Baeochila horvathi Souma 2020, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Souma, Jun
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Tingidae
Baeochila
Baeochila horvathi

description: Baeochila horvathi sp. nov.
(Figs. 1 A–J, 2A, 6A, B)
Type series. HOLOTYPE (macropterous ♂), JAPAN: Honshu: Kanagawa-ken, Atsugi-shi, Funako, Tokyo University of Agriculture, 35°25’58.3”N 139°20’48.6”E, 26.i.2019, leg. J. Souma (TUA). PARATYPES (macropterous 21 ♂♂ 13 ♀♀ 1 abdomen missing), JAPAN: Honshu: as holotype (1 ♀, TUA); as holotype but 16.i.2019 (1 ♀, TUA); as holotype but 11.iii.2019 (1 ♂, TUA); as holotype but 28.iv.2019 (1 ♂ 2 ♀♀, TUA); as holotype but 12.vi.2019 (2 ♂♂ 1 ♀, TUA); as holotype but 13.vi.2019 (1 ♂ 1 ♀, TUA); as holotype but 21.vi.2019 (1 ♂, TUA); as holo- type but 30.viii.2019 (1 ♀, TUA); as holotype but 7.xi.2019 (1 ♀, TUA); Kanagawa-ken, Sagamihara-shi, Mina- mi-ku, Asamizodai, 35°32’02.5”N 139°24’43.3”E, 19.i.2019, leg. J. Souma (1 ♂, TUA); as above but 30.i.2019 (4 ♂♂, TUA); as above but 23.x.2019 (1 ♂ 1 ♀, HNHM); Kanagawa-ken, Odawara-shi, Kamisoga, 20.iii.2019, 35°19’12.9”N 139°11’20.8”E, leg. J. Souma (1 ♂, TUA); Nara, Yamato, 2.v.1952, leg. E. Nakanishi (1 ♂, ELKU). Shikoku: Kagawa-ken, Sanuki-shi, Kamosho, Shirakata, 34°20’31.0”N 134°11’28.8”E, 3.i.2019, leg. Y. Obae (2 ♂♂ 1 ♀, TUA); as above but 4.i.2019 (2 ♂♂ 3 ♀♀, TUA). Kyushu: Fukuoka, Hirao, 23.vii.1950, leg. Y. Hirashima (1 abdomen missing, ELKU); Miyazaki-ken, Koyu-gun, Kawaminami-cho, Yugakuno-mori, 5.v.2013, leg. T. Miyake (1 ♂, TUA); as above but 17.vii.2014 (2 ♂♂, TUA). Two specimens deposited in ELKU were labeled with an inscription of “ Baeochila horvathi Takeya, 1962 ” (manuscript name).
Diagnosis. Recognized among other species of Baeochila by a combination of the following characters: rostrum reaching posterior margin of metasternum (Fig. 1F); hood semi-globose, higher than pronotal disk at highest part (Figs. 1A, B); lateral carinae of pronotum nearly parallel to each other in anterior part, not concealed by paranota throughout their length; costal area of hemelytron distinct, with a single row of areolae throughout its length; subcostal area with 2 rows of areolae throughout its length (Fig. 1H).
Description. Macropterous, male. Head, hood and paranotum black; compound eyes dark red; pronotal disk, calli and posterior process of pronotum grayish brown; pronotal carinae and hemelytra brown; abdomen dark brown; cephalic spines, antennae, rostrum, sternal laminae and legs light brown; pubescence on body yellowish (Figs. 1A, B).
Body covered with minute pubescence, 3.6 times as long as maximum width across hemelytra (Fig. 1A). Head (Fig. 1E) stout; a pair of frontal spines touching each other at apices, reaching beyond tip of tylus; median spine shortest among cephalic spines, slightly curved downward, extending beyond bases of frontal spines; a pair of occipital spines slightly curved inward, resting on vertex throughout their length, reaching anterior margin of compound eyes; antenniferous tubercles obtuse, slightly curved inward; juga smooth on surface. Compound eyes prominent laterally, round in dorsal view. Antennae (Fig. 1A) smooth on surface; segment I approximately 1.3 times as long as its width; segment II cone-shaped, 1.3 times as long as its maximum width; segment III longest among antennal segments, 2.3 times as long as maximum width of head across compound eyes; segment IV fusiform, widest a little beyond middle, irregularly covered with long pubescence; ratios of lengths from segments I–IV as 1.5: 1.0: 9.4: 3.0. Bucculae long, approximately 3.6 times as long as their maximum height, with 3 rows of areolae at widest part. Rostrum (Fig. 1F) approximately 0.9 times as long as antennae, reaching posterior margin of metasternum.
Pronotum (Figs. 1A, B, G) 1.9 times as long as maximum width across paranota. Pronotal disk coarsely punctate. Hood semi-globose, higher than pronotal disk at highest part; anterior margin roundly protruded forward, only concealing basal part of vertex. Pronotal carinae with a single row of minute areolae throughout their length; median carina straight, extending to apex of posterior process, lower than hood at maximum height; lateral carinae nearly parallel to each other throughout their length, not concealed by paranota throughout their length, as high as median carina. Calli coarsely punctate. Paranotum widened posteriorly, with 4 rows of areolae at widest part, approximately 3.1 times as long as its maximum width, incompletely covering pronotal disk in anterior part, not touching lateral carinae; outer margin gently curved outward throughout its length. Posterior process triangular, as wide as its length.
Hemelytron (Figs. 1A, B, H) narrow, 3.1 times as long as its maximum width, considerably extending beyond apex of abdomen; maximum width across hemelytra 1.2 times as much as maximum width across paranota; costal area distinct, slightly narrower than subcostal area at widest part, slightly reflexed upward in basal part, with a single row of areolae throughout its length; subcostal area 0.3 times as wide as discoidal area at middle of hemelytron, with 2 rows of areolae throughout its length; discoidal area distinctly expanding beyond middle of hemelytron, with 6 rows of areolae at widest part; sutural area well-developed, with 8 rows of areolae at widest part; hypocostal lamina as high as width of costal area at middle of hemelytron.
Thoracic pleura coarsely and evenly punctate (Fig. 1B). Sternal laminae (Fig. 1F) nearly parallel to each other, apparently lower than bucculae, open in both anterior and posterior ends; mesosternal laminae as high as metasternal laminae. Legs smooth on surface; femora thickest at middle (Fig. 1A).
Abdomen ellipsoidal, 1.8 times as long as its maximum width. Pygophore (Figs. 1I, 6B) compressed dorsoventrally, hexagonal in ventral view, strongly concave at anterior margin of dorsum, triangularly elevated at center of venter, smooth on surface, irregularly punctate in middle part of dorsum. Parameres (Figs. 6A, B) thick and long, strongly expanded in middle part, strongly curved inward in apical part; outer and inner margins covered with pubescence in middle part; suspensory arms of parameres completely visible in dorsal view.
Measurements (holotype). Body length with hemelytra 3.3 mm; maximum width across hemelytra 0.9 mm; pronotal width across paranota 0.8 mm.
Macropterous female. General appearance very similar to that of male (Figs. 1C, D) except for the following characters: abdomen with ovipositor at apical part (Fig. 1J); apical margin of abdomen round, weakly concave at apex.
Variations in both sexes (holotype and 35 paratypes). Body length from 2.8 to 3.5 mm; maximum width across hemelytra from 0.8 to 1.0 mm; pronotal width across paranota from 0.7 to 0.8 mm.
Brachypterous morph unknown in both sexes.
Remarks. Baeochila species were diagnosed by previous authors based on the differences of the morphological characters such as body length, shape of the pronotum, and areolae of the hemelytron (Distant 1903a; Drake 1948; Drake & Maa 1954; Cho et al. 2018). These characters are also available and useful in the identification of the new species. In addition, the length of the rostrum was also considered a good character to use for the identification of the new species.
Among other congeners of Baeochila, this new species is related to B. scitula in the key provided by Cho et al. (2018), and both species are very similar to each other in their morphological characters. However, based on a comparison between the type material of the new species and the photographs of the holotype (National Museum of Natural Science Taiwan 2019; United States National Museum of Natural History 2019) together with the original description (Drake 1948 a) of B. scitula, two main characters were recognized to easily differentiate B. horvathi sp. nov. from B. scitula: rostrum reaching posterior margin of metasternum (Fig. 1F); subcostal area of hemelytron with 2 rows of areolae throughout its length (Fig. 1H). On the other hand, B. scitula has the following features: rostrum reaching middle part of metasternum; subcostal area of hemelytron with a single row of areolae throughout its length.
Distribution. Japan (Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu) (Figs. 7A, B).
This new species inhabits suburbanized areas of Japan proper with a warm-temperate climate, and it is the first representative of Baeochila from Japan. Because all the remaining four described congeners are not distributed east of the Korean Peninsula (cf. Drake & Ruhoff 1965a; Jing 1981; Péricart 1985; Guilbert 2007, 2015; Cho et al. 2018; Guilbert & Guidoti 2018; Guilbert et al. 2018), the discovery of B. horvathi sp. nov. represents the easternmost distributional record of Baeochila species.
Etymology. This new species is named in honor of Géza Horváth, a late Hungarian heteropterist, who described a number of Japanese heteropterans (e.g. Horváth 1912).
Host plant. Japanese ivy, Hedera rhombea (Miq.) Bean (Araliaceae) (Fig. 2B) was confirmed as a host plant for the new species by Yuito Obae and the author independently. Host plants of other Baeochila species are unrecorded to date (Drake & Ruhoff 1965a). Therefore, this araliaceous plant is the first documented host plant for Baeochila species.
Biology. Although many tingids generally feed on the underside of leaves of host plants (Schuh & Slater 1995), most of the type materials of the new species were collected from vines of the host plant Hedera rhombea from January to November. It appears that this new species feeds on the vines of this host plant.
The overwintering form of Baeochila species is poorly known, but overwintering adults of B. scitula were found on the bark of Zelkova serrata (Thunb.) Makino (Ulmaceae) in the Korean Peninsula in March (Cho et al. 2018). Similarly, this new species apparently overwinters as an adult, because some of the type specimens were found on the bark of Trachycarpus fortunei (Hook.) H.Wendl. (Arecaceae) (Fig. 2C) in Japan proper in October and January. Thus, the overwintering form of the Baeochila species appears to be adults, at least in the temperate zone, in accordance with many other tingids (Schuh & Slater 1995). Furthermore, adults of tingids sometimes overwinter under bark and moss other than host plants (cf. Maehara 2010, 2014), suggesting that T. fortunei and Z. serrata seem to be overwintering-trees for B. horvathi sp. nov. and B. scitula, respectively.
description: Published as part of Souma, Jun, 2020, Discoveries of the genera Baeochila and Idiocysta from Japan, with descriptions of two new species (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Tingidae), pp. 388-402 in Zootaxa 4731 (3) on pages 390-392, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4731.3.7, http://zenodo.org/record/3653638