Meschia woodwardi Scudder

Malipatil, M. B., 2014, Meschiidae, a new family of Lygaeoidea (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) from India and Australia, with descriptions of a new genus and two new species, Zootaxa 3815 (2), pp. 233-248 : 238-239

Meschia woodwardi Scudder

( Figs. 13–21 )

Meschia woodwardi Scudder 1957b: 25 –28.

Material examined: Paratype male, Carnarvon Gorge, South Queensland, 29.v.1954, T.E. Woodward, QM.

Redescription. The following are additions to the original description by Scudder (1957b):

Colouration: Head with antennifers ventrally paler and smoother than laterally and dorsally; tip of labium fuscous; legs with bases of tibiae with small dark spot, tibia lacking fuscous bands or rings; pronotal posterior margin with 6 (not 4 as noted in original description) vague irregular fuscous or dark spots or patches; dark or dark brown markings on corium and clavus faint or less distinct than those mentioned in original description. Hemelytron with dark brown stripe laterally ( Fig. 13 ).

Structure:Body: Length including wings 4.23; maximum width 1.65.

Head ( Figs. 13, 14 ): Length 0.71; width across eyes 1.35; interocular space 0.88; interocellar space 0.46; eyeocellar space 0.18; eye length 0.32; eye width 0.27. Labium thin tube-like, extending to abdominal segment VI, length of segments: I 0.55; II 0.92; III 0.62; IV 0.73. Labrum length 0.16. Antennae ( Fig. 15 ) with 1st segment slightly more incrassate than uniformly thickened 2nd and 3rd segments, 4th segment slightly fusiform; length of segments: I 0.25; II 0.80; III 0.50; IV 0.67.

Thorax: Pronotum ( Fig. 14 ), median length 0.98; width at posterior margin 1.70. Scutellum ( Fig. 13 ) length 0.70; width 1.0 3. Length of hemelytra 2.71; length of corium 1.70; claval commissure 0.19.

Abdomen: Tergum almost uniformly coloured fuscous ( Fig. 16 ); posterolateral areas of each connexivum fuscous; other areas slightly lighter; connexival areas particularly outer margin with short setae borne on fine bases; tergum III with a few, IV and V with several, large coarse irregularly sized punctures medially as in Fig. 16 .

Male genitalia: Pygophore as in Fig. 18 . Paramere sickle-shaped ( Fig. 19 ). Aedeagus ( Figs. 20, 21 ), with a pair of spatulate membranous lobes near apical end of conjunctiva.

Other details as in Meschia pugnax .

Distribution. Queensland.

Notes. As discussed by Scudder (1957b), this species differs from the type species M. pugnax Distant in lacking a Y-shaped fuscous fascia on head and pronotum, and from the only other previously described species of the genus, M. quadrimaculata , by the 6 vague irregular fuscous or dark spots or patches on the pronotal posterior margin, as well as fuscous spots on the hemelytra.

Figures

FIGURES 13 – 15. Meschia woodwardi, male: 13, habitus; 14, head and pronotum; 15, right antenna.

FIGURES 16 – 21. Meschia woodwardi, male: 16, abdominal dorsum; 17, abdominal venter; 18, pygophore, dorsal view; 19, left paramere; 20, adeagus; 21, aedeagus, apical part.