Metochus abbreviatus Scott 1874
Creators: name: Kondorosy, Előd
name: Ishikawa, Tadashi
name: Rédei, Dávid
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Rhyparochromidae
Metochus
Metochus abbreviatus

description: Metochus abbreviatus Scott, 1874
Rhyparochromus erosus Walker, 1872: 113. Holotype: ♀, unknown locality; BMNH.
Metochus abbreviatus Scott, 1874a: 290, 1874b: 434. Lectotype (Scudder 1967: 255): ♂, Japan; BMNH. New subjective synonym.
Dieuches kreyenbergi Breddin, 1906: 328. Lectotype (Gaedike 1971: 117): China: Pinghsiang [Guangxi: Pingxiang]; SDEI. Synonymized by Zheng & Zou (1981: 202) (suspected). Confirmed subjective synonym.
Metochus holsti Distant, 1918: 265. Lectotype (Scudder 1967: 268): ♂, Japan: Tsushima I.; BMNH. New subjective synonym.
Pamera nietneri (non Dohrn, 1860): Matsumura (1913: 147) and other authors. Misidentification (Tomokuni & Ishikawa 2002: 175).
Rhyparochromus erosus: Lethierry & Severin (1894: 233) (as of uncertain generic placement, catalogue).
Dieuches erosus: Distant (1901: 504, 509) (generic placement).
Metochus erosus: Scudder (1962: 769) (generic placement, type material), Slater (1964: 1241) (catalogue), Scudder (1967: 265) (type material).
Dieuches abbreviatus: Horváth (1879a: 147) (generic placement, diagnostic characters), Horváth (1879b: CVIII) (listed), Distant (1883: 417) (records), Lethierry & Severin (1894: 219) (catalogue, distribution), Distant (1903: 85) (distribution), Breddin (1906: 321) (distribution, taxonomic placement), Oshanin (1906: 363) (catalogue, distribution), Oshanin (1912: 38) (catalogue, distribution), Stichel (1959: 349) (catalogue, distribution), Stichel (1960: 183) (catalogue, distribution), Sugiyama (1990: 302) (listed), Yasunaga (2001: 78) (listed).
Metochus abbreviatus: Esaki (1950: 228) (redescription, habitus, distribution), Nakanishi & Gotoh (1953: 36) (host plant, bionomics), Miyamoto (1957: 73) (ovariole number), Takara (1957: 54) (host plant, record, distribution), Hidaka (1959: 224) (descriptions and figures of preimaginal stages, host plants, phenology, oviposition, development), Sawada & Watanabe (1959: 50) (listed), Miyamoto (1961: 214) (morphology of alimentary tract, figure), Hidaka (1962: 88) (redescription, photo, distribution), Slater (1964: 1240) (catalogue, distribution), Sawada & Watanabe (1969: 7) (records), Miyamoto (1970: 265) (records), Lee (1971: 275) (redescription, photo, figures of egg and first and fifth instar larvae, record, distribution), Takara & Azuma (1972: 111) (records, distribution), Watanabe & Sohma (1972: 8) (records), Eyles (1973: 40) (figures), Kurosawa et al. (1973: 249) (photo, diagnosis, distribution, bionomics), Kawasawa & Kawamura (1975: 247) (host plants), Miyamoto (1976: 594) (records), Hiura (1977: 113) (diagnosis, photo, habitat, diet, phenology, distribution, record), Tawara (1977: 23) (record), Nozawa (1978: 367) (record), Yoon & Nam (1979: 80) (record), Kim (1981: 336) (record), Kurosa (1981: 79) (records), Lee & Kwon (1981: 148) (record, distribution), Suzuki (1981: 206) (records), Tomokuni (1981: 108) (record), Zheng & Zou (1981: 203) (in key, redescription, photo, figures, distribution), Ohkawa (1982: 415) (records), Karakaze et al. (1983: 258) (record), Lee et al. (1985: 361) (records), Tomokuni (1985: 156) (records), Hayashi (1986: 21) (records), Suzuki (1986: 10) (records), Chen (1987: 37) (listed), Miyoshi (1987: 27) (listed, phenology), Zheng et al. (1988: 4) (record), Miyamoto & Yasunaga (1989: 176) (listed, distribution), Ohkohchi et al. (1989: 112) (record), Asaoka & Ieki (1990: 147) (records, distribution), Chen (1990: 135) (redescription, records), Lu (1990: 96) (listed), Yoon et al. (1990: 106) (listed), Lee & Kwon (1991: 49) (listed, distribution), Yu & Luo (1992: 145) (listed), Zhou et al. (1992: 77) (record, host plants), Lee et al. (1993: 34) (distribution), Liu & Zheng (1993a: 193) (record, distribution), Liu & Zheng (1993b: 159) (redescription, figure, distribution), Maruyama (1993: 315) (records), Shen (1993: 35) (listed, distribution), Tomokuni (1993: 196) (redescription, photos, habitat, records, distribution), Lee & Kwon (1994: 75) (listed), Zhang (1994: 39) (listed, distribution), Zhang et al. (1994: 74) (host plant, distribution), Chen et al. (1995: 209) (record), Hisai (1995: 24) (record, habitat, phenology), Hu (1995: 110) (redescription, habitus, host plants, phenology, economic importance, distribution), Kim (1995: 228) (records), Slater & O’Donnell (1995: 173) (catalogue), Suzuki (1995: 383) (distribution), An (1996: 27) (listed), Enju (1996: 174) (records), Hasegawa & Taniguchi (1996: 91, 92) (defense against predator), Kwon, Lee et al. (1996: 114) (listed), Kwon, Suh & Huh (1996a: 456) (listed, distribution), Kwon, Suh & Huh (1996b: 227) (record, distribution), Dong et al. (1997: 246) (redescription, figure, records, distribution), Hayashi (1997: 270) (distribution), Kaneko (1997: 124) (records), Nakamura et al. (1997: 169) (distribution), Suzuki (1997: 802) (distribution), Hayashi (1998: 174) (distribution), Hayashi & Kishi (1998: 17) (records), Lei & Zhou (1998: 47) (listed, distribution), Miyano (1998: 8) (records), Tanaka et al. (1998: 55) (record), Karube et al. (1999: 39) (records), Suzuki (1999a: 6) (record), Suzuki (1999b: 273) (distribution), Enju & Waki (2000: 353) (record, phenology), Hua (2000: 190) (distribution, host plants), Kubo (2000: 75) (records, habitat), Murakami et al. (2000: 17) (record, host plant), Nagano et al. (2000: 124) (records), Nozawa (2000: 292) (record), Obara (2000: 36) (records), Tomokuni et al. (2000: 42) (records), Bu et al. (2001: 271) (distribution), Fang & Wu (2001: 57) (distribution), Ichita (2001: 99) (record), Kwon et al. (2001: 290) (catalogue, records, distribution), Nakamura et al. (2001: 44) (records), Péricart (2001: 200) (catalogue, distribution), Suzuki (2001: 129) (record, distribution), Ueda & Yoshiyasu (2001: 105) (record, photo), Hayashi (2002: 142) (distribution), Hayashi & Kishi (2002: 7) (record), Suzuki (2002: 238) (record), Tomokuni & Ishikawa (2002: 175) (records, correction of old faunistic records), Ishiwata (2003a: 14) (record), Ishiwata (2003b: 3) (record, diapause), Kagawa & Higuchi (2003: 215) (records, distribution), Kikuchi & Fukatsu (2003: 6084) (symbiotic microorganisms), Suzuki (2003a: 27) (records), Suzuki (2003b: 622) (records), Aoki (2004: 51) (records), Hayashi & Ozaki (2004: 231) (distribution), Suzuki (2004a: 4) (record), Suzuki (2004b: 861) (records, habitat), Suzuki (2004c: 45) (record), Enju (2005: 132) (records, phenology), Nozaki & Nozaki (2005: 49) (records), Tomokuni (2005: 403) (records), Tsukada (2005: 221) (listed, photo), Nozaki & Nozaki (2006: 11) (records), Suzuki (2006: 34) (record), Tago (2006: 31) (records), Tomita (2006: 53) (records), Tomokuni (2006: 352) (records), Tomokuni & Hayashi (2006: 297) (records), Xie & Bu (2006: 229) (redescription, distribution), Yang et al. (2006: 261) (record), Enju (2007: 91) (distribution), Yeh et al. (2007: 314) (record), Iijima (2008: 455) (record), Shao et al. (2008: 494) (listed), Suzuki (2008: 19) (record), Zhang et al. (2008: 801) (listed), Amemiya (2009: 382) (record), Takahashi & Moriya (2009: 245) (record, distribution), Wang et al. (2009: 2449) (listed, bionomics), Yazaki (2009: 32) (listed), An (2010: 69) (photo, diagnosis, record), Shao et al. (2010: 505) (listed), Hayashi (2011: 142) (record), Jeong et al. (2011: 102) (record), Ji et al. (2011: 210) (redescription, photo, phenology, host plants, distribution), Kikuchi et al. (2011: 449) (symbiotic microorganisms), Ishikawa (2012: 237) (photo, distribution, bionomics), Ishikawa & Tomokuni (2012: 358) (distribution), Kinoda (2012: 48) (record), Komatsu (2012: 3) (records), Lan et al. (2012: 80) (host plants, distribution), Suzuki (2012: 21) (listed), Ueda (2012: 16) (record), Ushirokita et al. (2012: 17) (records), Wang et al. (2012: 273) (listed), Yano et al. (2012: 92) (records), Enju et al. (2013: 268) (diagnosis, photo, habitat), Ishikawa & Hayashi (2013: 273) (records), Komatsu (2013: 26) (records), Komatsu & Nagai (2013: 49) (records), Lee et al. (2013: 132) (catalogue), Lim et al. (2013: 110) (record), Nomura & Kamitani (2013: 92) (record), Sasaki et al. (2013: 84) (record), Sugimoto & Suwa (2013: 6710) (record), Yano et al. (2013: 34) (listed, distribution), Zheng & Lin (2013: 165) (redescription, photo of adult and fifth instar larva, habitat, host plant, phenology, distribution), Ishikawa (2014: 254) (photo, diagnosis, distribution, bionomics), Kanai & Moriyama (2014: 40) (record), Kawabe (2014: 286) (photo, record, distribution, phenology, habitat), Komatsu (2014: 118) (record), Mori et al. (2014: 237) (listed), Suzuki (2014: 8) (distribution), Tamura (2014: 19) (photo, records, habitat), Tomokuni (2014: 365) (records), Cai & Li (2015: 161) (redescription, habitus, bionomics, distribution), Choi et al. (2015: 13) (record, habitat), Ishikawa et al. (2015: 10) (record), Matsuda et al. (2015: 3) (avoidance of electric field), Nozaki et al. (2015: 28) (records), Park et al. (2015: 379, 385) (listed), Ishikawa (2016: 468) (catalogue, distribution).
Methochus [inadvertent error] abbreviatus: Gotoh (1984: 102) (records).
Metochus abbreviafus [inadvertent error]: Umeya (1956: 36) (record).
Metochus abreviatus [inadvertent error]: Azuma & Kinjo (1987: 32) (distribution).
Metochu [inadvertent error] abbreviatus: Liu & Zheng (1992: 275) (redescription, habitus, figure, distribution).
Metochusabbreviatus [inadvertent error]: Suzuki (1994: 393) (record).
Metochus abbreviates [inadvertent error]: Ye (2009: 55) (record).
Metochus obbreviatus [inadvertent error]: Jiang et al. (2011: 51) (listed).
Metochus kreyenbergi: Scudder (1962: 762) (generic placement), Slater (1964: 1241) (catalogue, distribution), Gaedike (1971: 117) (type material), Péricart (1999: 81) (type material), Péricart (2001: 200) (catalogue, distribution).
Metochus holsti: Slater (1964: 1241) (catalogue, distribution), Scudder (1967: 268) (type material), Miyamoto & Yasunaga (1989: 176) (listed, distribution), Slater & O’Donnell (1995: 173) (catalogue), Péricart (2001: 200) (catalogue, distribution), Ishikawa & Tomokuni (2012: 358) (identity).
Pamera nietneri (misidentification): Matsumura (1913: 147) (redescription, habitus, distribution), Matsumura (1930: 172) (redescription, habitus, distribution), Matsumura (1931: 1199) (redescription, habitus, distribution), Kato (1933: [legend to plate 29 fig. 10]) (photo, distribution), Masaki (1937: 91) (listed, distribution), Kato (1940: 705) (redescription, distribution).
Type material examined. Rhyparochromus erosus Walker, 1872. Holotype (Figs. 3–4): ♀, “Type” [circle with green margin], “Holo- \ type” [circle with red margin], “199. RHYPAROCHROMUS EROSUS.” [cut from Walker (1872), p. 113], “HOLO [hw] T Y P E [pr] \ RHYPAROCHROMUS [hw] \ EROSUS Walker [hw] \ 1872 [hw] \ det. Scudder 1965 [hw]” [light red, with pr line along top and bottom margin], “♀”. Micro-pinned, body broken between thorax and abdomen, right and left distiflagellum and right hind leg lacking; deposited in BMNH.
Metochus abbreviatus Scott, 1874. Lectotype (Figs. 5–6): ♂, “Type” [circle with red margin], “LECTO- \ TYPE” [circle with dark lilac margin], “JAPAN” [hw], “Type. \ Scott Coll. \ 88–11.”, “— abbreviatus, n. sp. ” [cut from Scott (1874a), p. 290], “ METOCHUS [hw] \ ABBREVIATUS [hw] \ Scott 1874 [hw] \ G.G.E.Scudder 19 [pr] 65 [hw] \ LECTOTYPE [pr]” [light red, with pr line along top and bottom margin], “♂”. Pinned, body broken between pro- and mesothorax, left antenna, right flagellum, both fore and mid legs, right hind leg, and tarsus of left hind leg lacking; deposited in BMNH.
Dieuches kreyenbergi Breddin, 1906. Lectotype (Figs. 9–11): ♂, “Pinghsiang \ Kreyenberg” [hw], “ Dieuches \ Kreyenbergi \ Type Bredd.” [Breddin’s hw], “TYPUS” [red, with pr dotted line along top and bottom margin], “Coll. \ Breddin”, “Lectotypus” [red], “H. Gaedike des.196 [pr] 9 [hw]”, “Eberswalde \ coll. DEI” [pr], “ Dieuches \ kreyenbergi Breddin \ lectotype (♂) \ J.Péricart vid. 1993” [red, Péricart’s hw]. Pinned, left scape and flagellum, right distiflagellum and segments II–III of left hind tarsus lacking; deposited in SDEI.
Metochus holsti Distant, 1918. Lectotype (Figs. 7–8): ♂, “Type” [circle with red margin], “LECTO- \ TYPE” [circle with dark lilac margin], “Tsur I. \ Holst. \ 98–2 I4. ”, “Tsushima I. \ P. Holst. \ 98–214.”, “ Metochus \ holsti \ type Dist.” [Distant’s hw], “ METOCHUS HOLSTI [hw] \ Distant 1918 [hw] \ G.G.E.Scudder 19 [pr] 65 [hw] \ LECTOTYPE [pr]” [light red, with pr line along top margin], “♂”. Pinned, left antenna, right flagellum, both fore legs and right hind leg lacking; deposited in BMNH.
Diagnosis. Metochus abbreviatus (Figs. 1–2) can most easily be distinguished from all described congeners by the distiflagellum being pale in about its proximal half; in other species of Metochus the antenna is uniformly black or not more than the proximal one-fourth of the distiflagellum is pale. An additional diagnostic character is the presence of a more or less distinct, reverse W-shaped yellowish marking on the posterior lobe of pronotum not reaching the margins except in the midline (M. hainanensis Zheng, 1981, is marked similarly). The subapical pale spot on corium is triangular with its anterior margin invariably, its posterior margin usually, emarginate. The apex of the membrane is pale, more or less strongly contrasting with the remaining portion. The general habitus of the species, with relatively broad body and invariable submacroptery, is considerably different from the condition found in other species of Metochus; most of the other species are macropterous.
Immatures. The egg and all larval instars were described and figured by Hidaka (1959); Zheng & Lin (2013) provided a photo of a fifth instar larva.
Bionomics. The oil-seed camellia, Camellia oleifera C.Abel (Theaceae), the tung tree, Vernicia fordii (Hemsl.) Airy Shaw, the mu oil tree, V. montana Lour. (both Euphorbiaceae) and the moso bamboo, Phyllostachys edulis (Carrière) J.Houz. (= Ph. pubescens (Pradelle) Mazel ex J.Houz.) (Poaceae) were mentioned as host plants of M. abbreviatus in China (Zhou et al. 1992, Hua 2000, Lan et al. 2012). It also was reported to feed on the young fruits and seeds of soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr., Thunberg’s bushclover, Lespedeza thunbergii (DC.) Nakai (= L. formosa (Vogel) Koehne) (both Fabaceae) (Hu 1995, Ji et al. 2011), and the cockspur, Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) Beauv. (Poaceae); according to Hu (1995) it is frequently harmful to soybean in hilly regions in China. The claim of Wang et al. (2009) that M. abbreviatus is a predator of pests of the cotton plant is certainly erroneous.
The species is widely known in Japan to feed on fallen seeds and underground stems of both the Japanese aralia, Fatsia japonica (Thunb.) Decne et Planch. (Araliaceae) and the Japanese green alder, Alnus firma Sieb. et Zucc. (Betulaceae) (Nakanishi & Gotoh 1953, Hidaka 1962, Kawasawa & Kawamura 1975, Hiura 1977, Hisai 1995, Ishikawa 2014). The peanut, Arachis hypogaea L. (Fabaceae) was reported as host plant of this species in the Ryukyu Archipelago (Takara 1957). Fallen seeds of maple trees (Acer spp., Sapindaceae) and camphor tree, Cinnamomum camphora (L.) J.Presl. (Lauraceae) are its main food in Kyushu and Shikoku, Japan, but it also feeds on fallen seeds of the southern crabgrass, Digitaria ciliaris (Retz.) Koeler (= Digitaria sanguinaris var. ciliaris) and the green foxtail, Setaria viridis (L.) P.Beauv. (both Poaceae) (Hidaka 1959).
The species was reported to feed on fruits of Passiflora suberosa L. (Passifloraceae) and Solanum diphyllum L. (Solanaceae), both introduced from the Americas, and seeds of various grasses in Taiwan (Zheng & Lin 2013).
Adults and larvae are usually found on the ground, under the host plants or dry logs (Hidaka 1959, Hu 1995, Tomokuni 1993, Zheng & Lin 2013). Adults are sometimes attracted by artificial light (Tomokuni 1993). Occasional cannibalism was observed by Hidaka (1959). The life history of the species in Kyushu and Shikoku was studied in detail by Hidaka (1959). Adults hibernate under leaf litter, bark, stones, or in other hidden places, frequently in aggregations. They finish diapause from late March to early April and start to copulate about ten days after leaving their overwintering refugia. Mating and oviposition was described by Hidaka (1959). Females usually oviposit under fallen leaves, the average fecundity is 47 eggs / female (ranging from 8 to 62). Eggs hatch after an incubation period of about 2 weeks. First instar larvae stay around the egg shells for about 24 hours, but start active walking from the 2nd or 3rd day after hatching. Postembryonic development takes 38 days on average (ranging from 32 to 55). The species has probably three generations in Kyushu (Hidaka 1959). In southern Jiangxi adults are active from the end of April to November, but they are most common from the beginning of July to the end of September (Hu 1995).
Distribution. Metochus abbreviatus is distributed in temperate and subtropical parts of East and Southeast Asia from the Korean Peninsula to southern China; it is also widely distributed in the main islands (except of Hokkaido) and several smaller islands of Japan, and in Taiwan. The record from India by Lethierry & Severin (1894) is erroneous (cf. Distant 1903). The geographic distribution of the species might be summarized as follows:
KOREA. South; Jejudo; Ulleungdo (Kwon et al. 2001). — CHINA. Gansu (Zheng et al. 1988); Henan (Lu 1990); Anhui (Zhang et al. 2008); Jiangsu (Zheng & Zou 1981, Lan et al. 2012); Hubei: Badong County!, Zigui County! (NKUM); Hunan (Liu & Zheng 1992, 1993a); Jiangxi (Zhang 1994); Zhejiang: Mt. Tianmu! (NKUM), Taishun: Wuyanling National Nature Reserve! (NKUM); Sichuan: Mt. Emei!, Fengdu! (NKUM), Dujianyang: Mt. Qingcheng! (MHBU); Yunnan: Ruili! (MHBU); Guizhou: Mt. Fanjing!, Mayanghe National Nature Reserve! (NKUM); Guangxi: Longsheng! (NMPC), Jinxiu Yao Autonomous County!, Longzhou: Mt. Daqing! (NKUM), Yachang Forestry Farms! (MHBU); Hainan: Jianfengling [National Forest Park]! (NKUM); Guangdong: Shenzhen!, Fengkai: Heishiding Nature Reserve! (NKUM); Fujian (Liu & Zheng 1993b). — JAPAN. Honshu: Chiba!, Tokyo!, Kanagawa!, Yamanashi!, Shizuoka!, Mie!, Kyoto!, Osaka!, Nara!, Hyogo! (TUA); Kyushu: Kagoshima!, Shimokoshiki Is.! (TUA), Nagasaki! (ZMHB); Shikoku (Tomokuni 1993); Izu Islands: Kozu Is.!, Miyake Is.!, Mikura Is.! (TUA); Bonin (= Ogasawara) Islands: Haha Is.! (TUA); Tsushima Is.: Izuhara!, Kamiagata! (TUA); Ryukyu Islands: Yaku Is.!, Amami-Oshima Is.! (TUA). — TAIWAN. Taipei City: Szushoushan! (TFRI), Yangmingshan! (NMNS), Haeng-Lu Dyi! (HNHM); Ilan County: Fushan Botanical Garden! (HNHM); Taichung City: Basianshan National Forest Recreational Area!, Dakeng Scenic Area! (NCHU), Koroton! [= Fengyuan] (HNHM); Nantou County: Sinyi: Hoshe!, Lienhuachih! (NMNS), Huisun Experimental Forest Station!, Sun Moon Lake! (NCHU), Lake Candidius! [= Sun Moon Lake] (HNHM); Chiayi County: Taihorin! [= Dalin] (HNHM); Kaohsiung County: Mt. Hoozan! [= Fengshan] (HNHM); Pingtung County: Kenting [National Park]!, Hengchun: Sheding! (NMNS).
description: Published as part of Kondorosy, Előd, Ishikawa, Tadashi & Rédei, Dávid, 2016, Resolving the taxonomy and nomenclature of Metochus abbreviatus (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Rhyparochromidae), pp. 151-166 in Zootaxa 4193 (1) on pages 152-157, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4193.1.7, http://zenodo.org/record/166655