Heissiphara minuta Gerry Cassis & Loren Vanags 2006, nov.sp.
Creators: name: Gerry Cassis
name: Loren Vanags
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2006
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Scutelleridae
Heissiphara
Heissiphara minuta

description: Heissiphara minuta nov.sp. (Figs 24b, 27, 37, 38)
Holotype: ♀, Western Australia: Coastal Highway, 57 km N of Kalbarri Road, -27.26.853S, 114.41.204E, altitude 500m, G. Cassis and R.T. Schuh ex StenantHemum complicatum (AM); Paratype: ♀, same data as holotype (AM).
Diagnosis: This species is recognised by the following combination of characters: small size, <3.5 mm; body strongly convex (Fig. 24d); body uniformly distributed with setigerous punctures (Fig. 24d); AII(b) shortest antennal segment; pronotum and scutellum with medial red markings (Fig. 24d); and, female terminalia and spermatheca as in generic description.
Description: Colouration. Head: mostly yellow; posterior margin of vertex with triangular fuscous markings; clypeus mostly yellow with brown apex and fuscous midline; eyes reddish brown; ocelli yellow. Antennae: AI-AII(a&b) yellow, AIII and AIV dark brown. Labium: LI and II yellow, LIII and LIV brown. Pronotum mostly light yellow-brown to medium brown, with darker punctations; callosite region anteriorly with yellow fascia and calli yellow; disc with medial rectangular red mark and two adjacent submedial fuscous spots. Scutellum: ground colour mostly concolorous with pronotum, anterior margin with central red marking and two yellow submedial calli; anterolateral areas with dark brown foveae; posterolaterally with dense patches of dark punctations forming obscure semi-circular marking. Thoracic pleura and abdominal venter uniformly yellow with brown punctations. Legs uniformly yellow-brown with darker brown punctations.
Vestiture. Body glabrous. Antennae: AI-AII(a&b) with sparse distribution of short setae; AIII-AIV with denser distribution of setae.
Texture. Body densely punctate, with setiferous punctures.
Structure. Head: interocellar space twice distance between ocelli and eye. Antennae: AII(a) and AII(b) short, subequal in length; AIV longest segment. Labium: reaching metasternum; LI and LII cylindrical; LIII and IV flattened. Abdominal segment III with a medial groove to accommodate rostrum; apical margins of segments III to VI tumescent. Female genitalia: see generic description.
Male unknown.
Measurements. Holotype: BL: 3.35, PW: 2.39, IOD: 1.12, AI: 0.26, AII(a): 0.16, AII(b): 0.18, AIII: 0.30, AIV: 0.40, LI: 0.49, LII:0.63, LIII: 0.39, (LIV not observable).
Etymology: This species is named for its small size.
Distribution: HeissipHara minuta nov.sp. is known from the type locality only, north of Kalbarri National Park, on the centralwest coast of Western Australia (Fig. 27).
Host plants and biology: This species was collected from StenantHemum complica-tum (Rhamnaceae).
Remarks: HeissipHara minuta nov.sp. is one of the smallest species of scutellerid known to us, rivalling odontotarsine species like Odontoscelis signatus FIEBER, O. tomentosa (GERMAR) and Psacasta letHierryi PUTON. Unlike most other scutellerines, H minuta nov.sp. is relatively dull in colouration; mostly pale brown, with yellow markings. It is known only from females.
description: Published as part of Gerry Cassis & Loren Vanags, 2006, Jewel Bugs of Australia (Insecta, Heteroptera, Scutelleridae), pp. 275-398 in Denisia 19 on pages 368-369, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.12996779