Dicyphus escalerae Lindberg 1934
Creators: name: Sanchez, Juan Antonio
name: Cassis, Gerasimos
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Miridae
Dicyphus
Dicyphus escalerae

description: DICYPHUS ESCALERAE LINDBERG, 1934
(FIGS 5, 13 C, 23 G– I, 36)
Dicyphus escalerae Lindberg, 1934: 11 (original description); Wagner, 1951: 29 (redescription); Carvalho, 1958: 197 (world catalogue); Schuh, 1995: 490 (world catalogue); Kerzhner & Josifov, 1999: 22 (Palaearctic catalogue).
Materials examined
France: Vaucluse: Lafare, 44.14681ºN 5.05144ºE, 169 m, 3 May 1998, Matocq, 2♂♂ (UNSW _ ENT 00026530), 10 May 2006, 1♂ (UNSW _ ENT 00026531) (MNHN).
Spain: Granada: Monachil: Sierra Nevada, 37.09305°N 3.39416°E, 2256 m, 21–24 Jul 1926, Lindberg, Holotype, 1♂ (AMNH _ PBI 00208614), 1♂ (AMNH _ PBI 00208557), 1♀ (AMNH _ PBI 00208629) (MZH). Granada: Capileira, 36.96438ºN 3.36043ºW, 1436 m, ex. Antirrhinum hispanicum Chavannes (Scrophulariaceae), 31 May 2006, Sanchez, Martínez & La Spina, 4♂♂, 6♀♀ (IMIDA _ ENT 00000445 - IMIDA _ ENT 00000454) (IMIDA). Cadiz: Grazalema, 36.75972ºN 5.36556W, 812 m, ex. Antirrhinum graniticum Rothmaler (Scrophulariaceae), 1 June 2006, Sanchez, Martínez & La Spina, 5♂♂, 10♀♀ (IMIDA _ ENT 00000061 - IMIDA _ ENT 00000075). Huesca: Canal de Berdún, 42.64194ºN 0.80194ºW, 700 m, ex. Antirrhinum sp. (Scrophulariaceae), 6 June 2006, Sanchez, Martínez & La Spina, 4♂♂, 1♀ (IMIDA _ ENT 00000050 - IMIDA _ ENT 00000054) (IMIDA).
Portugal: Portalegre: Portalegre, 39.29194ºN 7.44083 ºW, 590 m, ex. Antirrhinum sp. (Scrophulariaceae), 3 June 2006, Sanchez, Martínez & La Spina, 1♂♂, 5♀♀ (IMIDA _ ENT 00000055 - IMIDA _ ENT 00000060).
Diagnosis
Dicyphus escalerae is recognized by the following combination of characters: macropters and brachypters in both sexes; moderately sized species, macropterous males 3.48–4.05 mm, brachypterous males 2.5 mm, macropterous females 3.79–4.31 mm, brachypters females 2.79–3.33 mm; AI c. 1.5× longer than interocular distance in macropterous males, a little shorter in brachypters; AII c. 1.2× longer than posterior width of pronotum in macropters, c. 1.3× longer in brachypters. AII <1.7× shorter than head width. AI mostly dark brown; corium with dense distribution of brown spots and three brown to dark-brown spots, at corial fracture, middle of apical margin of endocorium and tip of cuneus; femora with large brown overlapping spots in both sexes (Fig. 5); left paramere small and moderately thickened, with spatulate apex denticulate proximally (Fig. 23G–I); endosoma with spinules only, no lobal sclerites present (Fig. 13C).
Redescription
Males. Macropters and brachypters known.
Coloration (Fig. 5): Dorsum light pale with extensive dark-brown markings, sometimes with red/orange highlighting. Head: frons+vertex with a broad, X-shaped dark-brown marking; clypeus and maxillary plate mostly dark brown to black; postocular margins of head broadly dark brown to black and shiny; gula stramineous. Antennae: AI dark brown with tip reddish, base narrowly stramineous; AII mostly dark brown with broad medial annulation. Pronotum: collar white to stramineous, translucent; calli stramineous to pale brown with dark-brown highlighting; disk stramineous to pale brown, with extensive brown markings laterally on humeral angles. Thoracic pleura and sterna: propleuron uniformly dark brown, with ventral margin whitish; mesepimeron and metepisternum stramineous, including evaporative area. Mesoscutum: broadly dark brown intermixed with extensive yellowish brown markings. Scutellum: angles broadly whitish with a broad dark brown stripe along midline. Hemelytra: translucent, mostly pale brown, with brown spotting at base of setae on clavus; clavus with faint embrownment; apex of exocorium adjacent to costal fracture with prominent dark-brown to reddish brown spot; apex of endocorium with obscure dark brown spot; cuneus mostly stramineous to pale brown with apical dark-brown to dark reddish brown spot; membrane veins mostly dark brown, sometimes with reddish highlighting. Legs: spots on femora greatly enlarged and blending. Abdomen: venter mostly stramineous, with basal sternites and lateral regions dark brown; pygophore bicoloured, dark brown and stramineous.
Structure: Head: interocular distance 1.19–1.29× longer than eye width in macropters and 1.31× in brachypters. Antennae: AI 1.52–1.77× longer than interocular distance in macropters and 1.49× in brachypters; AII 1.11–1.25× longer than posterior width of pronotum in macropters, 1.31× in brachypters. Pronotum: pronotal disk subequal 0.93–1.43× than callosite region in macropters and 0.73× in brachypters. Male genitalia: left paramere apophysis short and moderately thickened, with spatulate apex denticulate posteriorly (Fig. 23G–I); aedeagus with three well-developed endosomal lobes, without endosomal lobal sclerites, two lobes with dense distribution of spinules (Fig. 13C).
Females. Macropters and brachypters known. Coloration, vestiture, texture and structure mostly as in males. Female abdominal venter mostly stramineous, with basal sternites dark brown laterally. Head: interocular distance 1.19–1.39× longer than eye width in macropters and 1.20–1.41× in brachypters. Antennae: AI length 1.38–1.60× longer than interocular distance in macropterous and 1.42–1.56× in brachypterous females. AII 0.96–1.11× longer than posterior pronotal width in macropters and 1.11–1.23× in brachypters. Pronotum: disk 0.98–1.34× longer than callosite region in macropters, 0.70–0.87× in brachypters.
description: Published as part of Sanchez, Juan Antonio & Cassis, Gerasimos, 2018, Towards solving the taxonomic impasse of the biocontrol plant bug subgenus Dicyphus (Dicyphus) (Insecta: Heteroptera: Miridae) using molecular, morphometric and morphological partitions, pp. 330-406 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 184 on pages 385-386