Ficinus Distant, 1893

Schaffner, JC & Schwartz, MD, 2008, Revision Of The Mexican Genera Ficinus Distant And Jornandes Distant With The Description Of 21 New Species (Heteroptera: Miridae: Orthotylinae: Orthotylini), Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2008 (309), pp. 1-87 : 7-12

Ficinus Distant

Ficinus Distant, 1893: 449 (n. gen.); Reuter, 1910: 163 (catalog); Carvalho, 1952: 76 (catalog); Carvalho, 1955: 77 (key); Carvalho, 1958: 62 (catalog); Schaffner, 1979: 74 (note); Schuh, 1995: 109 (catalog).

TYPE SPECIES: Ficinus sagittarius Distant, 1893 (by monotypy).

DIAGNOSIS: Characterized by strongly declivous head (fig. 6B) with granulate surface and posterior margin carinate, relatively short labium, distinctive minute sculpturation, especially on clavus and corium continuing onto pronotum (fig. 6A); costal margins of corium subparallel, hemelytron not declivous posteriorly, making specimens appear relatively long and narrow (fig. 2); male genitalia with species-distinctive vesica, parameres, and tergal process (figs. 5, 7).

REDESCRIPTION: STRUCTURE: Head: Strongly declivous, minutely reticulate or granulate, somewhat shining; vertex slightly transversely sulcate, posterior margin carinate; frons rounded, weakly separated from clypeus; maxillary plate prominent; buccula clearly delimited; eye elongate as seen from side, located at rear of head; antennal socket only slightly removed from margin of eye; antennal segment I shorter than width of vertex, segments linear; relative lengths of segments from shortest to longest 1–4–3–2; labium reaching or almost reaching mesocoxa. Pronotum: Subquadrate, slightly declivous, minutely sculptured (similar to corium, fig. 6A), shining; lateral margins broadly rounded; posterior margin slightly sinuate medially; calli not delimited or barely so; mesoscutum partially exposed; mesopleuron shining; small evaporative area ventral to mesothoracic spiracle (fig. 6C); episternum dorsal to evaporative region of scent gland either with (fig. 6C) or without microtrichia; scutellum minutely rugulose, shining. Hemelytron as seen from side flat, not declivous at cuneus, costal margins subparallel, conspicuously curved downward; corium characteris- tically minutely sculptured, shining, embolium not delimited, cuneus approximately twice as long as wide, membrane primarily fuscous. Abdomen: Shining. Pretarsus: Claw strongly curved; pulvillus small, not extending beyond medial curve of claw; parempodium apically convergent. COLORATION: Black, antenna pale; sometimes with white marking on posterior half of clavus and apex of corium; legs pale except sometimes posterior portion of hind femur dark brown or red. VESTITURE: Head almost completely glabrous with a few scattered short setae; antenna segment I with two or three long erect setae; segments II–IV with semierect setae, not longer than diameter of segment to which attached; pronotum with sparse, short, semierect setae; with single erect seta arising from each anterolateral angle posterior to eye (not as readily seen on F. sagittarius ); hemelytra almost glabrous with a few semierect setae; tibia with erect setae, most of which as long or longer than diameter of tibia; abdomen with elongate setae. GENITALIA: Male: Genital segment with bifurcate tergal process, form of process variable; ventroposterior margin of segment either ridged or notched; distal width of subgenital plate variable, either strongly projecting beyond aperture of capsule or not. Left paramere Cshaped in dorsal view; with mostly subequal diameter throughout; apical region deeply notched with point and rounded dorsolateral margin. Right paramere elongate, much longer in length than in left paramere; diameter subequal throughout; apical region attenuate to one or two lobes. Phallotheca cylindrical or conical, apex truncate; aperture large, open on right side, apex, and distally on left side; right margin smooth. Vesica with one large, variable length spiculum, situated on dorsal surface of ductus seminis; apical region of spiculum bifurcate, recurved, with strongly serrate narrow or flattened branches, reaching to middle or base of spiculum; base of spiculum sometimes with large, bifurcate process on left side. Female: base of ovipositor situated anterior to middle of abdomen; subgenital plate broadly triangular. Ventral view (fig. 8B): base of interior valvulae (gonapophyses 8, GP8) and adjacent vestibulum strongly sclerotized and convoluted each side of vulva (VUL), right side, in repose, overlapped by left side and adjacent convoluted ventral surface of ventral labiate plate (VLP); dorsal surface of VLP with microtrichia, ventral surface of VLP broadly or narrowly produced ventrally into vestibular opening (VUL). Dorsal view (fig. 8A).: sclerotized rings large, ovate, forming medial surface of folded, strongly sclerotized, dorsal labiate plate (DLP), folded medial region of DLP triangular, moderately or strongly projected medially; DLP ventral to common oviduct formed by bilateral pair of irregularly shaped sclerotized plates, anteromedial surface covered with spicules; DLP elongate in lateral view. Posterior view (fig. 8C): posteri- or wall composed of paired interramal sclerites, slightly overlapped on medial margins by broad, well-sclerotized medial process, and large, interramal lobes (IRL) with strongly spinose dorsal surface and deeply incised ventral margin, dorsal portion of IRL either as narrow or twice as wide as ventral portion; ventral portion narrow, bluntly attenuate, longer than dorsal portion of IRL.

DISCUSSION: This genus is very closely related to Jornandes with both sharing the unusual minute cuticular sculpturing seen most clearly on the corium of the hemelytron. The sculpturing on species of Ficinus continues onto the pronotum (fig. 6B) whereas Jornandes spp. (figs. 20B, 28B), with the exception of J. cruralis (fig. 17 B), have at most only traces of the sculpturing on the pronotum.

The two species of Ficinus appear long and narrow, partly because the costal margin of the hemelytron is curved conspicuously downward and the pronotum and the wing membrane are only slightly declivous. Species of Jornandes are much more variable in size and shape and most have the costal margin turned downward but not to the degree seen in Ficinus specimens.

The pronotum of Ficinus spp. is more or less quadrate, but in Jornandes spp. it is more triangular. The calli are weakly delimited in Ficinus whereas they are sometimes weakly delimited to obviously delimited in Jornandes spp.

5 0.20 mm.

The male genitalia of the two included species is not entirely similar in form. Both species have a long, vesical spiculum, but in F. distanti it is conspicuously bifurcated whereas in F. sagittarius it has only one branch. The left parameres of these species are also dissimilar, with the apical region of F. sagittarius flattened and mitten-shaped and that of F. distanti having an unique, widely bifurcating apex not approached in form by F. sagittarius as well as species of Jornandes . The female genitalia of both included species share two characters based on our still incomplete survey of North American Orthotylinae . In Ficinus spp. the convoluted base of the anterior valvifers meshes with strongly convoluted projections from the ventral surface of the ventral labiate plate, the interramal lobes of the posterior wall are deeply incised, and the medial plate of the posterior wall is flat. These features are also observed to some extent in Jornandes spp. We have assigned our new taxon to Ficinus primarily based on the obvious external similarity of the two included spp. rather than the less compelling genitalic features.

Members of the genus are found in the Mexican states of Guerrero, Morelos, and Oaxaca. Additional information on hosts, distribution, and biology are included under the generic discussion of Jornandes .