Isometopus yemenensis, Akingbohungbe, 2003

Akingbohungbe, A. E., 2003, New species of Isometopinae (Hemiptera: Miridae) from the Ivory Coast and Yemen, Journal of Natural History 37 (23), pp. 2849-2862 : 2857-2859

Isometopus yemenensis sp. nov.

Male. Length 2.40. Maximum width across hemelytra 1.12. Head width across vertex 0.54; dorsal length 0.14; facial width 0.62; facial length 0.44. Anterior interocular space 0.14; posterior space 0.46. Dorsal width of eye 0.20; maximum width 0.24; height 0.34. Height of gena 0.06. Ocellus width 0.04; interocellar space 0.04. Maximum width of pronotum 1.08; median length 0.24. Scutellum length 0.52; width 0.52. Cuneus length 0.40; width 0.28. Rostrum 1.16. Antennae missing.

Subovate, strongly macropterous. Head in front somewhat ellipsoidal (figure 8), about 1.41× as broad as high. Vertex dark brown to blackish, finely rugose. Frons ivory whitish, rugose punctate; disk with three pairs of dark red spots arranged in two rows along midline plus another relatively larger one abutting on base of tylus; apical margin bluntly carinate, convex, strongly raised above base of tylus and juga. Lora and apex of tylus distinctly deflexed; both together with excavated spots on genae dark red. Gena low, about 0.18× as high as eye. Entire head disk generally obscurely pubescent. Eyes dark red, elliptical; ocelli dark red, large, each as broad as interocellar space.

Pronotum subcampanulate, about 4.5× as broad as long. Lateral margins finely explanate, whitish hyaline; posterior margin broadly bisinuate. Disk tumid convex, inclined forwards, transversely rugose punctate and with somewhat shallow median longitudinal sulcus. Mesoscutum, scutellum finely rugose punctate; both similarly tumid as pronotum.

Hemelytra translucent to hyaline, ental half or so of corium and clavus punctate; remainder impunctate, at best with fine aciculate punctures only. Membrane glabrous, biareolate.

Dorsum generally strongly shining, pubescent with short reclining golden yellow and reddish brown hairs matching colour of background; these intermixed with short reclining dark red bristle-like hairs on hemelytra. Pronotal disk, mesoscutum, most of scutellum, basal angle and rather large apical blotch on corium, base and apex of clavus, ental marginal vitta on cuneus, all dark chocolate brown to dark red; remainder of dorsum strongly contrasting pale whitish hyaline, apex and short lateral median vittae on scutellum plus broad ectal vitta on clavus distinctly ivory-white.

Venter largely black; propleura, large macula on mesepimeron, remnant of abdominal sternite I ivory whitish. Foreleg largely fuscous to blackish; broad stripe on coxa, trochanter, ventral surface of femur towards apical half, and base of tibia pale to whitish. Mid leg dark fuscous to dark red with base and apex of coxa, apex and broad marginal stripe on ventral surface of femur pale to whitish. Hind leg with femur much enlarged, broadly pale fuscous to smoky at base, dark red to black towards apex; tibia pale whitish with median reddish brown to dark fuscous band; tarsi mostly pale brownish. Rostrum generally dark red, segment I much paler ventrally; sparsely obscurely hairy, extending as far back as fifth abdominal sternite.

Dorsal habitus illustrated in figure 7; genitalia illustrated in figures 14–16.

Female. Unknown.

Comments

This new species also represents a new record of the subgenus Jehania Distant in the Middle East. Within the subgenus, its affinities are with Isometopus wacriensis Smith and I. albifrons (Slater and Schuh) . Its head is about 1.41× as broad as high compared to 1.15× in I. wacriensis ; its pronotum is similarly about 4.5× as broad as long unlike 2.95–3.39× in the latter species, and the frons is ivory-white with paired rows of dark red spots rather than being uniformly yellow-brown or dark brown with reddish tinge. From I. albifrons , the new species can readily be separated by its pronotum being narrower, about 3.28× as broad as long; also, the frons in albifrons lacks the paired rows of dark red spots along its middle, the cuneus is 1.05× as long as broad compared to 1.43× in the new species, and it is much larger in size being 2.60 in length.

H  : male, Yemen: Lahij Anad , 10 April 1992, on Saliola spinescens, R. Linnavuori (LC) .