Brachyunguis monstratus Kadyrbekov, 1999

Barjadze, Shalva, Özdemir, Işil & Ebrahimi, Ebrahim, 2022, Two species of Brachyunguis (Hemiptera: Aphididae) new to Iran, and a key to the Iranian species of this genus, Zootaxa 5183 (1), pp. 49-57 : 54-56

Brachyunguis monstratus Kadyrbekov, 1999

Fig. 4 , Tables 1–2

Material examined. 4 apt. on one slide, coll. no. 23737 (i3875) MNHN (EH); 2 apt. on one slide, coll. no. 23736 (i3875) IZISU, IRAN, West Azarbaijan Province, 145 km south to Makou, 09.ix.1974, on Diarthron lessertii (as Stellera lessertii on slide), leg. G. Remaudière.

Description. Apterous viviparous female (n=6) Color in life: unknown from Iranian material. According to Kadyrbekov (1999) its body is green with dark red eyes. Pigmentation on slide: ANT I–II dark brown; ANT III pale; ANT IV pale with pale brown apex; apical part or apex of ANT V pale brown and remaining part is pale; ANT VI pale brown; head dark brown; URS and tarsi dark brown; brown marginal sclerites on thoracic I, II, III always present; brown pleural sclerites present on thoracic II–III; coxae and trochanters dark brown; femora dark brown except pale bases; tibiae with pale middle section and brown bases and apices; dark intersegmental sclerites on abdomen mostly present; SIPH pale or dusky; subgenital plate, anal plate and cauda and stigmal plates brown; ABD TERG VII–VIII with dusky spino-pleural sclerites or scleroites at the bases of dorsal setae (fig. 4).

Body oval. Frons convex (fig. 4). ANT 6–segmented (fig. 4). ANT tubercles undeveloped. ANT cuticle imbricated. Rostrum reaches to hind coxae. Rostrum 0.28–0.43× BL. URS wedge–shaped. Setae on body dorsum, antennae, and on legs with pointed apices. ABD TERG I and VII with small or medium–sized mammariform MTu (12–28 μm of diameter). ABD TERG II–VI without MTu. MSL on ABD TERG I 0.78–2.75× diameter of MTu on ABD TERG I. Diameter of MTu on ABD TERG I 0.67–1.28× ANT III BD and 0.63–0.95× diameter of MTu on ABD TERG VII. Diameter of MTu on ABD TERG VII 1.05–1.5× ANT III BD. SIPH short, truncated conical, with small flange (fig. 4). SIPH apical W 0.54 –0.66× SIPH basal W. Subgenital plate oval, sclerotic, with spinulose imbrications. Cauda triangular or helmet–shaped, rounded at apex, bearing long and curved setae and numerous strong dark spinules (fig. 4). Head, thorax and abdomen with pattern of reticulation. Measurements, ratios and chaetotaxy are provided in Table 1 .

Intraspecific variation. Comparison of some metric and meristic characteristics of Atraphaxis- and Diarthron - feeding Brachyunguis monstratus are provided in Table 2 . There are no significant differences between the two data sets.

Biology. Brachyunguis monstratus was described by Kadyrbekov (1999) from inflorescences of Atraphaxis virgata (Polygonaceae) , and subsequently also reported from several other species of this genus ( Blackman & Eastop 2021). Diarthron lessertii (Thymelaeaceae) is a new host plant for this aphid taxon. The host plants are unrelated, but both plants grow in semi–arid conditions, where availability of suitable hosts may be limited in time and space, and the aphids may have to take what they can get. Perhaps the situation is similar to that of its congener Brachyunguis harmalae , which has a wide range of host plants and uses host plants from seven botanical families in the arid conditions of the Arava Valley, in Israel ( Eastop & Raccah 1988). Only the apterous viviparous females of B. monstratus have been described. Other morphs and life cycle of this species are unknown.

Distribution. It is recorded from Kazakhstan, China (Xinjiang) and Iran ( Kadyrbekov 1999, 2014).

Figures

FIGURES 1–4. Brachyunguis dendrostellerae Kadyrbekov, 2014 and B. monstratus Kadyrbekov, 1999. Brachyunguis dendrostellerae.Apterous viviparous female.1. Habitus of less pigmented specimen (bar: 500 μm); 2. Habitus of more pigmented specimen (bar: 500 μm); Alata viviparous female. 3. Habitus (bar: 500 μm); 4. Brachyunguis monstratus. Apterous viviparous female. 4. Habitus (bar: 500 μm).