Zelus renardii Kolenati, 1857

Zhang, Guanyang, Hart, Elwood R & Weirauch, Christiane, 2016, A taxonomic monograph of the assassin bug genus Zelus Fabricius (Hemiptera: Reduviidae): 71 species based on 10,000 specimens, Biodiversity Data Journal 4, pp. 8150-8150 : 8150

Zelus renardii Kolenati, 1857

Zelus renardii Kolenati, 1857, p. 460, Tab. III. fig. 2, orig. descr. and fig.; Stål, 1872, p. 91, cat.; Kirkaldy, 1908, p. 195, list and senior syn. of Z. laevicollis Champion and Z. perigrinus Kirkaldy; Banks, 1910b, p. 16, cat.; Fracker, 1913, p. 239, 240, key and checklist; Van Duzee, 1914, p. 13, list; Van Duzee, 1916, p. 30, checklist (subgenus Diplocodus ); Van Duzee, 1917, p. 261, cat. (subgenus Diplocodus ); Muir, 1920, p. 285-286, note; Muir, 1921, p. 119, note; Horton, 1922, p. 385, note; Hawaiian Sugar Planter's Association, 1924, p, 29, note; Readio, 1927, p, 169, 178-179, key, descr. and note; Williams, 1931, p. 101, note; Haldaway and Look, 1942, p. 257-258, note; Ewing and Ivy, 1943, p, 604-606, note; Clancy, 1946, p. 326, note; Van Zwaluwenburg, 1946, p. 15, note; Zimmerman, 1948, p. 137-138, note and fig.; Wygodzinsky, 1949a, p. 50, checklist; Elkins, 1951, p. 410, list; Sibley, 1951, p. 92, list; Nishida, 1955, p. 172, note; Atkins, et. al., 1957, p. 258, note; Nielsen and Henderson, 1959, p. 159, note; Wene and Sheets, 1962, p. 397, note; Butler, 1966, p. 1306-1307, note; Wygodzinsky, 1966, p. 66, note; Lingren, Ridgway and Jones, 1968, p. 615, note; Parencia, 1968, p. 276, note; Nutting and Spangler, 1969, p. 765, note; Hart, 1986, p. 540-542, redescription, note, fig. and key; Maldonado, 1990, p. 331, cat.

Diplodus renardii : Uhler, 1894, list.

Zelus laevicollis Champion, 1898, p. 260-261, Tab. XV. fig. 24, orig. descr. and fig.; Banks, 1910, p. 16, cat.; Fracker, 1913, p. 239, 240, key and list; Osborne and Drake, 1915, p. 531, note; Van Duzee, 1916, p. 30, checklist (subgenus Diplocodus ); Van Duzee, 1917, p. 261, cat. (subgenus Diplocodus ); Readio, 1927, p. 177-178, descr.; Wygodzinsky, 1949a, p. 49, checklist; Elkins, 1951, p. 410, list; Sibley, 1951, p. 92, list; Young and Sifuentes, 1960, p. 1109-1111, biology; Hart, 1986, p. 540, junior syn. of Z. renardii .

Zelus peregrinus Kirkaldy, 1902, p. 149-150, orig. descr.; Swezey, 1905, p. 232-234, biology; Kirkaldy, 1907a, p. 247, note; Kirkaldy, 1907b, p. 156-518, biology; Kirkaldy, 1908, p. 195, junior syn. of Z. renardii ; Severin, et. al., 1914, p. 197, note; Fullaway, 1918, p. 12, note; Clausen, 1940, p. 589-590, note (sic. Zellus ).

Diplocodus exsanguis : Van Duzee, 1914, p. 13, list (probable misidentification).

Materials

Type status: Holotype. Occurrence: catalogNumber: UCR_ENT 00075077 ; occurrenceRemarks: Holotype of Zelusrenardii Kolenati, 1857. Verbatim label info: California / Cyenaus [?] / Renardii det. Kolen. / Holotype / Zelusrenardii Kolenati / Lectotypus Zelusrenardii Kolenati, 1857 etik. Hecher 1996 REDV. 486/1; recordedBy: Unknown; sex: Adult Female; Taxon: scientificName: Zelusrenardii; family: Reduviidae; genus: Zelus; scientificNameAuthorship: Kolenati, 1857; Location: country: USA; stateProvince: California; locality: unknown ; Identification: identifiedBy: G. Zhang; dateIdentified: 2012; Event: eventDate: No date provided; Record Level: institutionCode: NHMW Type status: Other material. Occurrence: catalogNumber: UCR_ENT 00048762 ; occurrenceRemarks: Holotype of Zeluslaevicollis Champion, 1898, junior synonym of Zelusrenardii Kolenati, 1857 (Hart, 1986). Verbatim label info: Type / B.C.A.Rhyn.II. Zeluslaevicollis Ch. / Holotype / Sp. figured. / Milpas, Mex., 5900 ft. Forrer. / Zelusrenardii Kolenati det. E.R.Hart 1972; recordedBy: Forrer; sex: Adult Female; Taxon: scientificName: Zelusrenardii; family: Reduviidae; genus: Zelus; scientificNameAuthorship: Kolenati, 1857; Location: country: MEXICO; stateProvince: Mexico; locality: Milpas ; verbatimElevation: 1798 m; decimalLatitude: 19.03; decimalLongitude: -99.9381; georeferenceSources: Gazetteer; Identification: identifiedBy: G. Zhang; dateIdentified: 2012; Event: eventDate: No date provided; Record Level: institutionCode: BMNH

Description

Figs 167, 168, 169

Male: (Fig. 167a, b) Medium-sized, total length 10.57-12.98 mm (mean 12.01 mm, Suppl. material 2); robust. COLORATION: Anteocular lobe yellowish-brown, some specimens with darker areas on either side of mid-dorsal line. Postocular lobe yellowish-brown, usually with variable brownish-black areas dorsally but always with mid-dorsal area and area anterior to ocellus yellowish-brown. Labium yellowish-brown, some specimens with brown labrum. Antennae yellowish-brown to light reddish-brown. Anterior pronotal lobe uniformly yellowish-brown or yellowish-brown with reddish-brown to dark brown setal tracts. Posterior pronotal lobe yellowish-brown to dark brown, margins light yellowish-brown, lateral surfaces yellowish-brown. Scutellum yellowish-brown to brown, apex lighter in color. Legs yellowish-brown, some specimens with apices of tibiae reddish-brown. Hemelytron yellowish-brown to dark brown, veins of clavus and corium usually lighter in color than surrounding area. Dorsum of abdomen reddish-brown to brown, connexival margins yellowish-brown, lateral and ventral surfaces usually yellowish-brown, some specimens with reddish-brown areas laterally. Pygophore yellowish-brown. VESTITURE: Moderately setose. Short recumbent and variable erect setae over surface. Anteocular lobe with short recumbent setae dorsally and laterally, short erect setae on tylus and ventral surface; postocular lobe with recumbent setae dorsally, longer erect setae on lateral surface and on dorsal and ventral surfaces of posterior half. Dorsal surface of anterior pronotal lobe with short recumbent setae confined to setal tracts, remainder of surface with longer recumbent and erect setae; posterior lobe with short recumbent and erect setae and some longer erect setae lateroventrally; scutellum with semi-erect setae over surface. Abdominal dorsal setae very short, erect, lateral and ventral surfaces with short recumbent and some short to moderately long erect setae. Exposed surface of pygophore with short recumbent and some short to moderate erect setae; erect setae over apical 3/5 of parameres. STRUCTURE: Head: Cylindrical, L/W = 2.61. Postocular lobe moderately long; in dorsal view anteriorly gradually narrowing, posterior portion constant, slightly narrower. Eye smallish; lateral margin only slightly wider than postocular lobe; dorsal and ventral margins removed from surfaces of head. Labium: I: II: III = 1: 1.6: 0.4. Basiflagellomere diameter larger than that of pedicel. Thorax: Medial longitudinal sulcus shallow near collar, deepening posteriorly. Posterior pronotal lobe with rugulose surface; disc slightly elevated above humeral angle; humeral angle armed, with dentate projection. Scutellum long; apex angulate, not projected. Legs: Robust. Hemelytron: Attaining apex of abdomen; quadrate cell small; Cu and M of cubital cell subparallel. GENITALIA: (Fig. 168) Pygophore: Ovoid. Medial process cylindrical; slender; long; laterally somewhat compressed; erect; nearly straight; basally without protrusion; apex in posterior view modified, hooklike. Paramere: Cylindrical; moderately long, not reaching apex of medial process; directed toward medial process; basally narrower; curved dorsad; apical part enlarged. Phallus: Dorsal phallothecal sclerite shield-shaped; lateral margin recurved dorsad; apical portion of phallothecal sclerite gradually tapering, flat, lateral margin recurved; apex medially notched; posterior margin of foramen broadly concave. Struts not attached to base of dorsal phallothecal sclerite; apically missing. Basal plate arm robust; separate; converging; in lateral view basally strongly curved; bridge moderately long; extension of basal plate small, marginally expanded onto arm, lateral margins recurved.

Female: (Fig. 167c, d) Similar to male, except for the following. Larger than male, total length 12.14-14.25 mm (mean 13.29 mm, Suppl. material 2). Hemelytron slightly surpassing apex of abdomen.

Diagnosis

Can be recognized by the reddish corium; the remainder of the body surface greenish; the humeral angle with small subtuberculate projection. More robust than a very similar species, Z. cervicalis . Males can be recognized by the paramere apically greatly enlarged; the medial process apically curved ventrad, somewhat hooklike, more strongly than in Z. cervicalis , the only species that may be confused with; and the lateral margin of the dorsal phallothecal sclerite recurved.

Distribution

Western and Southwestern US, most of Mexico and Central America (Fig. 169). Countries with records: El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and USA. Previously reported to have be introduced to Hawaii ( Zimmerman 1948), Chile ( Curkovik et al. 2004, Elgueta and Carpintero 2004; misidentified as Z. cervicalis in the latter), Greece ( Davranoglou 2011, Petrakis and Moulet 2011) and Spain ( Vivas 2012). The current study revealed specimen records of Z. renardii from French Polynesia, representing the first report of this species from that region (Fig. 169, Suppl. material 1).

Taxon discussion

Zelus renardii is almost certainly sister species of Z. cervicalis . The two share two unique characters: the lateral margins of the dorsal phallothecal sclerite recurved and the medial process apically strongly hooked.