Apiomerus spissipes (Say)

Berniker, Lily, Szerlip, Sigurd, Forero, Dimitri & Weirauch, Christiane, 2011, 2949, Zootaxa 2949, pp. 1-113 : 24-25

Apiomerus spissipes (Say) Figs 1–15, 17, map 2

Reduvius spissipes

Say 1825a: 328 (original description); Say 1825b: 355 (taxonomy); Say 1859: 72 (checklist).

Apiomerus (Herega) spissipes

Stål 1872: 98 (checklist)

Herega spissipes

Uhler 1872: 420 (regional checklist)

Apiomerus spissipes

Uhler 1875: 328 (regional checklist); Uhler 1877a: 429 (regional checklist); Lethierry and Severin 1896: 146 (catalog); Champion 1899: 233 (key); Barber 1906: 285; Morgan 1907: 1–54 (biology); Fracker 1913: 236 (catalog); Van Duzee 1916: 30 (checklist); Van Duzee 1918: 258 (catalog); Readio 1926: 16 (biology); Blatchley 1926: 566 (key); Readio 1927: 154 (biology, key); Wygodzinsky 1949: 18 (catalog); Costa Lima et al. 1951: 350 (revision); Henry and Froeschner 1988: 621 (catalog); Maldonado 1990: 8 (catalog).

Type data: Neotype (here designated): 1 ♂; [ USA:] Kansas: Barber Co.: Rt. 160 9 mi. W. Medicine Lodge [37.2774 ° N 98.73637 ° W], 02 Jun 2007, C. R. Smith, coll. / NEOTYPE ♂ Apiomerus spissipes (Say, 1825) Det. by. Berniker & Szerlip 2011 / ( UCR _ ENT 00038182 ) ( UCD) .

Diagnosis: Recognized by the solid or mostly red pronotum, red hemelytra, striped abdominal venter ( Fig. 1I), and structure of the sclerotizations of the endosoma of the males, including the dorsolateral lobes divided into proximal and distal portions, the semi-circular proximal lobe and the elongated distal lobe ( Figs 6I, 8B).

Redescription: Male: Medium-sized, total length 14.1–16.6 mm. COLORATION: HEAD: Black or red. THORAX: Anterior pronotal lobe red, sometimes with dark brown or black ridges, posterior pronotal lobe red, margin of posterior pronotal lobe yellow or red, scutellum black or red with yellow or red margin, thoracic pleura black to red, corium red, legs red to brown. ABDOMEN: Red to brown, usually striped ventrally with yellow, connexivum pale yellow to red ( Figs 1I, 15B), pygophore red to brown. STRUCTURE: HEAD: about 3/4 as long as pronotum, about 4 times width of one eye, length of eye in dorsal view about 1/4 of head length. THORAX: pronotum 1.3 times wider than long, anterolateral angle acute, disc of anterior lobe with paired greatly convex lobes, posterior margin straight. ABDOMEN: pygophore about 1/5 length of abdomen, median pygophore process U shaped in caudal view, ramus as long as base width ( Figs 2I, 3I, 4I, 5I). GENITALIA: distal portion of tergite 9 with setae on entire distal portion, posterior margin of dorsal phallothecal sclerite pointed in dorsal view ( Fig. 8A), apex in dorsal view narrow, less than half the width of dorsal phallothecal sclerite, endosomal struts fused only at base, dorsolateral lobes divided into proximal and distal portions, proximal lobe semi-circular, distal lobe entire, elongated ( Fig. 8B), median basal sclerotization tongue shaped ( Fig. 8A), distal dorsal lobe with two parallel rows of strong denticles ( Figs 6I, 7I).

Female: Total length 14.2–17.4 mm. STRUCTURE: ABDOMEN syntergite 9/10 with distal margin emarginate ( Fig. 11I). GENITALIA: gonapophysis 8 almost entire, two adjacent sclerotizations ( Fig. 15I), bursa copulatrix with two narrow, transverse sclerotized folds ( Fig. 14I).

Biology: Apiomerus spissipes has been collected between February and December at elevations ranging between 7 and 2906 m above sea level. Individuals have been collected on Asclepius sp. ( Apocynaceae ), Helianthus annus (Asteraceae) , Pinus ponderosa (Pinaceae) , and various flowers.

Distribution: Widespread in the United States and Mexico. A. spissipes is abundant in Arizona and New Mexico and has been found as far east as Alabama along the gulf coast, as far north as North Dakota and Montana and as far south as Chiapas, Mexico (see Map 2). Very few of the specimens examined have been collected east of a line roughly corresponding to the eastern margins of Texas and Kansas. Four individuals examined have locality labels that read only “Florida” and do not provide further locality information (these specimens have not been mapped, see Georeferencing section for mapping criteria). Combined with the fact that a single reliably identified specimen has been recorded from Alabama, this suggests that A. spissipes may be found along the gulf coast as far east as the Florida panhandle. The species is unlikely to inhabit the Florida peninsula, as none of the examined specimens from across the peninsula belong to A. spissipes .

Discussion: Apiomerus spissipes is polychromatic as commonly the case within the crassipes group, and like A. cazieri , and A. wygodzinskyi , has distinct color forms ( Fig. 17B). The form that matches the original description by Say is the most abundant of the specimens examined and is shown in Fig. 1I. This form is reddish brown on the pronotum and corium, with a white to pale yellow pronotal and scutellar margin. Individuals from Arizona, New Mexico and parts of Texas are more brightly red, some being solid red, even on the pronotum margin, so that the only non-red part of the body is the membrane of the hemelytra. A third form exists in small numbers and seems to be restricted to the Lake Texoma area of southern Oklahoma near the Texas Oklahoma border. These individuals have an almost black pronotum and a dark reddish black corium ( Fig. 17B).

The red form may be confused with individuals of A. cazieri that are similar in color, but they can be distinguished by size ( A. spissipes being larger) and genitalic differences. Apiomerus spissipes is easily distinguished from A. crassipes by color differences. Apiomerus montanus and A. spissipes are sympatric in both the United States and Mexico, but have distinct coloration. In Mexico, A. spissipes is also sympatric with A. cooremani , A. wygodzinskyi , and A. rufipennis . Apiomerus spissipes can most easily be confused with A. cooremani , but can be easily differentiated by the black abdominal venter of A. cooremani and the shape of the median pygophore process ( Fig. 2C, 2I). Apiomerus rufipennis and A. wygodzinskyi are both smaller in size than A. spissipes , and distinct in color pattern.

Type designation: Many of Say’s types were destroyed by dermestids and transport by stage coach ( Uhler 1878, Schuh and Slater 1995). The type of Apiomerus spissipes was likely among those destroyed ( Mawdsley 1993). Due to its wide distribution and polychromatism, we feel it necessary to designate a neotype for this species with the hope that it along with the present redescription will clarify the species concept of A. spissipes and allow accurate identification of individuals of this species. Apiomerus spissipes was described in 1825 from “ Arkansas ”, which today encompasses the states of Arkansas and Oklahoma except the panhandle. Szerlip (1980) was able to trace the route taken by Say during the expedition, and believed the type locality to be in northeast Oklahoma, along the Arkansas River. Very few specimens examined during the present study are from Oklahoma, and none from this particular region. In addition, there are no specimens in any collections examined for this project from Arkansas. Say’s original description, though it lacks an illustration, is sufficient to serve as a guide for selection of the neotype. The selected neotype closely resembles the original description and was collected near to the area explored by Say in 1919.

Material examined: See Appendix; 1,370 specimens examined.