Hydrometra butleri Hungerford and Evans 1934
Creators: name: Jehamalar, E. Eyarin
name: Chandra, Kailash
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2014
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Hydrometridae
Hydrometra
Hydrometra butleri

description: Hydrometra butleri Hungerford and Evans, 1934
(Figs. 1A–B, 2A–B, 3A–B, 4A–B, 5A–B)
Hydrometra butleri Hungerford and Evans, 1934: 71 (type locality: Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu, India).
Material examined. ASSAM, Barpeta District, Kapla Beel, 20.x.2012, 2 ♀ (mac.), Coll. Alakesh Barman; MADHYA PRADESH, Jabalpur District, CZRC, ZSI Residential Colony, 26.ix.2010, 2 ♂ (mac.), 3 ♀ (mac.)., 2.x.2010, 7 ♂ (mac.), 12 ♀ (mac.), Coll. E. Eyarin Jehamalar, (Reg. No. 2543/H15, 2544/H15); TAMIL NADU, Kanyakumari District, Nagercoil, Pond in Scott Christian College campus, 60 m, N 08°10’58.2’’, E 077°24’20.3’’, 4.iii.2008, 2 ♂ (mac.), 1 ♀ (brapt.), 1 ♀ (mac.), Coll: E. E. Jehamalar, (Reg. No. 2537/H15); Cherukole village, 131.2 ft [40 m], N 08°18’17.9’’, E 077°15’33.6’’, 25.xi.2011, 1 ♂, Coll. E.H.R. Deasingh, (Reg. No. 2541/H15); Nagercoil, Scott Christian College Pond, 31.i.2008, 3 ♂ (mac.), 1 ♀ (mac.), (Reg. No. 2830/H15)., 20.viii.2008, 2 ♂ (mac.), (Reg. No. 2833/H15), Coll. E.E. Jehamalar; WEST BENGAL, South 24 Parganas District, Chousa Village, 19.xi.2011, 1 ♀, Coll. Babu Sona Mondal, (Reg. No. 2542/H15); Hoogli District, Pandua, 29.i.1966, 2 ♂ (mac.), 4 ♀ (mac.), Coll. KSPV, (Reg. No. 2821/H15).
Repository. All the examined materials are deposited in National Zoological Collection, Hemiptera Section, ZSI, Kolkata, except the specimens from Assam, which will be returned to the collector Mr. Alakesh Barman.
Diagnosis. Macropterous ♂ length range from 9.53–10.6 (n=5) and macropterous ♀ 10.9–12.24 (n=5); seventh abdominal sternum of male swollen and sublateral region on mid way with a pair of small round patch of short setae on each side and adjacent to this with little longer setae continued upto postero-laterally of the segment (Figs. 4A, 5A); caudal process of female fringed with short hairs (Figs. 3B, 4B, 5B); anteclypeus conical with blunt tip (Fig. 2A, B), mostly occur in macropterous form.
Redescription: Macropterous male: (Fig. 1A). Body length 10 (range 9.53–10.6, n=5); maximum body width (across metacetabula) 0.64 (range 0.61–0.67, n=5).
Colour: Brown both dorsal and ventral; head ventral region anterior, posterior and between eyes yellow to brown; antenna brown, except at the base of I–III segments, yellow; eyes, antennal tubercles, rostrum and anteclypeus brown and shiny; maxillary plate milky white and shiny; legs yellow and apices of femora and tibiae and entire tarsi dark brown; post ocular region with median longitudinal faint white pruinose line, continued posteriorly, distinctly along pronotal lobe; sublateral region along the midway on each side of pronotal lobe with broad dark brown to black hue; wing brownish with central longitudinal white stripe, without interrupted except at cross veins (Fig. 1A); setal patch on sternum VII pale brown; mediotergites dark brown and shiny, except tergites VII and VIII; latero-tergites (= connexivum) with prominent pruinose areas; lateral region of tergite VIII with white pruinose area ¾ area distance from anterior margin.
Structural characters: Head length 2.89 mm, maximum head width across eyes 0. 43 mm; head width across antennal tubercle 0.38; anteocular length 1.85, post ocular length 0.82; antennal tubercle length 0.08, antennal tubercle width 0.05; head anterior region with two pairs of trichobothria and posterior region with one pair of trichobothria; antennal length, segments I–IV 0.48, 1.15, 2.28, 1.30; anteclypeus conical with blunt tip and convexed posterior margin (Fig. 2A, B), anteclypeus length along midline 0.13; outer margin of maxillary plate straight, in lateral view slightly extending anterior margin of gular lobe but not extending in front of anteclypeus; gular lobe well developed, outer margin rounded; rostrum at rest reaching near sub-basal region of head; eye length 0.24, eye width 0.16, dorsal minimum width between eyes 0.10. Prothorax with a ring of punctures surrounds anterior region of pronotum, prominent both dorsally and ventrally; pronotal lobe with numerous pits in posterior part (Fig. 1A); acetabula with few pits; pronotal lobe length 1.55; distance between procoxa and mesocoxa 0.98, distance between mesocoxa and metacoxa 1.71; prosternal length 0.52; wings surpassing anterior margin of abdominal segment VI. Legs (length). Fore leg: femur 2.67 (2.64–3.01, n=5), tibia 3.12 (2.93–3.50), tarsus I–III 0.07 (0.06–0.08), 0.28 (0.27–0.45), 0.21 (0.20–0.22); mid leg: femur 3.15 (3.09–3.67), tibia 3.52 (3.29–4.66), tarsus I–III 0.07 (0.07), 0.41 (0.39–0.45), 0.24 (0.23–0.25), MTaI 1.70 (1.69–1.86); hind leg: femur 3.81 (3.67– 4.09), tibia 4.86 (4.66–4.86), tarsus I–III 0.07 (0.06–0.07), 0.39 (0.39–0.42), 0.22 (0.21–0.23); hind femur without any specialized long hairs. Abdomen: length 4.09; anterior width of sternum V 0.51; connexivum without characteristic pilosity, connexival corners slightly produced, but without prominent characteristic pilosity; tergite VII and VIII clothed with minute hairs; tergite VII length 0.45, anterior width of medio-tergite VII 0.19, posterior width of medio-tergite VII 0.23; sternum VII swollen, sublateral region on mid way with a pair of small round patch of short setae on each side, adjacent to it with a line of little longer setae continued postero-laterally (Figs. 4A, 5A), sometimes a little gap present between setal patch and adjacent setal line; tergite VIII length including caudal process 0.39; caudal process length 0.10, less than half the length of tergite VIII.
Description. Macropterous female: (Fig. 1B). Body length 12.24 (range 10.90–12.24, n=5); maximum body width (across metacetabula) 0.80 (range 0.72–0.81, n=5).
Colour: Similar to male.
Structural characters: Similar to male, only measurements given here. Head length 3.19 mm, maximum head width across eyes 0.46 mm; head width across antennal tubercle 0.44; anteocular length 2.05; post ocular length 0.88; antennal length, segments I–IV 0.50, 1.21, 2.30, 1.03; anteclypeus length along midline and antennal tubercle length same, 0.12; antennal tubercle width 0.06; eye length 0.24, eye width 0.17, dorsal minimum distance between eyes 0.12. pronotal lobe length 1.80; distance between procoxa and mesocoxa 1.21, distance between mesocoxa and metacoxa 1.86; acetabula with few pits; wings surpassing anterior margin of abdominal segment V. Legs (length). Fore leg: femur 2.87 (2.57–2.94, n=5), tibia 3.30 (2.88–3.30), tarsus I–III 0.07 (0.06–0.08), 0.31 (0.22– 0.31), 0.20 (0.17–0.22); mid leg: femur 3.63 (2.97–3.63), tibia 3.80 (3.28–3.80), tarsus I–III 0.08 (0.07–0.08), 0.47 (0.39–0.47), 0.26 (0.21–0.26), MTaI 1.80 (1.72–2.04); hind leg: femur 4.41 (3.91–4.41), tibia 5.19 (4.32–5.19), tarsus I–III 0.08 (0.05–0.08), 0.39 (0.28–0.39), 0.25 (0.18–0.25); Abdomen: length 5.74; anterior width of tergite V 0.75; tergite VII length 0.60, anterior width of medio-tergite VII 0.20, posterior width of medio-tergite VII 0.19; caudal process fringed with numerous setae (Figs. 3B, 4B, 5B), caudal process length 0.20.
Brachypterous female, (n=1): Similar to macropterous female. Body length 11.54, width 0.79; antennal length, segments I–IV 0.38, 0.89, 1.80, 1.03. Legs (length). Fore leg: femur 2.60, tibia 2.91, tarsus I–III 0.07, 0.27, 0.17; mid leg, femur 2.98, tibia 3.23, tarsus I–III 0.08, 0.38, 0.18, MTaI 2.11; hind leg, femur 3.78, tibia 4.44, tarsus broken; lateral margin of pronotal lobe straight; wings surpassing anterior region of tergite II.
Distribution. INDIA: Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. Elsewhere: Sri Lanka (Gunawardane & Karunaratne, 1965).
Remarks. This species is very rare in collections made throughout India by ZSI, however light trap collections near a marsh at Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh and collections from Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu, yielded a sufficient number of H. butleri. Morphologically this species is very close to H. annamana Hungerford & Evans, 1934, having a pair of short clusters of hairs on sternite VII in males; although in H. butleri this short cluster of setae is followed by an oblique setal line extending ventro-laterally to the posterior margin of segment VII; this setal line adjacent to the setal tuft is absent in H. annamana. Sometimes a small gap is present between the setal tuft and the setal line, in most of the specimens only the setal cluster is very prominent in H. butleri. The hind femur of H. annamana is lined with long hairs; however, in H. butleri the long hairs are absent. The female can easily be identified by the setal fringe on the caudal process.
description: Published as part of Jehamalar, E. Eyarin & Chandra, Kailash, 2014, On the genus Hydrometra Latreille (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Hydrometridae) from India with description of two new species, pp. 501-517 in Zootaxa 3779 (5) on pages 502-509, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3779.5.1, http://zenodo.org/record/227624