Pirnonota convexicollis Stål, 1859

Forero, Dimitri & Mejía-Soto, Andrés, 2025, Filling in the gaps for assassin bugs: taxonomic notes and new records of Reduviidae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) from Neotropical countries, Zootaxa 5584 (4), pp. 451-481 : 465

Pirnonota convexicollis Stål, 1859

Fig. 9A

Distribution: This species was described from Brazil with subsequent records from Panama ( Champion 1899; Maldonado 1990; Stål 1859) and Colombia ( Forero 2006). It represents a new species record from Honduras, Costa Rica, Bolivia, and Peru. The examined material notably extends the previously known distribution for this species, both in Central and South America.

Remarks: Champion (1899) documented the color variation of this species on the pronotum and hemelytra. This polychromatism is apparently not sexually related, as males and females both vary their color, and it is similar to what happens in many other Harpactorini species. The biological significance of this color polymorphism is unknown. Polychromatism is also present in other predatory Heteroptera such as Asopinae ( Pentatomidae ) ( Brugnera et al. 2019), which in some cases might be aposematic due to their prey being toxic ( Doesburg 1970; Paleari 2013). Unraveling the natural history of P. convexicollis , in particular on its prey preferences, might shed light on this phenomenon.

Examined material: HONDURAS. 1 adult, sex unknown (abdomen shriveled), La Ceiba , 17.ix.1916 / F. J. Dyer col. / Pirnonota convexicollis Stål Barber det. ( USNM) . COSTA RICA. 1 ♀, Turrialba , 15.vii.1965, P. J. Spangler / Pirnonota convexicollis St Mald. (USNM) ; 1 ♀, Cartago, Grano de Oro, Chirripo, Turrialba , 9.81836°N 83.45916°W, 1120 m, 19.vi.1993, P. Campos / UCR_ENT00014364 ( MNCR ex INBIO) ; 1 ♀, Limon, Pococi, Colorado, Sector Cerro Cocori , 30 km N Cariari, 10.59281°N 83.71456°W, 100 m, 1.xi.1994, F. Rojas / UCR_ ENT00014365 ( MNCR ex INBIO) . PANAMA. 1 adult, sex unknown (abdomen shriveled), H Rio Indio, Pittier ( USNM) ; 1 ♀, El Cermeno, i–iv.1941 Ztek 4775 / fruit fly trap / lot N. 41-7233 / Pirnonota convexicollis det. Elkins ( USNM) ; 1 ♀, Cristobal Canal Zone , 5.vi.1918, M. F. Dietx coll. / Pirnonota convexicollis det. Elkins ( USNM) . COLOMBIA. Valle del Cauca: 1 ♂, Rio Jamundí , 10 mi. S. Cali, 3000 feet, 19.vii.1970, H. & A. Howden / UCR_ ENT20588 [dissected] ( CNC) ; Risaralda: 1 ♂, Pueblo Rico, Montezuma Ecolodge, 5.9 km WbN of Pueblo Rico 05.23016°N 76.08364°W, 1336 m, golpeteo de vegetación [= foliage beating], 2–7.ix.2018, D. Forero / MPUJ_ ENT0067388 ( MPUJ _ENT) . BOLIVIA. 1 ♀, Yungas, Yana [ca]chi, M. Cardenas / Pirnonota convexicollis det. Elkins ( USNM) . PERU. Madre de Dios: 1 ♂ (?) (abdomen shriveled), Rio Tambopata Res [erve], 30 km (air) SW Pto. Maldonado, 290 m 12°50ˊS 69°17ˊW / Smithsonian Institution Canopy fogging project T.L. Erwin et al colls. 14.ix.1984 01-03 ( USNM) .

Figures

FIGURE 9. Habitus images of Harpactorini species. A. Pirnonota convexicollis, male dorsal view; B. Pselliopus punctipes, male dorsal view; C, D. Repipta lepidula; C. male dorsal view; D. lateral view.