Plectoptera rhabdota Rehn and Hebard

Lu, Wenhua, Valentine, Barry D., Perez-Gelabert, Daniel E. & Gutiérrez, Esteban, 2014, Ecology and Diversity of Cockroaches (Dictyoptera: Blattaria) from the Virgin Islands, Insecta Mundi 2014 (349), pp. 1-32 : 19

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.5178725

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:F1B10721-596C-4F0C-8C1C-9636E1E78C85

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5189745

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/A60A87B8-FFF8-FFF9-FF4B-D886FD15FE1B

treatment provided by

Felipe

scientific name

Plectoptera rhabdota Rehn and Hebard
status

 

17. Plectoptera rhabdota Rehn and Hebard View in CoL ( Fig. 14 View Figures 13–16 )

Plectoptera rhabdota Rehn and Hebard 1927: 305 View in CoL ; Puerto Rico.

Diagnosis. Adults 5–6 mm, with full tegmina in both sexes; oval, smooth, pale brown; pronotum with transparent lateral margins (in some specimens cloudy); tegmina with major veins white to pale (transparent in some specimens), enclosing cells each with a darker, irregular area, forming a complex reticulum; interocular space with a dark band above a paler one; abdomen and cerci darker than those of congeners.

Nymphs can be sorted based on head width to at least five instars. Oothecum is approximately 2 mm long, roughly triangular in cross-section, with hinge side weakly convex, without external indications of egg chambers, bluntly rounded at one end, broadly and triangularly produced at the other; the open edge has 10 very short, acute, evenly-spaced marginal teeth, with the three central teeth smallest.

Comments. Plectoptera rhabdota is one of the smallest cockroaches in the Virgin Islands; the network of white veins and the intracellular pattern of the tegmina distinguish this from P. infulata (Species 16). It is arboreal and probably diurnal ( Table 1). Five females collected in May 2006 and Octobers of 1997 and 2001 carried oothecae.

Like Euthlastoblatta facies (Species 13), the abundance pattern showed only one high from late spring to early summer. Abundance was particularly high in 2010 ( Table 3) (10 individuals in August, 50% nymphs) when annual rainfall of prior three years was below 2.0 mm ( Fig. 3 View Figure 3 , Table 3), also similar to that of E. facies . Prolonged drought may have induced abundance, which was concurrent with the pattern of only one abundance peak each year ( Table 2). However, a spike of 15.8 mm heavy rainfall in November 2003 was followed by a sizable abundance increase in June 2004 ( Fig. 3 View Figure 3 ).

Originally described from Puerto Rico, this species was first recorded on Guana ( Roth 1994). It is herein recorded for the first time on St. John of USVI, Moskito, Necker, and Tortola of BVI, in addition to other previous records on St. Thomas of USVI ( Princis 1965), Vieques Island, Puerto Rico, Dominica, Guadeloupe, and Marie Galante ( Bonfils 1969).

Specimens examined. BDVC —1 nymph, BVI, Guana Is. , 23.X.2007, B. D. Valentine family, sweep ; 40 females, BVI, Guana Is., II-X, XII, at UV, at light, Malaise trap ; 43 males, BVI, Guana Is., I-II, IV, VII-X, at UV, Malaise trap, sweep ; 1 female, BVI, Moskito Is. , 23.X.2008, Valentine-Cooper & Lu ; 1male / 1 female, BVI, Necker Is. , 16.X.2010, W. Lu ; 2 females, BVI, Tortola Is. , Sage Mt., 1600-1700 ft., 22.X.2000, 6.X.2001, B. & B. Valentine ; 1 female, BVI, Tortola Is. , Chalwell, IV.2006, C. Petrovic, at light ; 1 female /1 nymph, BVI, Tortola Is. , Sage Mt., 11.X.2007, W. Lu ; 3 males, BVI, Tortola Is. , Sage Mt., 11.X.2007, W. Lu ; 2 males /1 gravid female, BVI, Tortola Is. , Sage Mt., 1600-1700 ft., 6.X.2001, B. & B. Valentine. NMNH — 3 specimens, BVI, Guana Is., 9.V-9.VI.2000, 9.VII-9.VIII.2000, V.2004, W. P. Liao, Malaise trap ; 2 females, BVI, Guana Is. , 9. VII- 9.VIII.2000 / VIII.2005, W. P. Liao, Malaise trap. UDCC — 10 adults, BVI, Tortola Is. , 28.X.1997, C. R. Bartlett. VIIS — 2 adults, USVI, St. John Is., Lameshur Bay, 18-27. VII.1972, A. Gray .

UV

Departamento de Biologia de la Universidad del Valle

NMNH

Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History

UDCC

University of Delaware

R

Departamento de Geologia, Universidad de Chile

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Blattodea

Family

Ectobiidae

Genus

Plectoptera

Loc

Plectoptera rhabdota Rehn and Hebard

Lu, Wenhua, Valentine, Barry D., Perez-Gelabert, Daniel E. & Gutiérrez, Esteban 2014
2014
Loc

Plectoptera rhabdota

Rehn, J. A. G. & M. Hebard 1927: 305
1927
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