Calliscyta stalii
Creators: name: Gerry Cassis
name: Loren Vanags
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2006
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Scutelleridae
Calliscyta
Calliscyta stalii

description: Calliscyta stalii (VOLLENHOVEN 1863) (Figs 21d, 24a, 25, 26, 27) Revised Status
Calidea stalii VOLLENHOVEN 1863: 24 (n.sp.) Calliscyta stalii: STÅL 1873: 24 (new combination); LETHIERRY & SEVERIN 1893: 31 (catalogue); SCHOUTEDEN 1904: 25 (list, habitus); VAN DUZEE 1905: 190 (distribution); BERGROTH 1908: 296 (list); KIRKALDY 1909: 301 (list); WU 1933: 229 (China, incorrect record) CHoerocoris stalii: MCDONALD & CASSIS 1984: 561 (new combination); CASSIS & GROSS 2002: 594 (catalogue) Calliscyta australis DISTANT 1899: 40 (n.sp.); LETHIERRY & SEVERIN 1893: 31 (catalogue); SCHOUTEDEN 1904: 25 (list); BERGROTH 1908: 296 (list); KIRKALDY 1909: 301 (list); MCDONALD 1963a: 26 (male genitalia); MCDONALD & CASSIS 1984: 561 (synonymy); CASSIS & GROSS 2002: 594 (catalogue; synonymy)
Diagnosis: Calliscyta stalii is recognised by the following combination of characters: dorsum mostly red-fuscous, with orange markings on pronotum and scutellum (Fig. 24a); AIV longest segment; labium reaching midpoint of metacoxae; anterolateral margins of pronotum elongate; ventral surface of legs with thick orange setae; abdominal venter mostly red with sublateral fuscous spots (Fig. 21d); and, genitalia as in generic diagnosis (Figs 26 a-d).
Description: Body moderately large, males 13-14.7 mm, females 13.6-14.7 mm; dorsum strongly convex.
Colouration. Dorsum mostly red-fuscous and green iridescence, with orange markings on pronotum and scutellum (Fig. 24a). Head: mostly fuscous, sometimes with green iridescence, jugae orange-red. Antennae: uniformly fuscous. Labium: fuscous. Pronotum: mostly red-fuscous, callosite region and pronotal midline most often with yellow-red to orange-red marking. Scutellum: mostly red-fuscous, anterolateral regions with yellow-red to orange-red markings. Thoracic Pleura: mostly yellow to orange with fuscous punctations. Legs: uniformly fuscous, often with green iridescence. Pregenital Abdomen: mostly red, with fuscous patches bounding spiracular + trichobothria region (Fig. 21d).
Texture. Dorsum densely punctate, with moderately deep punctures; callosite region of pronotum partly impunctate; underside of head and thoracic pleura densely punctate; abdominal venter weakly rugopunctate.
Vestiture. Dorsum glabrous; ventral surfaces of legs setose, with thick yellow setae; abdominal venter with a few scattered setae.
Structure. Antennae: relatively short; AIV longest segment, little longer than AIII; AII(a) shortest segment; AI & AII(b) subequal in length; AIII and AIV weakly flattened. Labium: flattened, reaching midpoint of metacoxae; LII longest segment; LI shortest segment; LIII-LIV subequal in length. Pronotum: anterolateral margins greatly elongate, more than 2x length of posterolateral margins. Pregenital Abdomen: connexival margins entire, without posterolateral spines or nodules (Fig. 21d). Genitalia: as in generic description.
Measurements. MCDONALD & CASSIS 1984: Table 5 (as CHoerocoris stalii)
Other material examined: Queensland: 2♂♂ 2♀♀, South Percy Island, NW Bay, 23-29 November 1992, GB Monteith, G Thompson, D Cook & H Janetzki (QM).
Distribution: Calliscyta stalii is known from North Queensland (Fig. 27).
Host records and biology: Monteith (pers. comm.) found large numbers of Callis-cyta stalii in the leaf axils of a species of the monocot genus Pandanus (Pandancaceae). It is uncertain whether this is a food plant or a diapause site.
Remarks: VOLLENHOVEN (1863) originally described Calliscyta stalii from an un-specified locality in Timor. DISTANT (1899) subsequently described an additional species, C. australis, from Queensland. MCDONALD & CASSIS (1984) synonymized the latter on the basis of similarities of the male genitalia.
Calliscyta stalii is not common in collections and often has a greasy appearance. It is much larger than species of CHoerocoris, and more elongate-ovoid, than ovoid. Re-examination of the type material of C. stalii and C. australis confirm the synonymy given by MCDONALD & CASSIS (1984). This species shows less variation in size and colouration than in most other scutellerine species. There is some intraspecific variation in the colour patterning of the pronotum and scutellum, particularly in the extent of the lighter markings.
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 348-350, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.12996779