Orthocephalus championi Saunders

Namyatova, Anna A. & Konstantinov, Fedor V., 2009, Revision of the genus Orthocephalus Fieber, 1858 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Miridae: Orthotylinae) 2316, Zootaxa 2316, pp. 1-118 : 38-43

Orthocephalus championi Saunders

Figures 1, 7, 10, 14

Orthocephalus championi Saunders, 1894: 247 .

DIAGNOSIS: Most readily recognized by the antennal segments I and II greatly swollen, of nearly equal width, in males segment II slightly dilated apically, as wide as half diameter of eye, in females segment II spindleshaped, its middle portion wider than half diameter of eye (fig. 1); antennal segment I with numerous bristlelike setae; males and females with yellowish stripes on hemelytra; male genitalia with two spicules, long spicule with somewhat curved apex and base, short spicule with dilated, nearly rectangular base and claw-shaped apex, half as long as long spicule (fig. 7); medial sclerites large and broad, more than twice as long as sclerotized ring (fig. 10). Not easily confused with any other species.

REDESCRIPTION: Male: Macropterous; length 4.5–4.8. COLORATION (fig. 1): Head: Dark brown to black, with yellow spots near inner margin of each eye; posterior margin of each eye with yellowish or pale brown stripe; maxillary plate often with pale brown or yellowish stripe below antennal fossa; antennal segment I and basal half of antennal segment II yellowish to dirty yellow; apical half of segment II, segments III and IV dark brown; labium dark brown. Thorax: Pronotum and pleurites dark brown; evaporatorium pale brown or yellowish, paler than pleurites; scutellum dark brown; coxae dark brown; femora dirty yellow to brown with pale apices, with several series of minute rounded brown spots on ventral surface, along fore and hind margins, and apex of dorsal surface; tibiae dirty yellow to pale brown, with dark base and apex, hind tibia with small dark minute rounded spots at bases of tibial spines; tarsi dark brown to black; hemelytra brown to dark brown, with yellow stripe along claval suture and yellowish edgings of outer margins of corium; membrane brown, basal part notably paler, typically with several indistinctly bordered rounded dark spots, veins dark brown. Abdomen: Uniformly dark brown. SURFACE AND VESTITURE: Dorsum smooth and shiny. Dorsum, pleurites and abdomen clothed with dense adpressed scalelike setae (as in figs. 22 A-C, E, 23 A, D); all appendages and abdomen with dark semiadpressed simple setae, especially long, dense, and semierect on antennal segments; entire dorsum, forecoxa, fore margin, and apex of femur with contrastingly long, erect bristlelike setae, somewhat shorter than diameter of eye; especially long on anterior margin of pronotum, head, and bases of hemelytra; antennal segment I with five or six spines on mesial and outer surfaces. STRUCTURE AND MEASUREMENTS: Body 3.3–3.9× as long as width of pronotum. Head: Shape of head and eye similar to those of O. bivittatus (as in figs. 20 B, 21 A, G), head 1.3–1.4× as wide as high, vertex 2.2– 2.3× as wide as eye; eye located at a short distance from anterior pronotal margin; antennal fossa located at a distance from inferior margin of eye; antennal segment I longer than diameter of eye; antennal segments I and II swollen, as wide as half diameter of eye; segment II 1.1–1.3× as long as basal width of pronotum, 1.2–1.4× as long as width of head; labium reaching middle coxa. Thorax: Pronotum 1.7–2.2× as wide as long and 1.0– 1.2× as wide as head, with straight posterior margin; lateral margin of pronotum slightly carinate, calli slightly raised; hind femora relatively narrow, approximately 1.5× as wide as middle femora. GENITALIA: Aedeagus (fig. 7) with two spicules, long spicule somewhat longer than dorsal wall of theca, with somewhat curved apex and base, short spicule distinctly shorter than dorsal wall of theca, with dilated, nearly rectangular base and claw shaped apex, half as long as long spicule; parameres as in fig. 10.

Female: Brachypterous; length 3.1–3.2. COLORATION: Similar to male; frons with medial orange spot anterior to the spots near each eye, clypeus yellowish, hemelytra with yellow stripes along each claval suture narrower than in males. SURFACE AND VESTITURE: As in male. STRUCTURE AND MEASURE- MENTS: Body 2.3–2.5× as long as width of pronotum. Head: 1.3 as wide as high; vertex wider than in male, 2.8× as wide as eye; antennal segment II spindle-shaped, 1.1–1.3× as long as basal width of pronotum, 1.1– 1.2× as long as width of head. Thorax: Pronotum 1.7–2.1× as wide as long and 1.0–1.2× as wide as head with slightly concave posterior margin; cuneus slightly delimited, claval commissure as long as inner claval margin; posterior and lateral margins of hemelytra rounded. GENITALIA: Sclerotized rings oval, medial sclerites curved and long, twin-coned, approximately twice as long as sclerotized ring, broad, but more narrow than sclerotized ring (fig. 14); posterior wall of bursa copulatrix with trapeziform sclerite uniformly sclerotized, depression on the anterior margin narrow and not reaching middle of sclerite, anterior angles of this sclerite somewhat dentate, posterior margin without sclerites (as in fig. 18, bivittatus ); vulva with curved sclerites forming a circle (as in fig. 19, O. vittipennis ).

DISTRIBUTION: This rare species seems to be endemic to Corsica Island, France. The original description was based on the specimens collected from Corsica by G.C. Champion; subsequently O. championi was sampled exclusively on this island by A. Matocq and A. Carapezza.

HOST: Unknown. Saunders (1894) mentioned that this species was collected from aromatic plants.

SPECIMENS EXAMINED: Lectotype: FRANCE: Corse (Corsica): Corse-du-Sud Co.: Bocognano, 42.06666 ° N 9.05 ° E, Champion , 1♂ ( AMNH _ PBI 00157069 ) ( BMNH).

Paralectotypes: FRANCE: Corse (Corsica): Corse-du-Sud Co.: Bocognano, 42.06666 ° N 9.05 ° E, Champion , 2♂ ( AMNH _ PBI 00157070 ) ( BMNH) 1♂ ( AMNH _ PBI 00159798 ) ( HNHM) .

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL: FRANCE: Corse (Corsica): Corse-du-Sud Co.: Col de Vizza vona, 1161 m, 19 Jun 1995, A. Matocq, 2♂ ( AMNH _ PBI 00261868 ), 3♀ ( AMNH _ PBI 00251464 ) ( MATOCQ) 1♂ ( AMNH _ PBI 00258611 ), 1♀ ( AMNH _ PBI 00250718 ) ( ZISP) . Haute-Corse Co.: Vivario , 41.16666 ° N 9.16667 ° E, 10 Jun 1991, A. Carapezza, 1♂ ( AMNH _ PBI 00238236 ) ( AC) .