Alcecoris heissi Herczek & Popov

Herczek, Aleksander & Popov, Yuri A., 2011, New Isometopinae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Miridae) from the Oriental Region, with some notes on the genera Alcecoris and Sophianus, Zootaxa 3023, pp. 43-50 : 43-45

Alcecoris heissi Herczek & Popov sp. nov.

( Figs. 1–3 )

Body elongate oval ( Fig. 1 , 2), covered with golden to dark-brown distinct, semi-reclining to semi-erect hairs arising from distinct punctures; general coloration fuscous. Head semi-globular to somewhat triangular in outline with small protuberance on each side behind antennal insertion ( Fig. 3 ); inclined forward with frons broadly visible from above; 1.64 x as high as broad and about 0.9 x as long as pronotum. Frons weakly impressed and somewhat shagreened, laterally bordered by adpressed dark hairs; juga sharply differentiated, vertex at base where ocelli are borne, impunctate, lower margin of eyes fuscous; eyes large, dark reddish- brown, occupying greater part of head and almost confluent with each other along midline as a distinctly longitudinal sulcate in front of vertex. Antennae with segment I and II fuscous, III slender, dark brown; IV reddish with white apical half; both very short.

II strongly globose, 1.63 x as long as wide and about 1.85x as long, as I; somewhat shorter than III and IV taken together, and with two strong spurs near apex, dorsal one longer and sharper. Segments I and II with sparse, adhering golden yellow hairs; hairs on III and IV semi-erect. Rostrum reaching second abdominal segment, thread-like, segment I yellow, II–IV dark brown. Pronotum trapeziform, 1.85 times as wide as long, distinctly emarginate laterally, posterior margin weakly convex, posterior angles flattened, laminated and acutely pointed; collar very narrow, punctuate; disc strongly convex, glabrous anteriorly sparse with flat punctures posteriorly. Mesoscutum glabrous, distinctly convex; scutellum disc reddish, flattened, somewhat rubbed, distinctly humped subapically. Hemelytra densely adpressed golden to dark-brown pilose, deep punctuate except embolium and cuneus. Cuneus with pale oblique hyalinae blotch. Long bristles arising along boundary of corium and membrane; cuneal fracture indistinct; broad median band on corium and base of clavus somewhat pale, membrane one-celled, pale-brown hyaline. Legs pale-yellow, with white coxae, tarsi brown; three long setae on distal part of hind femora. Venter generally yellowbrown; prosternum brown, mesepimeron and metasternum pale yellow.

Measurements (type, all in mm). Female: Body length 2,77, width 1.18; length of head 0.46, width 0.49; width of vertex 0.07; width of eye 0.19, height 0.19. Antennal segments: I 0.57; II 1.06 (width 0.65); III 0.3; IV 0.34. Rostrum: I 0.34; II 0.38; III 0.30; IV 0.30. Pronotum: maximum length 0.49, anterior width 0.57, posterior width 0.91; mesoscutum length 0.10, width 0.55. Scutellum length 0.51, width 0.34; claval commissure 0.36. Fore leg: length of femur 0.83, width 0.14, tibia length 0.91,width 0.065; tarsus 0.28 (0.091: 0.18); hind legs: length of femur 1.04, width 0.18, tibia length 1.14, width 0.06, tarsus 0.34 (0.1: 0.26).

Differential diagnosis. This new species shows affinities with Alcecoris globosus Carvalho and A. formosanus (Lin & Yang) . From the former the new species is clearly distinguished by the larger size (2.77 compared to 2.40) and the antennal segment I being about 0.54x compared to 0.37x as long as II, as well as being rather longer than III and IV taken together. From A. formosanus , A. heissi mainly differs by the less transverse pronotum, which is about 0.54x compared to 0.70x as broad as long, pale oblique hyaline blotch as well as the somewhat shorter pubescence of the hemelytra. The fourth species of this genus, A. fraxinusae Lin is clearly different from all other species with its narrowest and longest 2nd antennal segment (almost 4 times longer than the 1st one, against othersalmost 2.5 in A. globosus , 2,75x in A. formosanus , and 1.85x in A. heissi ). Alcecoris lamellatus (Ren & Yang) has shorter rostrum (as does A. formosanus ) and a slightly narrower 2nd antennal segment (male).

Etymology. This species is named after the well known Austrian heteropterologist and our friend Professor Ernst Heiss on the occasion of his 75th birthday..

Material examined. Type material. Holotype, female ( Fig. 1 , 2), Thailand, Doi Suthep, 800m, 11.11.1995, leg.Schwendinger; Silesian University, Department of Zoology, Katowice (ex. Coll. Ernst Heiss, Innsbruck, Austria)

Remarks. The authors who first studied two close oriental genera Sophianus and Alcecoris were Distant (1904), McAtee and Malloch (1924), and then Carvalho (1951), and EYLES (1972) compiled the first check-list of the species of Isometopinae . Later on, during nearly thirty years, a series of articles were published devoted to Oriental and Australian Isometopinae , including Alcecoris as well (see the above mentioned citations). Yet there has been confusion concerning some species mainly found in Taiwan which were erroneously placed with Sophianus (Lin 2004, Lin & Yang 2004). McAtee and Malloch (1932) gave a correct key wherein one of the main differences between the genera Sophianus and Alcecoris was the length of the first antennal segment: short in Sophianus and long in Alcecoris (!). Sophianus alces Distant has only a short basal antennal segment - all other species have a distinctly long first antennal segment. There is also a sexual difference in the configuration of the second antennal segment. Generally the second segment is very wide and leaf-like, which probably is very typical for females of these genera. Probably, because in Alcecoris lamellatus ( Ren & Yang 1988) , the males also have a leaf-like the second antennal segment. But most of the taxonomic and morphological questions wait their solution in the near future.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Alcecoris heissi sp. nov., Holotype, female, dorsal view.

FIGURE 3. Alcecoris heissi sp. nov., head, frontal view.