Polytoxus pilosus, Usinger, 1946

Usinger, Robert L., 1946, Hemiptera Heteroptera of Guam, Insects of Guam II, Honolulu, Hawaii: Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Bulletin 189, pp. 11-103 : 46-47

40. Polytoxus pilosus , new species ( fig. 9 , a-d).

Relatively large, pale in color with obscure median longitudinal fascia above, clothed with long, fine, erect hairs.

Head a little longer than broad across eyes, 37: 32. Antennae slightly shorter than body, 175: 190, proportion of segments one to four as 75: 26: 50: 24.

Pronotum on median line nearly twice as long as head, 70: 40; front lobe elevated, narrowed anteriorly, nearly as long as broad behind, 35: 40. Hind lobe about tv,:ice as broad across humeri as long, 58: 30; lateral spines acute, four fifths as long as width across humeri, 48: 58, directed laterally and slightly forward.

Mesonotal spine acute; about as long as pronotal spines. Metanotal spine blunt at apex, about half as long as the other spines.

Hemelytra reaching almost to apex of abdomen, the connexivum moderately exposed on either side. Legs relatively long, the hind femora slightly exceeding apex of abdomen.

Male genitalia distinctive, the claspers four times as long as greatest width, broadest on basal half, then bent upward and tapering to slender but obtuse, slightly inwardly bent apex. Posterior, process arising from broadly produced apical margin of genital capsule, about two thirds as long as claspers, laterally compressed to form a thin, plate-like process which is about one third as wide just behind middle as long, narrowest at base and at apical third, the apex subtruncate, being more produced postero-ventrally.

Female with hind angles of last connexival segment produced into distinct, acute spines slightly inwardly turned at apices. Pygidium convex, broadly rounded dorsally, strongly rounded laterally and then convergent to broad, slightly arcuate ventral margin.

Color ochraceous to fulvous with brownish head, antennae, rostrum and an ill-defined longitudinal fascia along middle of thorax and hemelytra. Apices of pronotal and mesonotal spines brownish. Under surface largely pale, the thoracic pleura and abdominal venter faintly brownish. Legs pale with fuscous subapically on femora, apically on tibiae, and on tarsi.

Size: length 9.5 mm., width (across humeri) 1.5 mm.

Holotype male, allotype female, and eight paratypes, June 8, Inarajan, at bases of rice clumps, Swezey and Usinger ; one paratype, June 25, Inarajan, Usinger .

Approaches the Samoan similis China in size but differs in the relatively shorter first and second antenna! segments, the differently formed female genital plates, the longer metanotal spine, and probably in the pilosity and male genitalia, though these characters are not mentioned. The Philippine longipes Stal must be close to this according to the very brief and inadequate original description but runs to a different section of the genus devoid of a dorsal fuscous vitta in Sta.l's key (Enum. Hemipt. 4: 91, 1874). Pilosus agrees closely with vagans Miller in size, form of male genitalia, apical abdominal spines of female and even in thoracic spines, though the pronotal spines are somewhat longer and the mesonotal spine is much longer in vagans.

Figures

FIGuRt 9.-Polytoxus pilosus: a, lateral view of head and thorax of female; b, dorsal view of head and thorax of female; c, posterior view of female genital segment; d, side view of genital capsule of male showing armlike claspers and median process.