Harpedona marginata Distant, 1904

Figs 5J–K, 14

Harpedona marginata Distant, 1904b: 419 .

Harpedona marginata – Carvalho 1981a: 69 – 133 (descr., figs, SEM) — Lin 2001b: 129 (descr., figs, SEM).

Diagnosis

Distinguished by the following combination of characters: dorsum impunctate, dark brown, hemelytron somewhat paler than head, pronotum and scutellum, sometimes with a pale brown embolium (Fig. 5J); legs whitish yellow, tibiae sometimes slightly darkened; head width across eyes 0.69–0.71, vertex width 0.35–0.38; frons in male with a distinct longitudinal sulcus; labium short, at most reaching middle coxa; dorsal wall of genital capsule with long, characteristically curved, acuminate process (Fig. 14A, C); left paramere twisted, with hook-like apex (Fig. 14D–E), right paramere flattened, apically twin-coned (Fig. 4F); phallotheca with large sclerotized sac-like outgrowth (Fig. 14G).

Material examined

Holotype

SRI LANKA • ♂; Ceylon; Green Coll.; 90–115; NHM.

Other material

SRI LANKA • 1 ♂; Central Prov., Road B294, 3 km S of Sigiriya; 7°58ˊ36˝ N, 80°47ˊ20˝ E; 600 ft a.s.l.; 9 Apr. 1999; T. J. Henry & A. Wijesekara leg.; USNM • 1 ♀; Central Prov., Peradeniya, University of Peradeniya; 7°15ˊ15˝ N, 80°36ˊ07˝ E; 1100 ft a.s.l.; 25 Mar. 1999; T.J. Henry, A. Wijesekara and C. Ariyadasa leg.; USNM • 1 ♀; Central Prov., Kandy, Royal Botanical Gardens; 7°16ˊ20˝ N, 80°36ˊ00˝ E; 1600 ft a.s.l.; 8 Apr. 1999; TJ. Henry and C. Ariyadasa leg.; USNM .

Host

Harpedona marginata is reported as a major pest of yam, Dioscorea sp. ( Dioscoreaceae) in Sri Lanka (Distant 1904b) and Taiwan (Lin 2001b).

Distribution

The species is distributed from Sri Lanka in the west to Fujian province of China, Taiwan, Philippines, New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands in the east (Distant 1904b; Carvalho 1981a; Stonedahl 1988).