Ploiaria mellea McAtee & Malloch, 1926

Boyane, Swapnil S. & Ghate, Hemant V., 2020, Redescription of Ploiaria mellea (Heteroptera: Reduviidae: Emesinae) and its first report from India, Zootaxa 4729 (4), pp. 595-600 : 596-599

Ploiaria mellea McAtee & Malloch, 1926

( Figs. 1–15 )

Ploiaria (Luteva) mellea McAtee & Malloch, 1926: 143 (original description), 139–140 (in key).

Ploiaria mellea: Wygodzinsky (1966: 195) (listed, keyed), Maldonado Capriles (1990: 108) (catalogue).

Material studied: India, Pune , Daund, leg. Pansare 8.xi.2017 (1 ♂); Pune, Aundh Rd., leg. Sarode, 23.xi.2017 (1 ♂); Pune, Daund , leg. Pansare, 13.xi.2017 (2 ♀♀). A living female was spotted and photographed in Lonavala by Sarode (12.xi.2017) but could not be collected.

Redescription

Coloration. Overall body colour brown. Antenna, mid and hind legs pale brown. Forelegs with a pattern of dark brown patches or incomplete annuli on overall basic ochraceous background ( Figs. 1, 3 ). Head brown, laterally ochraceous in front and behind eye; with Y-shaped, dark brown mark dorsally in front of transverse sulcus; dark brown streaks in front of eye bordering median ochraceous line. Eye dark brown ( Fig. 4 ). First visible labial segment ochraceous basally, dark brown in distal two third, second visible segment ochraceous, third visible segment dark brown ( Figs. 3 , 7 ). Antennae with first segment long, pale brown, with subapical dark brown and apical ochraceous annulus; second segment similar; third segment dark brown with pale apex; fourth segment dark brown except apical one fourth which is pale. Pronotum brownish dorsally, with some dark brown areas laterally; mesonotum with three longitudinal dark reddish brown bands; scutellum brown ( Fig. 5 ); thoracic sterna dark brown ( Fig. 6 ). Abdomen dorsally dark brown, more or less uniformly brown ventrally but apical two segments darker. Forecoxa completely brown; femur ochraceous, ventrally brown in two third of its length, with subapical, incomplete brown annulus; foretibia brown with median ochraceous annulus; foretarsus ochraceous in basal one third, dark brown in middle part and again ochraceous apically ( Figs. 1 , 7, 8 ); mid- and hindcoxae pale; mid- and hindfemora pale brown with subapical dark brown annulus flanked on either side by ochraceous annulus; mid- and hindtibiae pale brown all over except subbasal and apical dark brown annuli; mid- and hindtarsi dark brown ( Fig. 1 ). Forewings pale brown, with brownish longitudinal stripes, some veins dark brown ( Fig. 9 ).

Vestiture. Entire body, except wings, covered with pale brown, adpressed short setae, relatively sparse on antennae and abdominal segments as compared to other parts of body; pronotum and mesonotum with a few erect short setae; mesonotum with a pattern of apparent longitudinal bands created by setae (sparse setae revealing dark body beneath) ( Fig. 5 ); all spiniform setae on forefemur dark brown with pale tip.

Structure. Slender, macropterous. Head elongate, narrowed behind eyes, oval, dorsally somewhat flat, ventrally slightly convex. Eyes large, reaching dorsal and ventral margin of head as seen from lateral side, interocular distance distinctly more than width of eye as seen dorsally; transverse sulcus very slightly curved but not reaching posterior margin of eye. Labium straight, reaching base of forecoxae, with none of its segments incrassate ( Figs. 3 , 7 ).

Pronotum with anterior lobe about 7.5 times longer than posterior lobe, not covering mesonotum, lobes indistinctly separated; prosternum depressed; mesonotum slightly convex dorsally ( Fig. 5 ). Pro- and mesosternum finely rugulose; metasternum carinate medially ( Fig. 6 ).

Forecoxa elongate, slender, shorter than forefemur, without spines, more or less parallel-sided; forefemur slightly thicker than forecoxa, laterally compressed, with two series of spiniform setae ventrally; posteroventral series beginning very close at base while anteroventral series formed by a continuous row of setae starting nearly at one third from base and curved, with an additional single seta close to base of femur, hence treated as an interrupted series. Posteroventral series with long spiniform setae, anteroventral series with relatively short setae, some setae of posteroventral series very closely placed at base; combined length of protibia and -tarsus distinctly shorter than profemur ( Figs. 7, 8 ); tibia with few short and long, distally directed spines; tarsus three segmented with some long adpressed spines ventrally. Mid- and hindlegs long and slender, hind femora passing tip of abdomen. Forewings not reaching apex of abdomen, narrow ( Fig. 9 ).

Abdomen parallel-sided, slender in both sexes; eighth sternite and tergite well developed and fully visible in male; pygophore about one eighth length of abdomen, laterally slightly compressed, without any process, moderately sclerotized dorsally ( Fig. 10 ) and well sclerotized laterally ( Fig. 12 ); parameres bent and overlapping at tip, as seen in situ from ventral side ( Fig. 11 ); phallus long, symmetrical, extending backward into eighth segment as seen in ventral and lateral view of pygophore ( Figs. 11, 12 ); articulatory apparatus well developed, occupying more than half length of phallus; phallotheca membranous, endosoma with two rows of elongate processes that are broad at base and narrowed apically ( Figs. 13, 14 ). Parameres small, curved, swollen before middle, setose distally, its apex sharp ( Fig. 15 ).

Measurements (in mm).

♂♂ (n = 2, one partly mutilated): total body length 11.0/11.2; total length of head 0.88/1.0, length of anteocular part 0.35/0.37, of postocular part 0.30/0.25; eye diameter 0.25/0.30. Antenna: length of first segment?/8.0, of second segment?/6.75, of third segment?/1.80, of fourth segment?/1.87. Length of labium 0.85/0.93, of first visible segment 0.20/0.25, of second visible segment 0.30/0.31, of third visible segment 0.35/0.37. Length of pronotum 1.37/1.25, of mesonotum 1.0/1.0, Length of forecoxa 1.87/1.75, of forefemur 2.50/2.37, of foretibia?/1.12, of foretarsus with claw?/0.62; of midcoxa?/0.37, of midfemur?/7.0, of midtibia?/9.5, of midtarsus with claw?/0.40; of hindcoxa?/0.37, of hindfemur?/10.0, of hindtibia?/14.0, of hindtarsus with claw?/0.43. Length of forewing?/6.20. Based on a single ♂: pygophore length 0.75, width in dorsal view 0.45; length of phallus in repose 1.00, everted phallus 1.70. Paramere length 0.25.

♀♀ (n = 2): total body length 11.5/10.5. Total length of head 1.00/0.87, length of anteocular part 0.37/0.35, of postocular part 0.37/0.30, eye diameter 0.25/0.25. Antenna: length of first segment 7.55/7.40, of second segment 5.50/5.20, of third segment 2.0/1.70, of fourth segment 2.90/1.82. Labium: length 0.85/0.85, of first visible segment 0.22/0.20, of second visible segment 0.32/0.30, of third visible segment 0.33/35. Length of pronotum 1.45/1.35, of mesonotum 1.0/1.0. Length of forecoxa 1.87/1.62, of forefemur 2.37/2.30, of foretibia 1.25/1.07, of foretarsus 0.70/0.67; of midcoxa 0.37/0.25, of midfemur 6.75/6.0, of midtibia 8.75/8.75, of midtarsus with claw 0.37/0.40; of hindcoxa 0.37/0.30, hindfemur 10.0/8.5, hindtibia 13.0/11.75, hindtarsus with claw 0.42/0.42. Forewing 6.50/6.30.

Figures

FIGURES 1–6. Ploiaria mellea McAtee & Malloch, 1926. Habitus, head and thorax. 1, lateral view; 2, living female; 3, head and thorax in lateral view; 4, head in dorsal view; 5, thorax in dorsal view; 6, same in ventral view.

FIGURES 7–15. Ploiaria mellea McAtee & Malloch, 1926. Structural details. 7, anterior half of body in lateral view; 8, foreleg details in lateral view, inset first basal seta; 9, forewing; 10–12, pygophore in dorsal, ventral, and lateral views, respectively; 13, lateral view of phallus; 14, spine-like processes of endosoma; 15, parameres.