Zelus varius (Herrich-Schaeffer, 1853)

Zhang, Guanyang, Hart, Elwood R & Weirauch, Christiane, 2016, A taxonomic monograph of the assassin bug genus Zelus Fabricius (Hemiptera: Reduviidae): 71 species based on 10,000 specimens, Biodiversity Data Journal 4, pp. 8150-8150 : 8150

Zelus varius (Herrich-Schaeffer, 1853)

Euagoras varius Herrich-Schaeffer, 1853, p. 122, orig. descr.

Zelus varius : Stål, 1872, p. 92, cat. (subgenus Diplodus ); Lethierry and Severin, 1896, p. 153, cat.; Wygodzinsky 1949a, p. 50, checklist; Maldonado, 1990, p. 332, cat.

Diplodus varius : Walker, 1873, p. 126, cat.

Materials

Type status: Neotype. Occurrence: catalogNumber: UCR_ENT 00069896 ; occurrenceRemarks: Neotype of Zelusvarius (Herrich-Schaeffer, 1853) (New Designation by Zhang, Hart & Weirauch, 2016); recordedBy: J. R. de la Torre-Bueno; sex: Adult Male; Taxon: scientificName: Zelusvarius; family: Reduviidae; genus: Zelus; scientificNameAuthorship: (Herrich-Schaeffer, 1853); Location: country: GUYANA; stateProvince: Cuyuni-Mazaruni Region; locality: Bartica ; decimalLatitude: 5.78765; decimalLongitude: -57.62801; Identification: identifiedBy: G. Zhang; dateIdentified: 2012; Event: eventDate: No date provided; Record Level: institutionCode: KU

Description

Figs 205, 206, 207

Male: (Fig. 205) Small, total length 10.11 mm (n=1, Suppl. material 2); slender. COLORATION: Head uniformly brown; postocular lobe with very faint longitudinal medial stripe. Pronotum and scutellum pale brown, anterior lobe slightly darker. Very faint bands on legs. VESTITURE: Sparsely setose. Short, recumbent setae on entire surface of head; very short, erect, spine-like setae on dorsum, denser on anterior lobe; few moderately long, erect, fine setae on ventral surface. Pronotum with sparse, recumbent setae and short, erect setae over dorsal surface; denser, moderately long recumbent setae on lateral surface and pleura, intermixed with semierect or erect setae; scutellum with sparse, semi-erect and recumbent setae. Legs with sparse setation on femora and moderately dense setation on tibiae. Corium and clavus with mix of sparse, short, recumbent and erect setae. Abdomen with moderately dense, short recumbent setae, intermixed with sparse, short to long, erect setae. STRUCTURE: Head: Cylindrical, L/W = 2.27. Postocular lobe long; in dorsal view distinctly narrowing through anterior 2/3, posterior 1/3 constant, tube-like. Dorsal margin attaining postocular transverse groove, ventral margin removed from ventral surface of head in lateral view. Labium: I: II: III = 1: 1.7: 0.4. Basiflagellomere diameter slightly larger than that of pedicel. Thorax: Anterolateral angle with inconspicuous subtuberculate projection; medial longitudinal sulcus evident throughout, deepening posteriorly. Posterior pronotal lobe with rugulose surface; disc distinctly elevated above humeral angle; humeral angle armed, with spinous processes. Scutellum moderately long; apex angulate, very slightly projected upward. Legs: Slender. Hemelytron: Surpassing apex of abdomen by about length of abdominal segment seven; quadrate cell small and slender; Cu and M of cubital cell subparallel. GENITALIA: (Fig. 206) Pygophore: Elongate ovoid; not expanded laterally in dorsal view. Medial process cylindrical; slender; long, much longer than paramere; laterally compressed toward apex; anterior surface towards apex ridged; minute spicules on posterior surface; semi-erect; curved at middle; apex in posterior view acute, with small hooklike projection, somewhat re-expanded laterally. Paramere: Cylindrical; short, not reaching medial process; directed posteriad; base narrower; slightly curved ventrad; apical part very slightly enlarged. Phallus: Dorsal phallothecal sclerite elongated; sclerotization reduced (yet not absent) on dorsal surface close to posterior margin of foramen; apical portion of phallothecal sclerite gradually tapering, distinctly keeled medially, laterally flat, not forming angle; apex acute; posterior margin of foramen broadly concave. Basal plate arm slender; separate; converging; in lateral view slightly curved; bridge short; extension of basal plate expanded laterally onto arm, covering more than 1/2 of arm, curved.

Female: Similar to male, except for the following. Larger than male, total length 13.71-14.03 mm (mean 13.87 mm, Suppl. material 2). Entire body nearly uniformly pale brown or dark brown.

Diagnosis

Recognized by the following combination of characters: The posterior margin of posterior pronotal lobe with expansion laterad to scutellum; the rather long, spinous process on humeral angle; the smallish body size; the paramere short; the apical part of medial process compressed laterally, anterior side ridge-like; and the apex of medial process re-expanded, not acute.

Distribution

South America (Fig. 207). Countries with records: Brazil, Ecuador and Guyana.