Voconia decorata Castillo & Rédei & Weirauch 2022, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Castillo, Stephanie
name: Rédei, Dávid
name: Weirauch, Christiane
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Reduviidae
Voconia
Voconia decorata

description: Voconia decorata sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 93BE46E2-210B-45C7-8FD6-2C38EC62B2D9
Figs 1–2, 3B, 4J, 7, 9, 20
Diagnosis
Distinguished from most other species of Voconia by the yellow ring around the postocular region, membranal veins forming Cu-An 1 and M-Cu cells paler than remainder of membrane, and proepimeron with protuberance on posteroventral margin. This species is most similar to two other Oriental species, V. coronata sp. nov. and V. lirophleps sp. nov. It is distinguishable from these species by its distribution in the Malaysian state of Sabah in Borneo, the light brown coloration of the body, the labium being lighter than the head, and the dark scutellum with a contrasting yellow apical spine.
Etymology
The specific epithet is the Latin adjective ‘ decoratus, - a, - um ’, meaning ‘decorated, elegant’, referring to its light brown coloration and yellow markings on the hemelytron and dorsal laterotergites that gives it a flashier and more elegant look.
Type material
Holotype MALAYSIA [“NORTH BORNEO”] • ♀; Sabah, Tawau, Quoin Hill, Cocoa Res. Stn, [4.42° N, 118.02° E]; elev. 225 m; 16 Sep. 1962; K.J. Kuncheria leg.; USI: UCR_ENT 00073809; BPBM.
Description
Male (Figs 7, 9)
BODY LENGTH. About 10.0 mm; macropterous.
COLORATION. Head (Fig. 3B): light brown, yellowish; postocular region with dark patches adjacent to medial ocellar margin, semicircular pale stripe encircling both ocelli; labium lighter than head. Thorax: coloration as head; posterior margin of posterior pronotal lobe lighter; scutellum dark with contrasting yellow apical spine. Hemelytron (abducted): clavus reddish-brown with distal yellow stripe; corium reddish-brown with anteroproximal yellow stripe, posteromedial and distal yellow spots; membrane light brown with pale V-shaped marking along R and M veins; membranal veins forming Cu-An 1 and M-Cu cells paler than remainder of membrane. Legs: yellowish-brown, distal half of femora darker. Abdomen: yellowish-brown, dorsal laterotergites with yellow spots anteriorly.
INTEGUMENT AND VESTITURE. Head (Fig. 3B) and pronotum: finely granulose with sparse, short macrosetae interspersed among sparse pubescence; antennifer with short lateral setigerous tubercle; morphologically ventral surface of labium with dense, short macrosetae. Thorax: anterolateral angles of pronotal collar with macrosetae. Hemelytron: corium with sparse, long setation. Legs (Fig. 4J): posterior row of protuberances on mid and hind femora with three large spines on distal half and one small spine. Abdomen: ventral surface pubescent.
STRUCTURE. Head (Fig. 3B): elongate, 1.3 times as long as wide; anteocular region about one third of head length, shorter than postocular region (measured to anterior margin of neck); postocular region in dorsal view shorter than eye, lateral margins gently rounded; pedicel about 1.3 times length of head width; maxillary plates ellipsoidal, adjacent to and as long as clypeus; apices of maxillary plates in dorsal view directed straight; clypeus in dorsal view about as wide as maxillary plates; clypeal apex round, not narrowed; interocular glabrous markings anterolaterally curved, joined at interocular sulcus paramedially; interocular sulcus in dorsal view bent anteromedially, subtriangular; eye width in dorsal view narrower than synthlipsis; eye reaching ventral head margin in lateral view; ventrolateral swelling of buccula with lateral protrusion that surpasses buccular margin; labial segment I in lateral view straight, surpassing posteroventral eye margin; morphologically dorsal surface of labial segment II nearly straight, about 0.5 times length of segment I. Thorax: pronotal collar in dorsal view wide medially with anterolateral angles short, projected forward; anterior pronotal lobe about 0.7 times length of posterior pronotal lobe, lateral margins almost straight; glabrous markings on pronotum deeply depressed; median apodeme depression of pronotum shallow, elongated longitudinally; scutellar spine long, subhorizontal; anteriad-directed process of prosternum smoothly rounded, without paramedial lobes; anterior margin of stridulitrum not elongated into protuberance; proepimeron with acute protuberance on posteroventral margin. Legs: fossula spongiosa present on fore and mid legs.
Female
Unknown.
Distribution (Fig. 20)
This species is only known from the type locality of Quoin Hill in the Malaysian state of Sabah on the island of Borneo.
Remarks
The phylogenetic placement of V. decorata sp. nov. is uncertain (Figs 1–2).
description: Published as part of Castillo, Stephanie, Rédei, Dávid & Weirauch, Christiane, 2022, Pseudocetherinae (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) revisited: phylogeny and taxonomy of the lobe-headed bugs, pp. 1-95 in European Journal of Taxonomy 788 (1) on pages 46-47, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2022.788.1625, http://zenodo.org/record/5846636