Paloniella flavicolor, Akingbohungbe, E., 2004

Akingbohungbe, E., 2004, A new genus and four new species of Isometopinae (Hemiptera: Miridae) from South Africa, Zootaxa 728, pp. 1-14 : 11-13

Paloniella flavicolor sp. nov.

Female. Length 2.60. Maximum width across hemelytra 1.88. Head width across vertex 0.60; dorsal length 0.14; facial width 0.82; facial length 0.58. Anterior inter­ocular space 0.26; posterior space 0.70. Dorsal width of eye 0.17; maximum width 0.24; height 0.32. Height of gena 0.18. Ocellus width 0.04; inter­ocellar space 0.18. Maximum width of pronotum 1.56; median length 0.46. Scutellum length 0.90; width 0.92. Cuneus length 0.52; width 0.46. Rostrum 0.96. Antennae I 0.12; II 0.46; III 0.20; IV 0.12.

FIGURES. 9–10. Paloniella flavicolor sp. nov. female, habitus; dorsal view of head.

Strongly ovate and macropterous (figure 9). Head strongly appressed, inclined forwards; from above 4.3x as broad as long; in front weakly trapezoidal to quadrate (figure 10), about 1.41x as broad as high. Vertex behind ocelli bluntly carinate, weakly depressed in front; frons tumid convex towards apex, margin distinctly bisinuate. Gena high, about 0.56x as high as eye; apical margin broadly arcuate, forming prominent concavity on either side of frons. Entire head disk glabrous, distinctly punctate; frons in addition transversely rugose. Colour largely golden to yellow­brown, frons and gena tinged with reddish; latter on frons disk forming two pairs of somewhat impressed spots separated by distinct punctate transverse groove running from about the level of ventral margin of one eye to the other. Occipital margin, vertex behind ocelli whitish. Eyes dark­red to black; weakly pyriform, glabrous. Ocelli deep red, about 4.5x width of each apart. Antennal segment I reddish­brown; sparse with very short semi­erect yellow­white hairs, about 0.42x as thick as long. Others yellow­green to whitish hyaline with basal annulus on II reddishbrown. II somewhat recurved, increasing in thickness towards apex; dense with semi­erect golden yellow hairs either subequal in length to or much less than segment thickness. III subfusiform, IV fusiform; both dense with erect golden yellow hairs much longer than segment thickness. Rostrum with segment I reddish, II yellow with slight reddish tinge, others reddish­brown; extending as far as apex of hind coxae.

Pronotum about 3.39x as broad as long; lateral margins strongly arcuate, posterior margin deeply bisinuate. Scutellum subequal in length and width, disk distinctly depressed sub­apically;

Dorsum generally strongly shiny, distinctly punctate; pronotal disk weakly transversely rugose, scutellum at base more prominently so. General colouration golden to yellow­brown suffused with reddish. Pronotum with broad median sub­basal macula pale whitish and posterior marginal band dark­red; sub­apical to median band on scutellum whitish translucent. Hemelytra largely translucent; clavus at base strongly ridged; embolium strongly explanate with costal margin broadly arcuate, forming open angle with cuneus; membrane hyaline, bi­areolate. Pubescence comprising very short obscure golden yellow reclining hairs intermixed with longer reclining ones (apparently deciduous and largely rubbed on specimen but still abundant on embolium, cuneus, and base of clavus).

Venter generally yellow­brown with reddish tinge; head flange, pronotal flange, ostiolar peritreme, remnant of abdominal sternite I, abdominal sternite II, apical half of ovipositor shaft, all much paler. Pleura coarsely punctate; abdominal sternites II to VII more finely so laterally. Abdominal sternites II to VII thickset with short reclining golden yellow hairs; VIII and IX with longer semi­erect hairs. Legs mostly golden yellow with reddish tinge tending to distinct darkening on femora and metatibiae; latter densely microsculptured.

Male. Unknown.

Comments

This new species shows some similarity with Paloniella bedfordi (Hesse) also from Letaba , North Transvaal. The specimen upon which the description is now based apparently had escaped notice for long, having been collected by the same person who collected the specimens upon which the original description of P. bedfordi was based. Unlike all other Paloniella species described so far which manifest extensive darkened body colouration, the new species has a yellow to golden brown colouration tinged with reddish. The only form now known (the female) further differs from female P. bedfordi in several other characters. Antennal segments II, III, and IV are greenish white to golden yellow, whereas in P. bedfordi III and IV plus at least the basal and apical annuli on II are darkened. The scutellum in the latter species also has the sub­apical third to half carmine red, whereas in the new species, it is whitish hyaline. In addition, the new species, unlike P. bedfordi , has the lateral margins of the scutellum finely carinate, the clavus at base is ridged, the costal margin of the hemelytra forms an open angle with the cuneus, and the legs are yellow to golden brown with a reddish tinge and with no distinct dark band.

HOLOTYPE: female, South Africa: Letaba N. TVL. 16 October 1945, E. C. G. Bedford ( NCIP).

FIGURES. 11–16. Male genitalia. (11–13) Isometopus maculipennis sp. nov.: (11) left paramere; (12) right paramere; (13) aedeagus, dorsolateral aspects. (14–16) Isometopus mirus sp. nov.: (14) left paramere; (15) right paramere, dorsolateral aspects; (16) aedeagus, lateral aspect.