Buenoa salutis Kirkaldy, 1904

Buenoa salutis Kirkaldy, 1904: Wiener Ent. Zeitg., 124.

Material examined. Galarza RS: 13 ♂, 15 ♀, Galarza Lagoon, Vizcaychipi channel, 16.iv.2013; 1 ♀, Galarza Lagoon, Hermanos Fleita channel, 16.iv.2013 ; 4 ♂, 7 ♀, Luna Lagoon, sample 1, 17.iv.2013; 3 ♂, 4 ♀, Luna Lagoon, sample 2, 17.iv.2013; 15 ♂, 5 ♀, Luna Lagoon, sample 3, 17.iv.2013; 4 ♂, 9 ♀, Luna Lagoon, sample 4, 17.iv.2013; 1 ♀, Luna Lagoon, sample 5, 17.iv.2013 ; 2 ♀, Galarza Lagoon, Hermanos Fleita pier, 17.iv.2013 ; 1 ♂, 2 ♀, Galarza Lagoon, sample 1, 18.iv.2013; 1 ♀, Galarza Lagoon, sample 4, 18.iv.2013 ; 13 ♂, 4 ♀, flood-prone areas in Hermanos Fleita field, 18.iv.2013. Itatí RS: 1 ♂, 1 ♀, Estancia El Dorado, artificial pond, 28°45.60’S, 58°7.23’W, 28.iii.2014 ; 1 ♀, Itatí Rincón Island, 28°42.73’S, 58°6.69’W, 29.iii.2014 ; 1 ♀, Potrero Becasina, flood-prone areas in front of the ranger’s house, 28°44.93’S, 58°7.53’W, 30.iii.2014 ; 1 ♀, Estancia El Dorado, pond, 28°45.13’S, 58°7.40’W, 30.iii.2014 ; 2 ♂, 2 ♀, Estancia El Dorado, artificial pond, 28°45.60’S, 58°7.23’W, 31.iii.2014 . Laguna Iberá RS: 1 ♀, Iberá Lagoon, Fraga pier, 28°31’50.00’’S, 57°11’13.68’’W, 3.xii.2012 ; 1 ♀, Lobo Cuá Stream, 28°32’37.14’’S, 57°12’3.89’’W, 2.xii.2012 ; 2 ♂, Baletón San Pedro, 3.xii.2012 ; 1 ♂, 7 ♀,light trap, 28°32’48.65’’S, 57°11’48.015’’W, 14.ii.2018; 1 ♂, Miriñay channel, 28°34’13’’S, 57°10’13’’W, 16.ii.2018 ; 2 ♂, 1 ♀, light trap, 28°32’48.65’’S, 57°11’48.015’’W, 16.ii.2018; 1 ♂, 1 ♀, route 40, roadside pond, 17.ii.2018. San Ignacio RS: 1 ♂, Camping Monterrey, Aguará pedestrian path, long walkway, flood-prone areas, 27°52.213’S, 56°52.977’W, 2-iii-2015 ; 2 ♂, 1 ♀, Camping Monterrey, Aguará pedestrian path, short walkway, marshes, 27°52.152’S, 56°52.884’W, 2.iii.2015 ; 1 ♂, 5 ♀, Camping Monterrey, Aguará pedestrian path, artificial well, 27°52.286’S, 56°52.767’W, 4.iii.2015 ; 1 ♂, marshlands in front of the ranger’s house, 27°49.413’S, 56°50.929’W, 4.iii.2015; 1 ♀, road of “ Las 600” in front of Monte Grande, marshlands, 27°50.991’S, 56°53.543’W, 5.iii.2015 ; 5 ♂, 3 ♀, old pine tree forest of “ Las 600”, artificial channel, 27°51.834’S, 56°54.285’W, 5.iii.2015 ; 1 ♀, Reserva Privada Don Luis, Monte Don Luis, roadside ditches, 27°52’0.60’’S, 56°54’54.18’’W, 16.xi.2018 ; 3 ♂, 5 ♀, light trap, 27°49’26.52’’S, 56°50’52.26’’W, 16.xi.2018; 1 ♀, vehicle path, roadside ditches, 27°54’10.14’’S, 56°53’14.10’’W, 17.xi.2018; 1 ♂, vehicle path, roadside ditches, 27°54’0.24’’S, 56°53’6.42’’W, 17.xi.2018; 7 ♂, 7 ♀, Camping Monterrey, Aguará pedestrian path, marshland, 27°52’14.10’’S, 56°52’59.70’’W, 18.xi.2018 ; 2 ♂, 7 ♀, Camping Monterrey, Aguará pedestrian path, long walkway, marshes, 27°52’14.58’’S, 56°52’59.76’’W, 18.xi.2018 ; 1 ♂, Camping Monterrey, Aguará pedestrian path, flood-prone areas, 27°52’22.08’’S, 56°52’57.84’’W, 19.xi.2018 ; 1 ♂, 2 ♀, Camping Monterrey, Aguará pedestrian path, pond and flood-prone areas, 27°52’26.76’’S, 56°52’48.78’’W, 19.xi.2018 ; 2 ♀, Camping Monterrey, Aguará pedestrian path, pond, 27°52’17.46’’S, 56°52’45.18’’W, 19.xi.2018 . San Nicolás RS: 1 ♀, Paraná Lagoon, 28°15.735’S, 57°26.169’W, 14.xii.2013 ; 2 ♂, 2 ♀, Carambola Stream, 28°11.067’S, 57°26.567’W, 14.xii.2013 ; 17 ♂, 9 ♀, marshland next to the house for the rangers, 15.xii.2013. Yahaveré RS: 1 ♀, Paso Cardozo, roadside marshes, 28°23’47.0”S, 57°52’36.2”W, 6.xi.2015 ; 1 ♀, Caaby Aguilar, marshes, 28°24’03.4”S, 57°51’31.3”W, 8.xi.2015 ; 1 ♂, Caaby Aguilar, roadside marshes, 28°24’03.4”S, 57°51’ 31.3”W, 8.xi.2015 ; 1 ♂, Concepción de Yaguareté Corá, house for researchers, swimming pool, 28°23’25.7”S, 57°53’15.9”W, 8.xi.2015 ; 5 ♂, 14 ♀, Concepción de Yaguareté Corá, house for researchers, light trap, 28°23’25.7”S, 57°53’15.9”W, 6–7.xi.2015 . On the road to Itatí RS : 5 ♂, 7 ♀, Mercedes Department, Pay Ubre Chico Stream, Provincial Route 29, 28.iii.2014 .

General distribution. The Lesser Antilles, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina (Barbosa & Nessimian 2013).

Habitat. Buenoa salutis lives in a wide range of aquatic habitats. It was found in ditches (with or without aquatic vegetation, including those between rice fields), dykes (without vegetation), swamps, marshlands (with dense aquatic vegetation), ponds (with floating and emergent vegetation), lakes (natural and artificial), lagoons (with the margins with floating and submerged vegetation), brackish water, in swimming pools, and in stagnant and slow-flowing areas of streamlets, streams (sometimes shaded, with floating and emergent vegetation) and rivers (Truxal 1953; Nieser 1975; Nieser & Alkins-Koo 1991; Torres et al. 2007; Barbosa & Nessimian 2013). It has also been taken at lights (Nieser 1968, 1975; Torres et al. 2007; Barbosa & Nessimian 2013).

At the INR, specimens were collected from the margins of the Iberá Lagoon in shallow waters with emergent and floating vegetation (Estévez e t al. 2003) and in Iberá in association with Cabomba caroliniana and Potamogeton sp. (Poi de Neiff 1993). During the present study, B. salutis was collected from margins with dense floating, emergent and submerged vegetation (mainly Pontederia azurea, P. crassipes, P. cordata, Salvinia biloba, Nymphoides indica, Azolla filiculoides, Myriophyllum aquaticum, Egeria densa, Cabomba caroliniana, Sagittaria montevidensis and Cyperus giganteus) in lentic (Galarza Lagoon, Luna Lagoon, Paraná Lagoon, Iberá Lagoon, ponds, marshes, marshlands, ditches and flood-prone areas), and lotic habitats in standing water (Miriñay channel, Carambola Stream, Lobo Cuá Stream, Pay Ubre Chico Stream and artificial channels), mostly in unshaded areas. However, it was also collected at the margins of a shaded roadside ditch without aquatic vegetation and a shaded marsh with emergent vegetation. Additional specimens of this species were taken at lights in Concepción de Yaguareté Corá, San Ignacio Ranger Station and Laguna Iberá Ranger Station, and were collected in a swimming pool in Concepción de Yaguareté Corá. Buenoa salutis was collected together with B. amnigenus in a flood-prone area and B. a. antigone in a pond; these habitats were exposed to sunlight and with emergent vegetation.

Remarks. Buenoa salutis is one of the most widespread species of water bugs in the INR and the most common species of Buenoa in the Reserve.