Apolygus nigrovirens (Kerzhner, 1988)

Apolygus nigrovirens (Kerzhner, 1988) View in CoL

Material examined. Japan. Hokkaido: 2 ♂, 1 ♀, Okkoppe coast, 17.vii.2001, leg. T. Yasunaga ( SNU) .

Distribution. Japan (Hokkaido) ( Yasunaga 1992a), Russia (Far East: Khabarovsk and Primorsky Krai, Sakhalin, Kuril Islands) ( Kerzhner 1988b).

Comments. This species was first reported from Korea by Miyamoto & Lee (1966) from 7 localities in Gyeongsang provinces and Jeju Island, under the name Lygus (Apolygus) nigronasutus (nec Stål, 1858), and subsequently reported from various subregions in South Korea ( Lee & Kwon 1991, Kwon et al. 2001). However, the species concept of A. nigronasutus (nec Stål) in Korea largely followed the broad sense comprising various Apolygus species with pale green coloration before the clarification of Miyamoto (1987) and Kerzhner (1988b).

Since Apolygus species with pale green coloration are often hard to distinguish morphologically, the host plant association can be useful on species identification ( Yasunaga & Yasunaga 2000). In Korea, A. nigrovirens was reported as an agricultural pest of potato ( Korea Society of Plant Protection 1986, Kwon et al. 2001). However, A. nigrovirens is known as a specialist of Thermopsis lanceolata R.Br. ( T. lupinoides (L.) Link in Kerzhner 1988b, Yasunaga 2023, see POWO 2025) ( Fabaceae ) in the Russian Far East and Hokkaido, which grows on the sandy coastal areas ( Kerzhner 1988b, Yasunaga 1992a, 2001, 2023). Seong (2008), in his unpublished thesis, suggested that some Korean records of A. nigrovirens are doubtful, given the rarity of the host plant in Korea. He also noted that reference specimens of A. nigrovirens deposited in National Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology (NIAST) identified by Y.J. Kwon is a mix of A. lucorum (Meyer-Dür, 1843) , A. spinolae (Meyer-Dür, 1841) , and A. watajii Yasunaga & Yasunaga, 2000 . The absence of A. nigrovirens specimens collected from T. lanceolata from Korea, and subsequent misidentifications pertaining to morphologically similar species, supports the idea that this species should be excluded from the Korean fauna ( Kerzhner & Josifov 1999, Kim & Jung 2019).