Dicyphus escalerae, LINDBERG, 1934

DICYPHUS ESCALERAE LINDBERG, 1934 View in CoL

( FIGS 5, 13 C, 23 G– I, 36)

Dicyphus escalerae Lindberg, 1934: 11 View in CoL (original description); Wagner, 1951: 29 (redescription); Carvalho, 1958: 197 (world catalogue); Schuh, 1995: 490 (world catalogue); Kerzhner & Josifov, 1999: 22 (Palaearctic catalogue).

Materials examined

France: Vaucluse : Lafare, 44.14681ºN 5.05144ºE, 169 m, 3 May 1998, Matocq, 2♂♂ ( UNSW _ ENT 00026530 View Materials ) GoogleMaps , 10 May 2006, 1♂ ( UNSW _ ENT 00026531 View Materials ) ( MNHN) .

Spain: Granada : Monachil : Sierra Nevada , 37.09305°N 3.39416°E, 2256 m, 21–24 Jul 1926, Lindberg, Holotype, 1♂ ( AMNH _ PBI 00208614 About AMNH ), 1♂ ( AMNH _ PBI 00208557 About AMNH ), 1♀ ( AMNH _ PBI 00208629 About AMNH ) ( MZH). Granada: Capileira, 36.96438ºN 3.36043ºW, 1436 m, ex. Antirrhinum hispanicum Chavannes ( Scrophulariaceae ), 31 May 2006, Sanchez, Martínez & La Spina, 4♂♂, 6♀♀ ( IMIDA _ ENT 00000445 - IMIDA _ ENT 00000454 ) ( IMIDA). Cadiz: Grazalema, 36.75972ºN 5.36556W, 812 m, ex. Antirrhinum graniticum Rothmaler ( Scrophulariaceae ), 1 June 2006, Sanchez, Martínez & La Spina, 5♂♂, 10♀♀ ( IMIDA _ ENT 00000061 - IMIDA _ ENT 00000075 ). Huesca: Canal de Berdún, 42.64194ºN 0.80194ºW, 700 m, ex. Antirrhinum sp. ( Scrophulariaceae ), 6 June 2006, Sanchez, Martínez & La Spina, 4♂♂, 1♀ ( IMIDA _ ENT 00000050 - IMIDA _ ENT 00000054 ) ( IMIDA). GoogleMaps

Portugal: Portalegre: Portalegre, 39.29194ºN 7.44083 ºW, 590 m, ex. Antirrhinum sp. ( Scrophulariaceae ), 3 June 2006, Sanchez, Martínez & La Spina, 1♂♂, 5♀♀ ( IMIDA _ ENT 00000055 - IMIDA _ ENT 00000060 ) GoogleMaps .

Diagnosis

Dicyphus escalerae is recognized by the following combination of characters: macropters and brachypters in both sexes; moderately sized species, macropterous males 3.48–4.05 mm, brachypterous males 2.5 mm, macropterous females 3.79–4.31 mm, brachypters females 2.79–3.33 mm; AI c. 1.5× longer than interocular distance in macropterous males, a little shorter in brachypters; AII c. 1.2× longer than posterior width of pronotum in macropters, c. 1.3× longer in brachypters. AII <1.7× shorter than head width. AI mostly dark brown; corium with dense distribution of brown spots and three brown to dark-brown spots, at corial fracture, middle of apical margin of endocorium and tip of cuneus; femora with large brown overlapping spots in both sexes ( Fig. 5); left paramere small and moderately thickened, with spatulate apex denticulate proximally ( Fig. 23G–I); endosoma with spinules only, no lobal sclerites present ( Fig. 13C).

Redescription

Males. Macropters and brachypters known.

Coloration ( Fig. 5): Dorsum light pale with extensive dark-brown markings, sometimes with red/orange highlighting. Head: frons+vertex with a broad, X-shaped dark-brown marking; clypeus and maxillary plate mostly dark brown to black; postocular margins of head broadly dark brown to black and shiny; gula stramineous. Antennae: AI dark brown with tip reddish, base narrowly stramineous; AII mostly dark brown with broad medial annulation. Pronotum: collar white to stramineous, translucent; calli stramineous to pale brown with dark-brown highlighting; disk stramineous to pale brown, with extensive brown markings laterally on humeral angles. Thoracic pleura and sterna: propleuron uniformly dark brown, with ventral margin whitish; mesepimeron and metepisternum stramineous, including evaporative area. Mesoscutum: broadly dark brown intermixed with extensive yellowish brown markings. Scutellum : angles broadly whitish with a broad dark brown stripe along midline. Hemelytra : translucent, mostly pale brown, with brown spotting at base of setae on clavus; clavus with faint embrownment; apex of exocorium adjacent to costal fracture with prominent dark-brown to reddish brown spot; apex of endocorium with obscure dark brown spot; cuneus mostly stramineous to pale brown with apical dark-brown to dark reddish brown spot; membrane veins mostly dark brown, sometimes with reddish highlighting. Legs: spots on femora greatly enlarged and blending. Abdomen: venter mostly stramineous, with basal sternites and lateral regions dark brown; pygophore bicoloured, dark brown and stramineous.

Structure: Head: interocular distance 1.19–1.29× longer than eye width in macropters and 1.31× in brachypters. Antennae: AI 1.52–1.77× longer than interocular distance in macropters and 1.49× in brachypters; AII 1.11–1.25× longer than posterior width of pronotum in macropters, 1.31× in brachypters. Pronotum: pronotal disk subequal 0.93–1.43× than callosite region in macropters and 0.73× in brachypters. Male genitalia: left paramere apophysis short and moderately thickened, with spatulate apex denticulate posteriorly ( Fig. 23G–I); aedeagus with three well-developed endosomal lobes, without endosomal lobal sclerites, two lobes with dense distribution of spinules ( Fig. 13C).

Females. Macropters and brachypters known. Coloration, vestiture, texture and structure mostly as in males. Female abdominal venter mostly stramineous, with basal sternites dark brown laterally. Head: interocular distance 1.19–1.39× longer than eye width in macropters and 1.20–1.41× in brachypters. Antennae: AI length 1.38–1.60× longer than interocular distance in macropterous and 1.42–1.56× in brachypterous females. AII 0.96–1.11× longer than posterior pronotal width in macropters and 1.11–1.23× in brachypters. Pronotum: disk 0.98–1.34× longer than callosite region in macropters, 0.70–0.87× in brachypters.