Lasiacantha kosciuszko, 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 : 35-36

Lasiacantha kosciuszko , sp. nov.

( Figs 1 , 3b , 6 )

Holotype. ♂, AUSTRALIA: New South Wales: Mount Kosciuszko, 36.45 ° S 148.26666 ° E, 2042 m, 05 Mar 1969, collector unknown, ex Poa / Celmisia (199265) ( QDPI).

Paratype. AUSTRALIA: New South Wales: Mount Kosciuszko, 36.45 ° S 148.26666 ° E, 2042 m, 05 Mar 1969, collector unknown, ex Poa / Celmisia , 1 f (199266) ( QDPI).

Diagnosis. Lasiacantha kosciuszko ( Fig. 6 ) is recognised by the following combination of characters: dorsum pale brown, with some mottled red brown patches; dense covering of white microtrichae over entire body; major setiferous tubercles on pronotum and hemelytra very short, terminal seta elongate, much longer than tuberculate base; keel and surface of collum, pronotal carinae with minor setiferous tubercles; costal area with major setiferous tubercles extending to posterior hemelytral margin; carinate margins of discoidal area with major setiferous tubercles, posterior angle without clump of setiferous tubercles; pronotum and hemelytra with moderately elongate hairlike setae, uniformly, moderately densely distributed; abdominal venter with short, straight, silvery, porrect, hairlike setae; cephalic spines moderately elongate, frontal spines shorter than AI, medial spine straight; AIV with compact base; collum columnar, higher than medial carina, projected anteriorly and covering part of head; paranota two areolae wide; costal area two areolae wide, areolae irregular size and shape; areolae in subcostal, discoidal and sutural areas smaller than in costal area; sternal carinae with metasternal carinae weakly sinuous but subequal width to mesosternal carinae.

Description. Medium size, brachypterous ( Fig. 6 ); male 3.13, female 3.28.

COLOURATION. Dorsum pale to orange brown, with some mottled red brown patches; dense covering of white microtrichae making appearance grey brown at first glance. Head: dark brown; spines stramineous; bucculae red brown, stramineous edge; labium mostly orange brown, very tip of apex darker red brown; antennae, AI–AII orange brown, AIII–AIV yellow brown. Pronotum: base of collum dark brown; disc red brown, diminishing posteriorly to yellow brown; paranota slightly mottled, stramineous with small red brown patches; collum mostly orange to red brown; carinae mostly stramineous to orange brown. Thoracic pleura and sterna: red brown, supracoxal lobes slightly paler; sternal carinae stramineous. Legs: femur orange brown, tibia yellow brown; tarsi yellow brown, tarsal claw red brown. Hemelytra: mostly orange brown, costal area slightly paler yellow brown, mottled with red brown patches; also small red brown patches medially on outer carinate margin of discoidal area and at posterior angle of discoidal area. Abdomen: orange brown to red brown. VESTITURE. Dorsum with moderately dense distribution of moderately elongate, erect, silvery, hairlike setae and entire body covered with white microtrichae. Head: adpressed, pale elongate woolly setae present; antenniferous tubercles with minor setiferous tubercles, terminal seta greatly elongate; antennae with minor setiferous tubercles, pale, AI–AII setiferous tubercles in multiple rows with moderately elongate curved terminal seta, AIII setiferous tubercles with greatly elongate, straight terminal seta. Pronotum: paranota margins with very short major setiferous, terminal seta greatly elongate, much longer than tuberculate base; keel and surface of collum with few minor setiferous tubercles; pronotal carinae with minor setiferous tubercles. Thoracic pleura and sterna: pleura with hairlike setae as on dorsum; supracoxal lobes with elongate, scalelike setae. Legs: dense distribution of minor setiferous tubercles; terminal seta pale, elongate, erect, bristlelike. Hemelytra: costal margins with major setiferous tubercles as on paranota, extending to posterior margin of hemelytra; major setiferous tubercles on carinate margins of discoidal area and cubitus + R+M vein, not clumped (aggregated) at posterior angle of discoidal area; hairlike setae distributed over entire hemelytra. Abdomen: dense distribution of short, silvery, porrect, hairlike setae. STRUCTURE. Head: spines moderately elongate; frontal spines parallel, shorter than AI; medial spine straight; occipital spines moderately curved outwards, extending well past outer margin of eye; labium moderate length, extending to metasternum; antennae, AI elongate and twice length of AII, AIV with compact base and weakly clavate apex. Pronotum: disc flat; collum columnar, uniformly broad, anteriorly projected over posterior half of head, higher than medial carina; carinae moderately elevated, all one areole wide; lateral carinae unthickened; paranota expanded, semi-circular, two areolae wide. Thoracic sterna: metasternal carinae weakly sinuous, equal width to mesosternal carinae, both straight. Hemelytra: areolae very small, subequal size over entire hemelytra, excluding costal area; costal area two areolae wide, at widest point, areolae irregular size and shape; subcostal area three areolae wide; discoidal and sutural areas four areolae wide. Male genitalia: not examined. MEASUREMENTS. For 1 ♂ and 1 ♀ are given in Table 6.

Host plant. Labelled ‘ex Poa / Celmisia ’, which are plants found together in the alpine grasslands of the type locality.

Distribution. Known from a single locality, Australia’s highest peak, Mt Kosciuszko ( Fig. 3b ). Lasiacantha kosciuszko along with L. gingera is found in the alpine region of southeastern Australia. These two species are closely related to L. graminicola which although found much further north in Queensland, are the only Lasiacantha species known from temperate Australia, within the Great Dividing Range.

Etymology. After the type locality.

Remarks. This species shares a paler colouration with L. gingera and shorter, less densely distributed hairlike setae on the dorsum. This species is easily distinguished from L. gingera and L. graminicola by the smaller collum, not entirely covering the head. Other differentiating characters are: paranota not as wide, with larger areolae, only two areolae wide; costal area not as wide, irregularly two areolae wide, posteriorly reduced to one cell wide; labium mostly unicolourous with only very tip darkened; sternal carinae paler colouration; dark patch only on outer carinate margin of discoidal area (as for L. gingera ); major setiferous tubercles very short all over; pronotal carinae with only minor setiferous tubercles.

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.