Leucodellus Reuter 1906
Creators: name: Li, Xiao-Ming
name: Liu, Guo-Qing
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2007
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Miridae
Leucodellus

description: Leucodellus Reuter, 1906
Type species: Leucodellus albidus Reuter, 1906 Leucodellus Reuter, 1906: 68.
Heterochlorillus Putshkov, 1970: 752. n. syn.
Diagnosis: Recognized by the relatively large size, predominantly pale coloration, body surface moderately shining, and vestiture with pale or dark reclining simple setae. Head subvertical, not overlapping anterior margin of pronotum; antenna almost entirely yellow, segment II longer than width of head across eyes and also longer than basal width of pronotum in males; claws small, parempodia setiform; vesica sigmoid, usually with small serrations or spicules on dorsal surface near secondary gonopore, two spines at apex of vesica, anterior spine rather long and sharply attenuated apically, posterior spine relatively short, secondary gonopore situated far ventral from apex of vesica. Female more ovoid than male and interocular distance wider.
Most easily confused with pale species of Plagiognathus Fieber, 1858 and Chlorillus Kerzhner, 1962. In Plagiognathus, the head usually projects more strongly anteriorly and the vesica never has serrations or spicules on the dorsal surface. Distinguished from Chlorillus spp. by the coloration of the antenna and the structure of the male genitalia. The appearance also similar to that of Europiella Reuter, 1909, but the right paramere is lanceolate, never truncate apically as in Europiella.
Redescription: Male: Macropterous, relatively large, elongate oval.
Coloration: General coloration almost pale, including ventral body surface; vestiture with pale simple setae; antenna almost entirely yellow or pale, segment I often with small dark spot on medial surface; labium pale or yellow, usually darkened apically; femora with dark spots, but sometimes fore and middle femora without dark spots; tibial spine dark or pale; tarsal segment III and claws weakly darkened. Structure: Dorsum impunctate, moderately shining, covered with recumbent, shining, simple setae; head subvertical; frons and vertex broad and weakly convex in dorsal view, posterior margin of vertex straight; eyes large, occupying most of height of head; antennae relatively long, segment II longer than width of head across eyes; labium just reaching to or slightly exceeding posterior margin of hind trochanters; claws slender, weakly curving, parempodia setiform; hemelytra weakly deflexed at fracture; pygophore very large relative to total size of abdomen, conical. Male genitalia (Figs. 10–21): Vesica more or less sigmoid, with two spines at apex, anterior spine longer, strongly bent, sharply attenuated apically; posterior spine short, tapering, spine-shaped or apically curved; secondary gonopore ovoid, far from apex of vesica; vesica with small serrations or spicules on dorsolateral surface near secondary gonopore; phallotheca curving, attenuated apically; left paramere boatshaped (typically phyline); right paramere lanceolate.
Female: Macropterous, body more ovoid than that of male, interocular distance greater. Female genitalia (Figs. 22–24): Bursa copulatrix relatively large, posterior margin slightly invaginated, two sclerotized rings rather large, almost triangular, and widely separated, the anterior portions of rings acuminate, posterior portions broader, posterior wall with distinct sclerotization.
Remarks: Two Chinese species, L. albidus and L. pallescens, were collected on Artemisia spp. with thick white tomentose pubescence. Detection of these species while on their host plant is difficult because of their pale coloration.
Putshkov (1970) erected the monotypic genus Heterochlorillus to accommodate H. zagdani, from the Stavropol Prov. of Russia. Subsequently two species, H. amygdali (Linnavouri, 1965) [Plagiognathus] (Kerzhner, 1997) and H. nathaliae Josifov, 1974, were placed in the genus. According to the coloration, body proportions, and structure of genitalia, we consider Heterochlorillus Putshkov, 1970 as a junior synonym of Leucodellus Reuter, 1906. The species currently placed in Heterochlorillus should belong to Leucodellus. They are dealt with at the end of this paper.
description: Published as part of Li, Xiao-Ming & Liu, Guo-Qing, 2007, The genus Leucodellus Reuter, 1906 in China (Hemiptera: Miridae: Phylinae), pp. 33-40 in Zootaxa 1478 on page 34, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.176797