. 1929 Evans”, “ Nysius sp. female & male (in cop) lab. 22” “Host – Sonchus oleraceus’ ”, “Loc – Cleveland 5/4/27”, “ Nysius caledoniae G. Schmitz det. 1986”, 4 th segment of both antennae missing, dissected genitalia in microvial attached to specimen; in NHM. New synonymy.

Nysius turneri Evans, 1936: 673–675 . [Invermay Bug]

Holotype female, “Launceston Tasmania 1/36 J.W. Evans ”, “ Nysius turneri Ev.

sp. n. J.W. Evans det.”, Holotypus turneri Evans female” Tasmanian DPI, Hobart. Paratype female, same data as holotype, dissected, in Tasmanian DPI, Hobart; one paratype female with same data, in ANIC. New synonymy .

Nysius pacificus China, 1930:116–118 .

Holotype female, “ Havannah H. Efate I. New Hebrides 13/6/00 J.JW”, “ New Hebrides J.J. Walker 1904- 168”, “ Nysius pacificus China female TYPE WE China det.”, following missing - abdomen, apical 2 segments of right and apical 3 segments of left antennae, right midleg and left hind leg, tarsi of right hindleg and left fore and mid legs, in NHM. New synonymy.

Nysius dissimilis Izzard, 1936: 581 .

Holotype male, “Indian Ocean Christmas Is. 1.iv.1933 ”, “Brit. Mus 1934-32”, “ Nysius dissimilis Izzard ( TYPE) det. R. J. Izzard 1935”, “ Nysius ericae (Schilling) G. Schmitz det 1985” NHM. New synonymy.

Nysius villicus Van Duzee, 1940: 182 .

Holotype male, “Tal Lagoon, Malaita Island, Solomon Islands 30 May 1933 ”, in California Academy of Sciences , San Francisco. New synonymy.

Other specimens examined: Because of the large number of specimens examined, several hundred, only localities are listed. There are numerous additional specimens in various collections in Australia and overseas that have not been examined or included here.

QUEENSLAND: Alpha, Amiens, Atherton, 25 km S Atherton, Hugh Nelson Ra 21 km S of Atherton, Bald Mountain area via Emu Vale, Baralaba, Biddeston, Biggenden, Biloela, Bluff Range, Brisbane, Bulburin SF, Bundaberg, Bundaroo Ck, Bunya Mountain, Bunya Mountain NP, Cairns, Canungra, Carnarvon, Cecil Plains, Charleville, 37 km S Charleville, Clermont, Cleveland, Connondale Coombabah, Mountain, Dalby, Dallarnil, Davies Ck NP, Dimbulah, Dundas, Dunk Is, Evelyn 7 km N of Ravenshoe, Emerald, Finch Hatton Gorge, Fletcher, Fords dale, Forest Hill, Formartin, Gatton, Goomeri, Highvale, Indooroopilly, Ingham, Inglewood, Injune, Ipswich, Iron Range, Jindalee, Kenilworth, Kennedy, Kingaroy, Lake Broadwater, Lamington NP, Lever’s Plateau via Rathdowney, Malan, Lotus Ck 140 km S of Mackay, Malanda, Mareeba, Emus Ck, Mareeba, 26 km on Tinaroo Ck Rd via Mareeba, Marlborough, Millaa Millaa, Millaroo, Miriam Vale, Mt Glorious, Tenison Wood Mountain via Mt Glorious, Mount Kiangarow, Mt Lewis via Julatten, 6 km SE Mt Nebo, Mt Tamborine, Mt Tyson, Nambour, Noosa Heads, North Maria Ck, Brown Lake North Stradbroke Is, Dunwich North Stradbroke Is, Myora Springs N Stradbroke Is, Norwin, Nyngan District, Orion, Ormiston, Peak Downs, Peenam, Ravenshoe, 2 km W of Redcliffe, Rolleston St George,, Samford, Split Rock, Stanthorpe, Tewantin, Texas, Tibrogargan Ck, Tin Can Bay, Tolga, Toowoomba, Toorbul Point, Torrens Ck, Weipa, West Burleigh, Wongabel SF, Woodstock, Woombye, 23 km N Yeppoon. Thursday Island, Boyne Island. Prince of Wales Island.

AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY: Black Mountain , Charnwood .

NEW SOUTH WALES: Alexandria, Armidale, Boonoo Boonoo, Booti Booti, Mt Keira, Border Ranges NP, Boree, Broadwater, Brunswick Heads, Bungarby, Cabramatta, Colo River crossing, Cordeaux River , Crawford R, Bulahdelah SF, Cabbage Tree Ck, Clyde Mountain , Corindi Beach, Crowdy Bay NP, Dorrigo, Doyles Ck, Dubbo, Dundaloo, Ellenborough Falls , Five Dock, Mt Gibraltar NP, Largs, Gap Ck Reservoir, Mt Kaputar NP, Yulludunida Crater Track Mt Kaputar NP, Gosford, Graman, Granville, Gunnedah, Kempsey, Kenthurst, Kurnell, Lake Parramatta , Lennox Head, Liston, Leycester, Moree, Myall Lakes, Narrabri, Narromine, Panania, Parramatta, Pitt Town , Rydalmere, Sydney, Tamworth, Thirlmere Lakes NP to Little River , Tomalla, Ulong, Wagga Wagga, Wallaga Lake , Westmead, Wiangaree, Wilberforce, Windsor, Wingham, Wollongong, Wrights Lookout Woodenbong. Lord Howe Island : Mt Lidgbird , Blinky Beach . Norfolk Island: Phillip Island .

VICTORIA: Grampians, Hattah Lakes NP, Kyabram, Numurkah, Swan Hill, Toora .

TASMANIA: Bothwell, Gretna, Lauderdale, Launceston, Legana, Lindisfarne, Richmond, Ross.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA: Flinders Island, Sleaford Bay .

WESTERN AUSTRALIA: Clover Dale, Rottnest Island .

NORTHERN TERRITORY: Darwin, Fogg Dam, Woolaning.

AUSTRALIAN TERRITORIES: Christmas and Cocos Keeling Islands (Indian Ocean).

OTHER: New Caledonia, Vanuatu ( New Hebrides), Solomon Islands, various Micronesian and Pacific islands.

[Specimens in AM, ANIC, ASCU, MV, QDPI, QM, UQIC, VAIC, WINC]

Description: Measurements are of holotype male of N. caledoniae , holotype male of N. clevelandensis , holotype female of N. turneri , holotype female of N. pacificus , holotype male of N. dissimilis , and holotype male of N. villicus , followed by ranges of other specimens examined within round brackets.

Body length 3.8, 3.9, 4.2, 4.5, 3.2, 4.2 (3.9–4.4); maximum width 1.20, 1.30, 1.54, 1.50, 1.00, 1.27 (1.26–1.78).

Coloration: Colour variable from testaceous mottled with fuscous to black (e.g., Figs 4, 5 ). Head black, antennae variable in colour, base of 2 nd segment often black. Clypeus black. Labium brown, distal one or two segments almost black. Anterior margin of pronotum often reddish. Scutellum polished, black, extreme tip pale. Hemelytra with corium whitish hyaline, veins more or less infuscated, apical margin with three blackish marks that rarely become connected. Posterior margin of corium fuscous, twice interrupted by yellow bands. Legs testaceous, usually particularly femora spotted with black, base and tip of hind tibiae, tip of 1 st and 2 nd tarsal segment and almost entire 3 rd tarsal segment fuscous. Body beneath black, bucculae and acetabula whitish, margins of pro- and mesopleurae obscurely fulvous. Venter black, sides and subapical discal spot brownish yellow, more extended in female.

Structure: Head above roughly punctae, covered with bristly setae in addition to yellow pubescence Length of head 0.72, 0.80, 0.87, 0.87, wrongly measured 0.45, 0.78 (0.70–0.91); width across eyes 0.91, 1.01, 1.14, 1.17, 0.87, 1.12 (1.00–1.14); interocular space 0.49, 0.53, 0.68, 0.65, 0.45, 0.57 (0.50–0.66); interocellar space 0.26, 0.27, 0.30, 0.34, 0.26, 0.27 (0.30–0.38); eye-ocellar space 0.07, 0.11, 0.11, 0.11, 0.07, 0.11 (0.07–0.12); eye length 0.30, 0.37, 0.34, 0.34, 0.23, 0.36 (0.30–0.38); eye width 0.20, 0.27, 0.23, 0.23, 0.23, 0.27 (0.19–0.26). Buccula almost reaching base of head, gradually diminishing towards base of head, covered with indistinct punctures all over. Labium extending to hind coxae, 1 st segment reaching base of head, length of segments: I 0.51, 0.51, 0.53, 0.60, 0.41, 0.51 (0.45–0.58); II 0.51, 0.50, 0.53, 0.53, 0.38, 0.50 (0.41–0.53); III 0.45, 0.50, 0.52, 0.53, 0.34, 0.48 (0.43–0.53); IV 0.38, 0.40, 0.45, 0.45, 0.30, 0.41 (0.39–0.41). Antennae, length of segments: I 0.30, 0.29, 0.34, 0.38, 0.26, 0.34 (0.30–0.38); II 0.76, 0.62, 0.68, 0.95, 0.57, 0.80 (0.69–0.73); III 0.57, 0.62, 0.57, missing, 0.49, 0.71 (0.52–0.63); IV 0.68, missing, 0.68, missing, 0.57, 0.85 (0.64–0.77).

Thorax: Pronotum above coarsely punctae, covered with bristly setae in addition to fine yellow pubescence; median length 0.72, 0.73, 0.95, 0.82, 0.60, 0.89 (0.82–0.91); width anterior margin 0.64, 0.76, 0.95, 1.00, 0.64, 0.80 (0.79–0.95); width posterior margin 1.10, 1.19, 1.52, 1.59, 1.00, 1.31 (1.20–1.46). Scutellum covered with coarse punctures, as well as bristly setae in addition to yellow pubescence; length 0.57, 0.62, 0.71, 0.77, 0.41, 0.69 (0.59–0.68); width 0.68, 0.75, 0.91, 0.80, 0.53, 0.80 (0.73–0.94). Hemelytra slightly exceeding abdomen, without distinct punctures, only on clavus appearing to be slightly distinct, still not in distinct rows; covered with sparse bristly setae particularly on margins in addition to yellow pubescence, base of elytra parallel for about basal fourth, then moderately expanded, nearly parallel beyond the middle; length of hemelytra 2.66, 2.99, 2.80, 3.30, 2.17, 3.09 (2.73–3.15); length of corium 1.96, 1.84, 1.96, 2.20, 1.47, 2.18 (1.82–2.03); claval commissure 0.45, 0.46, 0.41, 0.50, 0.38, 0.43 (0.34–0.45).

Abdomen: Below shiny with fine pubescence. Details of scent gland scars and ventral trichobothria on sterna III and IV as in N. vinitor .

Male: Abdominal terga sclerotised for most part, outer areas of each segment broadly pale. Internal apodeme on anterior margin of sternum VII as in N. vinitor . Pygophore ( Fig. 12 ). Paramere ( Fig. 13 ) with a broad shank, sickle-shaped blade, broadly rounded. Aedeagus ( Fig. 14 ) with phallotheca moderately pigmented, conjunctiva membranous, body and wings of ejaculatory reservoir fused and reduced, vesica moderately pigmented, gonoporal process with 4–6 narrow coils, flared.

Female: Abdominal terga sclerotised in the form of a broad band along midline, outer areas of each tergite broadly pale, pale areas broader than in male. Spermatheca as in Fig. 15 . Ovipositor with first ramus traversing to almost entire length of first gonapophysis; second gonapophysis blade-like.

Distribution. Australia including Tasmania, Christmas and Cocos Is. (Indian Ocean), Malaita Island in Solomon Islands Group, New Caledonia and Vanuatu (Pacific Ocean), and several islands in the Micronesian Group.

Diagnosis. N. caledoniae is distinguished from N. vinitor by the presence of long erect to semi-erect bristly setae on the pronotum and corium (as well as appressed golden pubescence), and from N. orarius by the second antennal segment’s being at least twice as long as the first.

Notes. In overall size the type specimen of N. dissimilis , possibly a teneral stage, is considerably smaller than N. caledoniae and other above synonymised species; however the proportions of the measurements are similar.

The colour is extremely variable, even within the type series, and between specimens from one series or locality.

Figures

FIGURES 1–6. Habitus of Nysius spp. (1–3) N. vinitor. (1) Wemen, Vic male; (2–3), female, (2) Irymple, Vic; (3) Sealake, Vic. (4–5) N. caledoniae, (4) holotype male; (5) Colo River, NSW female. (6) N. spectabilis lectotype female.

FIGURES 12–15. Nysius caledoniae. (12) pygophore, dorsal view; (13) left paramere, dorsal view; (14) aedeagus; (15) spermatheca. Scale line = 0.12 mm for 12, 14; 0.06 mm for 13, 15.