Apiomerus montanus Berniker & Szerlip, 2011

Berniker, Lily, Szerlip, Sigurd, Forero, Dimitri & Weirauch, Christiane, 2011, 2949, Zootaxa 2949, pp. 1-113 : 21-22

Apiomerus montanus Berniker & Szerlip , sp. nov. Figs 1–15, 17, Map 4

Apiomerus crassipes (all in part)

Uhler 1876: 328 (list); Uhler 1884: 281 (biology); Lethierry and Severin 1896: 144 (catalog); Champion 1899: 242 (diagnosis, key); Fracker 1913: 236 (key); Barber 1914: 505 (distribution); Blatchley 1926: 565 (distribution); Readio 1927: 156 (biology); Wygodzinsky 1949: 16 (catalog); Costa Lima et al. 1951: 348 (biology, diagnosis, distribution, key).

Apiomerus (Herega) crassipes

Van Duzee 1916 (checklist): 30; Van Duzee 1918: 257 (catalog).

Type data: Holotype: 1 ♂; [ USA:] Utah: [San Juan Co.:] Navajo Mountains [37.02987 ° N 110.86567 ° W], 2591 m, 10 Jun 1936, McAbee / Apiomerus montanus Szerlip 1977 Paratype / Univ. Calif. Insect Survey Specimen # 149493 / HOLOTYPE ♂ Apiomerus montanus n. sp. Berniker & Szerlip Det. by Berniker & Szerlip 2011 / ( UCR _ ENT 00033405 ) ( UCB) .

Diagnosis: Recognized by the mostly black pronotum, red hemelytra, black legs, black and yellow banded connexiva ( Fig. 1F), and the posterior margin of the dorsal phallothecal sclerite rounded in dorsal view, the dorsolateral lobes divided into proximal and distal portions, the semi-circular proximal portion and the elongated distal lobe, and the pyramid-shaped median basal sclerotization ( Fig. 6F).

Description: Male: Medium-sized, total length 14.0–16.0 mm. COLORATION: HEAD: Black. THORAX: Anterior pronotal lobe black, sometimes with red band anteriorly, posterior pronotal lobe black, sometimes with red band along anterior edge, margin of posterior pronotal lobe pale yellow to white, scutellum black with yellow margin, thoracic pleura black with a red circle on supracoxal lobes, corium red, foreleg black, red ventrally, mid and hind leg black. ABDOMEN: Black, with yellow stripes ventrally, connexiva black and yellow banded ( Figs 1F, 15A), pygophore dark red. STRUCTURE: HEAD: about as long as pronotum, about 3 times width of eye, length of eye in dorsal view about 1/4 of head length. THORAX: pronotum 1.5 times wider than long, anterolateral angle truncate, disc of anterior lobe with paired greatly convex lobes, posterior margin straight. ABDOMEN: pygophore about 1/4 length of abdomen, rami of the median process of the pygophore U-shaped in caudal view, ramus longer than base width ( Figs 2F, 3F, 4F, 5F). GENITALIA: distal portion of tergite 9 with setae on anterior margin, posterior margin of dorsal phallothecal sclerite rounded in dorsal view ( Fig. 6F), 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 portion, proximal lobe semi-circular, distal lobe entire, elongated ( Fig. 8B), median basal sclerotization pyramid shaped ( Fig. 8B), distal dorsal lobe with two parallel rows of strong denticles ( Figs 6F, 7F).

Female: Total length 14.8–16.1 mm. STRUCTURE: ABDOMEN: syntergite 9/10 with distal margin slightly emarginate ( Fig. 11F). GENITALIA: gonapophysis 8 with two distinct sclerotizations ( Fig. 15F), bursa copulatrix with two narrow, transverse sclerotized folds ( Fig. 14F).

Etymology: Named for its distribution along mountain ranges in the western United States and Mexico.

Biology: Specimens of Apiomerus montanus have been found between May and December and between 1075 and 2896 m in elevation. They have been collected under rocks, in Lindgren funnels, and on Acacia sp. (Fabaceae) , Achillea sp. (Asteraceae) , Melilotus sp. (Fabaceae) , Pinus ponderosa (Pinaceae) , Salix sp. (Saliaceae) , Verbascum sp. (Scrophulariaceae) , composites, and conifer logs.

Distribution: Mountainous regions of Nevada , Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and western Texas in the United States, and south along the Sierra Madre Occidental in the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Zacatecas, San Luis Potosi, Jalisco, Michoacán, Estado de Mexico, and Hidalgo (Map 4).

Discussion: Like A. californicus and A. cooremani , Apiomerus montanus is fairly uniform in external morphology, varying only in the color of the corium and the pronotum. Most individuals have a black pronotum, but many have some degree of red markings on the anterior or posterior lobe. The corium varies from bright red to a deep plum color ( Fig. 17A). Apiomerus montanus closely resembles the non-sympatric A. californicus , but can be distinguished by the color pattern of the connexiva and the legs. In part, sympatric members of the crassipes species group are A. spissipes , A. rufipennis , A. wygodzinskyi , A. cazieri , and A. cooremani . Individuals of A. montanus can be easily distinguished from A. spissipes , A. cazieri and A. wygodzinskyi by their color patterns ( Figs 1, 16, 17). Apiomerus montanus may be confused with A. rufipennis due to the similar mostly black habitus, and red hemelytra, but A. rufipennis is smaller ( Tab. 2), has no pale scutellar margin ( Fig. 1), and differs in male genitalia ( Figs 6, 7). Individuals of A. cooremani that have a mostly black pronotum may be confused with A. montanus , but males can be differentiated easily by the shape of the median pygophore process and females by the orange pronotal margin and connexiva, or black abdominal venter which are pale yellow and striped, respectively in A. montanus .

Paratypes: See Appendix; 330 specimens examined.