Lasiacantha serraseta, Cassis & Symonds, 2011

Cassis, Gerasimos & Symonds, Celia, 2011, Systematics, biogeography and host plant associations of the lace bug genus Lasiacantha Stål in Australia (Insecta: Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Tingidae) 2818, Zootaxa 2818 (1), pp. 1-63 : 43-45

Lasiacantha serraseta , sp. nov.

( Figs 1 , 3b , 6 , 11 , 13d )

Holotype. ♂, AUSTRALIA: Queensland: 48.6 km NW of Charleville, 26.14706 ° S 145.8637 ° E, 365 m, 01 Nov 1998, Schuh, Cassis, Silveira, ex Eremophila mitchellii Benth. (Myoporaceae) , det. NSW Herbarium NSW 427510 (37404) ( QM).

Paratypes. AUSTRALIA: Queensland: 9 km WSW of Adavale, 25.91094 ° S 144.5143 ° E, 270 m, 02 Nov 1998, Schuh, Cassis, Silveira, ex Eremophila mitchellii Benth. (Myoporaceae) , det. NSW Herbarium NSW 427513, 1 f (13079) ( AM); 9.6 km W of Mitchell, 26.49202 ° S 147.8728 ° E, 430 m, 31 Oct 1998, Schuh, Cassis, Silveira, ex Eremophila mitchellii Benth. (Myoporaceae) , det. NSW Herbarium NSW 427506, 2 f (13077, 13078) ( AM); 11 km E of Adavale, 25.9545 ° S 144.6848 ° E, 300 m, 02 Nov 1998, Schuh, Cassis, Silveira, ex Eremophila mitchellii Benth. (Myoporaceae) , det. NSW Herbarium NSW 427513, 1 f (13080) ( AM); 48.6 km NW of Charleville, 26.14706 ° S 145.8637 ° E, 365 m, 01 Nov 1998, Schuh, Cassis, Silveira, ex Eremophila mitchellii Benth. (Myoporaceae) , det. NSW Herbarium NSW 427510, 2 m (13075, 13076), 5 f (13071, 13074, 13649) ( AM).

Diagnosis. Lasiacantha serraseta is recognised by the following combination of characters: un-mottled dorsal colouration, mostly stramineous to golden brown, with distinctive dark brown band across costal and subcostal areas ( Fig. 6 ); major setiferous tubercles on pronotum and hemelytra short, terminal seta less than half length of tuberculate base ( Fig. 11d, f ); keel of collum and pronotal carinae with major setiferous tubercles ( Fig. 11a, d ); costal area with setiferous tubercles extending almost to posterior hemelytral margin ( Fig. 11f ); carinate margins of discoidal area with major setiferous tubercles, posterior angle without clump of setiferous tubercles ( Fig. 11f ); head with flattened, elongate scalelike setae ( Fig. 11a ); pronotum with hairlike setae only on all surfaces ( Fig. 11d ); hemelytra with hairlike setae, sparse, restricted to base of wing and costal area ( Fig. 11f ); hairlike setae moderately elongate, slightly thickened on pronotal disc ( Fig. 11d ); abdominal venter with pale, short, scalelike setae, shaped lanceolate with serrate margin ( Fig. 11h ); cephalic spines greatly elongate, medial spine straight ( Fig. 11a, c ); AIV, base greatly elongate, weak apical club; collum subtriangular ( Fig. 11d ), subequal or just smaller than medial carina; only medial carina two areolae wide; paranota three areolae wide ( Fig. 11d ); costal area three areolae wide ( Fig. 11f ); subcostal area mostly one areole wide; areolae on paranota and costal area small and uniformly round shaped ( Fig. 11f ); areolae small over entire hemelytra ( Fig. 11f ); sternal carinae with metasternal carinae convex and more widely separated.

Description. Moderately large size, macropterous ( Fig. 6 ); males 3.47–3.92, females 3.61–3.83. COLOURA- TION. Overall pale brown, golden brown to stramineous brown, dorsum with distinctive dark brown banding across subcostal and costal areas Head: dark brown; spines red brown, dark brown apically; bucculae stramineous to orange brown, basal half darker red brown; labium red brown, apex dark brown; antennae AI–AII red brown, AIII paler orange brown, AIV dark brown. Pronotum: dark brown, almost black, diminishing posteriorly to stramineous and orange brown; collum variable stramineous or orange brown; paranota uniformly pale brown, stramineous or orange brown; carinae mostly dark brown, stramineous anteriorly and posteriorly. Thoracic pleura and sterna: variable, dark brown to red brown, supracoxal lobes paler; sternal carinae stramineous. Legs: red brown; tarsi dark brown, almost black. Hemelytra: mixed colouration, but not patchy; costal area pale brown, stramineous; subcostal, discoidal and sutural areas darker golden brown to red brown; sutural area sub-basally dark brown; prominent dark brown band across costal and subcostal areas, at 1/3 distance from hemelytral base. Abdomen: red brown or dark brown. VESTITURE. Head: dense distribution of elongate, straight, lanceolate, cream coloured, scalelike, setae, adpressed; setae absent in longitudinal rows between occipital and medial spines; antennae with minor setiferous tubercles, pale colour, AI–AII with single row of setiferous tubercles with short, clavate, curved terminal seta, AIII setiferous tubercles with greatly elongate with straight terminal seta. Pronotum: paranota margins with short major setiferous tubercles, terminal seta less than half length of tuberculate base; one setiferous tubercles either side of apex of collum on anterior pronotal margin; keel of collum and pronotal carinae with major setiferous tubercles; all pronotal surfaces (collum, paranota, carinae and disc) with dense distribution of moderately elongate, creamy gold, hairlike setae; disc with setae very slightly thickened. Thoracic pleura and sterna: pleura with dense distribution of elongate scalelike setae as on head; supracoxal lobes and mesosternum with dense distribution of short, creamy gold, scalelike setae, lanceolate with a serrate margin ( Fig. 11e ). Legs: minor setiferous tubercles, terminal seta pale colour, elongate, erect, bristlelike; femora with thickened, truncate terminal setae. Hemelytra: costal margins with major setiferous tubercles as on paranota, extending almost to posterior margin of hemelytra; major setiferous tubercles on carinate margins of discoidal area and cubitus + R+M vein, not clumped at anterior angle of discoidal area; setae sparse, hairlike, restricted to a cluster at the wing base and sparse covering of the costal area only; white microtrichae hardly visible, present in tiny amount at hemelytral base mostly in subcostal area. Abdomen: moderately dense distribution of short, scalelike setae as on supracoxal lobes and mesosternum. STRUCTURE. Head: spines greatly elongate; frontal spines parallel or slightly curved inwards, longer than AI, moderately projected upwards, straight; medial spine straight; occipital spines projected upwards and curved backwards, sometimes weakly to strongly curved outwards, extending well beyond outer margin of eye; labium moderate length, extending to anterior margin of metasternum; antennae, AI moderately elongate and almost twice length of AII, AIV with greatly elongate cylindrical base and weakly clavate apex. Pronotum: moderately convex; collum sub-triangular, sub-equal or lower in height to medial carina; carinae highly elevated, one areole wide, medial carina mostly two areolae wide; lateral carinae not thickened; paranota linear semi-circular, three areolae wides, areolae small, uniformly round. Thoracic sterna: metasternal carinae concave, slightly wider than mesosternal carinae, both straight. Hemelytra: areolae small, uniformly round, subequal size over entire hemelytra; costal area three areolae wide, at least medially; subcostal area one areole wide, mostly; discoidal area five areolae wide; sutural area six areolae wide. Male genitalia: pygophore subrectangular broad; widening slightly posteriorly; rounded posteriorly with a broadly cleft posterior margin; dorsal opening strongly concave ( Fig. 11g ); parameres with sensory lobe rounded, moderately expanded, with dorsal sub-basal groove ( Figs 11g , 13d ); endosoma not examined. MEASUREMENTS. Ranges for 4 ♂ and 5 ♀ are given in Table 6.

Host plant. Taken on Eremophila mitchellii at all four known localities.

Distribution. This species is known only from four localities, in close proximity, in semi-arid, southwestern Queensland ( Fig. 3b ).

Etymology. Named for the distinctive serrate and scalelike setae present on the abdominal venter, and thoracic pleura and sterna.

Remarks. A distinguishing character for this species is the serrate edged, scalelike setae on the thorax and abdominal venter ( Fig. 11e ). Lasiacantha serraseta is distinguished from L. vittata by the following colour characters: cephalic spines bicolourous, red brown with dark brown apices; pronotal carinae medially darkened; discoidal and sutural areas of hemelytra darkened, discoidal area red brown, sutural area with distinctive dark brown diffuse patch, subbasally. Also, see remarks for L. vittata and L. discordis for further differential diagnoses.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Implied weights phylogeny for Australian Lasiacantha Stål, 1873, with nodes numbered (refer to Table 3 for character state changes at nodes), bootstrap values are given as branch supports, and biogeographic area and host plant mapped next to the species name. Map of areas of endemism, redrawn from Crisp et al. (1995). Abbreviations for biogeographic areas as follows: ED = Eastern Desert; EQ = Eastern Queensland; MM = Macleay-McPherson; P = Pilbara; SE = Southeast New South Wales; SW = Southwest Western Australia; TAS = Tasmania; and, WD = Western Desert.

FIGURE 3. Distribution map of Lasiacantha species. (a) Clade 3 spp. and (b) Clade 1 and 2 spp.

FIGURE 6. Photographs of Australian Lasiacantha species: L. graminicola sp. nov. (habitus and lateral), L. gingera sp. nov, L. kosciuszko sp. nov., L. leai sp. nov, L. windorah sp. nov., L. discordis sp. nov. (habitus and lateral), L. vittata sp. nov. and L. serraseta sp. nov.. Scale = 1mm. Plate 2 of 2.

FIGURE 11. Lasiacantha serraseta sp. nov. (a) head dorsal (♀, 30 µm); (b) head ventral (♀, 100 µm); (c) head lateral (♀, 100 µm); (d) pronotum dorsal (♀, 100 µm); (e) mesepimeron and metepisternum (♀, 30 µm); (f) hemelytra (♀, 100 µm); (g) pygophore dorsal (♂, 30 µm); (h) abdomen ventral (♀, 100 µm). Scales in brackets, measured in µm.

FIGURE 13. Male paramere, dorsal, of seven Australian Lasiacantha species, from the three species groups: (a) L. eremophila; (b) L. aureolus; (c) L. luritja; (d) L. serraseta; (e) L. discordis; (f) L. graminicola. Abbreviations: Ap, apophysis; SL, sensory lobe. Scale = 0.1mm.