Pelocoris politus Montandon, 1895

Pelocoris politus Montandon, 1895: Boll. Mus. Zool. Anat. Comp. Torino, 8–9.

Material examined. Galarza RS: 1 ♀, Isirí Stream near Luna Lagoon, sample 7, 17.iv.2013 ; 3 ♂, Isirí Stream near Luna Lagoon, 19.iv.2013 . Itatí RS: 1 ♂, 1 ♀, Itatí Lagoon, 28°41.92’S, 58°6.49’W, 28.iii.2014 ; 4 ♂, 2 ♀, Itatí Rincón Island, 28°42.73’S, 58°6.69’W, 29.iii.2014 ; 3 ♂, Corriente River, 28°44.18’S, 58°8.70’W, 30.iii.2014 . Laguna Iberá RS: 1 ♂, Iberá Lagoon, 28°34’3.94’’S, 57°11’22.15’’W, 1.xii.2012 ; 2 ♂, 1 ♀, Corriente Stream, 28°32’11.91’’S, 57°12’42.96’’W, 2.xii.2012 ; 2 ♂, 3 ♀, Fernández Lagoon, 11.xii.2014. San Ignacio RS: 1 ♀, vehicle path, roadside marshland and ditches, 27°54.551’S, 56°53.254’W, 3.iii.2015. San Nicolás RS: 1 ♀, Carambola Stream, 28°10.866’S, 57°26.224’W, 14.xii.2013 ; 1 ♂, Carambola Stream, 28°14.610’S, 57°26.378’W, 14.xii.2013 . Yahaveré RS: 3 ♂, 6 ♀, Campo Angelita, roadside marshes, 28°25’40.9”S, 57°49’12.3”W, 6.xi.2015 ; 1 ♀, Paso Batalla, roadside marshes, 28°24’02.5”S, 57°52’56.5W, 6.xi.2015 ; 3 ♂, 1 ♀, Medina Lagoon, 28°33’52.6”S, 57°45’28.7”W, 7.xi.2015 ; 1 ♀, Caaby Aguilar, roadside marshes, 28°24’03.4”S, 57°51’31.3”W, 8.xi.2015 .

General distribution. Colombia, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina (Moreira et al. 2011b).

Habitat. Pelocoris politus has been found in rivers and lagoons (Roback & Nieser 1974; Nieser 1975; López Ruf 1988, 1992, 1994b).

At the INR, P. politus was collected from unshaded margins with dense floating, emergent and submerged vegetation (mainly Azolla filiculoides, Pontederia azurea, P. cordata, Myriophyllum aquaticum, Hydrocleys nymphoides and Salvinia biloba) in lentic habitats (Iberá Lagoon, Fernández Lagoon, Medina Lagoon, Itatí Lagoon, marshes, marshlands and ditches), and lotic habitats (Corriente Stream, Isirí Stream, Carambola Stream and Corriente River) in standing or slow-moving water.

Remarks. Pelocoris politus is one of the most widespread species of water bugs in the INR. It was collected together with P. bipunctulus and P. procurrens . This is the first record of this species from INR. Pelocoris politus was previously recorded from Corrientes Province by López Ruf (1988, 1992, 1994b) and López Ruf et al. (2006).