Aretas signatus, 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 : 82-83

78. Aretas signatus , new species ( fig. 21 ).

Elongate-oval, shining, and densely clothed with a pubescence of pale, mostly backwardly directed hairs which average about 0.1 mm. in length and which are inserted closer together than the length of a hair.

Head broader across eyes than long, 28: 21; the eyes less than half as wide as interocular space, 6.5: 15; twice as long as broad; vertex narrowly depressed at base, feebly transversely sulcate subbasally, these impressions joining to form a shallow median longitudinal sulcus which extends forward to middle of vertex. Vertex broadly convex between bases of antennae and then abruptly depressed to base of vertical tylus. Lora distinctly inflated midway between front margins of eyes and!oral apices. Rostrum scarcely surpassing apices of middle coxae, the four segments subequal in length. Antennae one ninth shorter than length of insect to tip of membrane, 120: 135; the first segment shorter than head, 17: 21; proportion of segments one to four as 17: 53: 26: 24; first segment with stiff, erect bristles and all segments with short, fine pubescence.

Pronotum only three fourths as long on median line as head, 16: 21, over twice as broad across humeri as long, 40: 16; anterior margin feebly concave at center; disk faintly impressed surrounding callosities and very obscurely longitudinally impressed at middle in front of callosities. Posterior disk minutely, irregularly roughened. Lateral margins feebly concave, with three erect hairs in addition to the general backwardly directed hairs which clothe the entire surface.

Mesonotum and scutellum large and broadly exposed, together five sevenths as long as broad and only one eighth narrower at base than pronotum; mesonotum about one half as long as scutellum. Pubescence continuing over these disks as well as on clavus, corium, and cuneus.

Male with left genital clasper briefly produced as a slender arm and then dilated into a stout lobe twice as wide as long, projecting farther caudad than cephalad and rounded at apices. Right clasper extending dorsally into an arm abruptly elbowed at its middle and ventrally into an arm which is more roundly bent downward subbasally.

Color pale, ochraceous, the eyes brown, the vertex fulvous, the tylus and juga reddish, the lora red and brown, the rostrum pale with black apex, antennae entirely pale, or the first segment slightly tinged with pink. Pronotum tinged with red anteriorly and distinctly brown laterally. Mesonotum and narrow basal portion of scutellum ochraceous, middle of scutellum broadly brown its apex nearly white. Hemelytra very distinctively marked, the clavi red on basal third, extending nearly to level of apex of scutellum, then abruptly ochraceous to apical fourth where they are again red to apices. Entire inner areas of coria red to slightly beyond level of apex of commissure of clavus, then broadly, transversely ochraceous to front margin of cuneus which is narrowly red laterally and broadly red medially. Middle of cuneus pale, its apex red at joining of red membranal veins and dark brown at tip. Costa! margin of corium entirely pale, the pale area broader than embolium except at level of apex of commissure of clavus. Membrane rather uniformly infuscated, with an ill-defined paler area across center. Under surface and legs entirely pale except for brown claws.

Size: female, length 3.4 mm., width (hemelytra) 1.3 mm.; male, length 3.3 mm., width.(hemelytra) 1.2 mm.

Holotype female, Yona, May 12, on Ficus, Usinger ; allotype male, Mt. Alifan, May 26, on Pipturus, Usinger ; one paratype, same data as holotype, and one same data as allotype; six paratypes, Piti, Aug. 13, 18, and 24, on Glochidion , and Sept. 12, on Pithecolobium, Swezey ; two paratypes, Merizo , Oct. 2, on golden shower tree, Swezey; one paratype, Dededo, May 19, Usinger ; two paratypes, Tarague, May 17, on Premna gaudichaudii, Usinger ; one specimen, Mt. Alifan, April 20, Bryan.

The paratypes show some color variation, there being reddish flecks around the eyes in some specimens, an occasional reddish tinge on the scutellum, and a suggestion of brown subapically on hind femora. The brown of the lateral margins, of pronotum extends over onto a portion of the propleura. The most distinctive feature of this species, other than the male genitalia, is the red central area of hemelytra with contrasting ochraceous across the middle of clavi. This is a common species on Guam and is obviously not host specific.

A. signatus will run to flavus Knight or iniperatorius Distant in Knight's key (B. P. Bishop Mus., Bull. 142: 167, 1937) but does not agree with these or any other described species in color or in shape of male ge~ital claspers.

Figures

FIGURE 21.-Aretas signatt~: dorsal view of female showing color pattern