Calliphara dimidiata subsp. cruenta STAL 1873
Creators: name: Gerry Cassis
name: Loren Vanags
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2006
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Scutelleridae
Calliphara
Calliphara dimidiata
Calliphara dimidiata cruenta

description: Calliphara dimidiata cruenta STÅL 1873 (Figs 19a, 21a, 23)
Calliphara cruenta STÅL 1873: 17 (n.sp.); LETHIERRY & SEVERIN 1893: 23 (catalogue); SCHOUTEDEN 1904: 32 (list); KIRKALDY 1909: 297 (catalogue); MCDONALD 1963a: 28 (male genitalia) Calliphara dimidiata cruenta: LYAL 1979: 170 (as subspecies); MCDONALD & CASSIS 1984: 563, Fig. 75 (description; spermatheca) Calliphara dimidiata cruentata: CASSIS & GROSS 2002: 589 (incorrect subsequent spelling; catalogue)
Diagnosis: Calliphara dimidiata cruenta is recognised by the following characters: head, pronotal callosite region and posterior 1/2 of scutellum iridescent green; remainder of pronotum and scutellum orange (Fig. 19a); posterior angles of abdominal SIV-VII spinose (Fig. 21a); sternites of pregenital abdomen orange (Fig. 21a); terminalia iridescent green (Fig. 21a); legs uniformly iridescent dark blue; labium reaching posterior margin of abdominal SIII; CAI claw-shaped; CAII(M) with bulb-shaped apical process; CAIII bifid; and, vesica short.
Description: Body elongate-ovoid; large, males 13-16 mm, females 14-17 mm.
Colouration. Body bicoloured (Fig. 19a), head, anterior and lateral margins of pronotum, posterior 1/2 of scutellum, thoracic pleura and sterna, and abdominal terminalia bluish-fuscous, often with purplish hue and green iridescence, posterior 1/2 of pronotum, anterior 1/2 of scutellum, and pregenital abdominal venter orange (Fig. 21a); antennae, labium and legs uniformly fuscous.
Texture. Body mostly smooth, with scattered shallow punctures on dorsum.
Vestiture. Dorsum glabrous; abdominal venter with sparse distribution of pale, simple setae.
Structure. Eyes: small, about 1/3 length of head; Antennae: AII(a) little longer than AI. Labium: reaching abdominal sterna IV. Pregenital Abdomen: posterior angles of abdominal SVI-VII with acuminate spines (Fig. 21a). Male Genitalia: ventral margin of male pygophore deeply emarginate; genital opening of pygophore with dorsal and ventral patches of setae; ejaculatory apparatus small; ventral conducting canal, with two pairs of convolutions; ductus seminis distalis dorsally tumescent, proximal to apex of vesica, without an apical process; ejaculatory reservoir absent; CAI elongate, claw-shaped, with basally broad, plate-like, with apex narrow, strongly arcuate inwardly; CAII prominent, bifurcate, CAII(M) basally membraneous, with apex outwardly arcuate, heavily sclerotized, with subdistal sclerotised spine, and moderately sclerotised apical bulb-shaped process, CAII(L) thorn-like in lateral view, basally membraneous, distally moderately sclerotised, tapered distally; CAIII(D) broad sickle-shaped, with tapered apex, sclerotized; CAIII(V) absent; vesica short. Female Terminalia: paratergites VIII large, subtriangular, medially separated; paratergites IX smaller, subelliptoid; gonocoxae I large, subtriangular, flap-like.
Measurements. MCDONALD & CASSIS 1984: Table 6.
Material examined: Queensland: 1♂ 1♀, Leo C[ree]k track, approx. 300 m, McIlwraith Range, 11 January 1990, MS & BJ Moulds (AM); 2♂♂ 2♀♀, Kelsal Collection (BMNH); 1♀, Cape York, Dämel, Australia Coll. 92-6 (BMNH); Torres Strait Islands: 3♀♀, 77-29 (BMNH); 2♀♀, Murray Is., 78-66 (BMNH).
Distribution: CASSIS & GROSS (2002) reported the known records of this species, from northern Queensland, the Torres Strait Island and Papua New Guinea (Fig. 23).
Host plant and biology: No host plant has been recorded for this species.
Remarks: LYAL (1979) established Calliphara dimidiata in its own species-group, and also erected C. cruenta as a subspecies of C. dimidiata. He also delineated three subspecies on external colour characteristics, with the abdominal sterna orange to red basally in the New Guinea subspecies (nominotypical subspecies and C. dimidiata fasciata) compared to C. dimidiata cruenta, with darker sternites. In the Australian subspecies, the CAIII(V) is absent and the CAII(M) has only one subdistal spine. The subspecific status of these taxa was not evaluated in this work, although it is noteworthy that the bulb-like process of CAIII(M) is unique to all the subspecies of C. dimidiata. MCDONALD & CASSIS (1984) redescribed the species, including the first description of the female genitalia.
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 339-340, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.12996779