Coridromius bulbopella, Tatarnic & Cassis, 2008

Tatarnic, N. J. & Cassis, G., 2008, Revision Of The Plant Bug Genus Coridromius Signoret (Insecta: Heteroptera: Miridae), Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2008 (315), pp. 1-95 : 32-33

Coridromius bulbopella , new species Figures 4, 6, 7H–J, 8C–F, map 2

HOLOTYPE: Male: SOUTH AFRICA: KwaZulu-Natal: Ngome Forest Station, 27 ° S 31 ° E, 1100 m, 05–08 Feb 1996, M. Stiller, Berkheya bipinnatifida (Asteraceae) ( AMNH _PBI 00186395) ( SANC).

DIAGNOSIS: Easily identified by a single twist in the male’s left paramere and the ‘‘cup and bulb’’ paragenital structure on the right abdominal laterotergites II and III of both

females and males. C. bulbopella is most similar to ruwenzorii , however in the latter the ‘‘cup and bulb’’ structure is much reduced.

DESCRIPTION: COLORATION (figs. 4, 6): Head: Concolorous brownish yellow, slightly paler ventrally; vertex without brown vittae. Antenna (fig. 4): Mostly yellow; AI with wide brown subapical band; AII with brown annulation; AIII and AIV brown. Thorax: Pronotal collar yellow; pronotum orangeyellow with pale yellow medial stripe, edges somewhat pale; mesoscutum orange-yellow; scutellum orange-yellow to yellow with two large brown markings; thoracic pleura orange-yellow, becoming yellow along posterior margins. Hemelytra: Mostly yellow- to orange-brown, clavus somewhat darker, becoming more brown along claval commissure and adjacent to scutellum; corium with faint brown transverse chevron pattern; membrane pale brown with darker brown veins. Abdomen: Orange-yellow. Legs: Orange-yellow; metafemur without transverse stripes. SUR- FACE AND VESTITURE (figs. 4, 6): Head smooth, impunctate, and without setae; pronotum, scutellum, and hemelytra with large punctures; propleuron, metepimeron, and cuneus impunctate; dorsum sparsely covered in short, white, decumbent setae. STRUCTURE (figs. 4, 6, 8E): Head: Frons broadly tumescent; vertex without tubercles adjacent to eyes; posterior margin of head distinctly rounded. Thorax: Pronotum broad and evenly rounded, margins thinly carinate, anterolateral margins adjacent to callar region depressed, submarginal region of humeral angles weakly excavated, posterior margin weakly upturned, callar region weakly developed; proepisternum bilobed; posterior margin of metepimeron truncate (fig. 8E); metanotum prominent and flared; scutellum not greatly swollen. Hemelytra: Embolium flared posteriorly, carinate, cuneus small. Legs: Metatibial spines long and thick. Abdomen: When viewed from the side, posterior margin of abdominal sternite II not sharply angular (fig. 8E). MALE GENITA- LIA (figs: 7H–J, 8F): Right paramere bootshaped (figs. 7I–J, 8F); left paramere tightly coiled once basally, very long, thin and scythe-shaped, evenly curved and slightly twisted along its axis to apex (figs. 7H, 8F);

posterior margin of pygophore weakly biconvex, without fold, groove, mesal suture, or ventral apical process (fig. 8F). FEMALE PARAGENITALIA (fig. 8C–D): Right laterotergites II and III modified into cup-andbulb–shaped structure, also present in males.

ETYMOLOGY: The species name bulbopella combines the Latin bulbus (‘‘bulb’’) with the Greek pella (‘‘wooden cup’’), and refers to the cup-and-bulb–shaped paragenital structure of this species.

REMARKS: C. bulbopella is the only species of Coridromius in which external paragenitalic structures are found in both sexes. Nothing is known of the function of these unusual structures.

HOST: Collected on Berkheya bipinnatifida (Asteraceae) .

DISTRIBUTION: Found in southeastern Africa (map 2).

PARATYPES: SOUTH AFRICA: KwaZulu- Natal: Ngome Forest Station, 27 ° S 31 ° E, 1100 m, 05–08 Feb 1996, M. Stiller, Berkheya bipinnatifida (Asteraceae) , 23 (AMNH_ PBI 00041476, AMNH_PBI 00186396), 4♀ (AMNH_PBI 00186397–AMNH_PBI 00186400) (SANC).

OTHER SPECIMENS EXAMINED: KENYA: Central Province: Limuru, 1.1 ° S 36.65 ° E, 2240 m, Sep 1954, Unknown, 103 (AMNH_ PBI 00041480–AMNH_PBI 00041489), 3♀ (AMNH_PBI 00041477–AMNH_PBI 00041479) (BPBM). TANZANIA: East Usambara, Amani, 5.36667 ° S 39.71667 ° E, 1000 m, 06 Feb 1977, H. Enghoff, O. Lomholdt & O. Martin, 1♀ (AMNH_PBI 00000261) (ZMUC).