Calliphara imperialis
Creators: name: Gerry Cassis
name: Loren Vanags
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2006
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Scutelleridae
Calliphara
Calliphara imperialis

description: Calliphara imperialis (FABRICIUS 1775) (Figs 19b, 20, 21c, 23)
Cimex imperialis FABRICIUS 1775: 697 (n.sp.); FABRICIUS 1781: 339 (description); FABRICIUS 1787: 280 (description); FABRICIUS 1794: 81 (description); DONOVAN 1805: pl. 3 fig. 2 (habitus) Tetyra imperialis: FABRICIUS 1803: 128 (new combination) Calliphara imperialis: GERMAR 1839: 126 (new combination); HERRICH-SCHAEFFER 1840: 83, fig. 529 (description); STÅL 1866: 153 (description); LETHIERRY & SEVERIN 1893: 24 (catalogue); SCHOUTEDEN 1904: 32 (list); VAN DUZEE 1905: 189 (description); KIRKALDY 1909: 297 (catalogue); TILLYARD 1926: 149 (diagnosis); MCDONALD 1961: 182, figs 29-32 (male genitalia); MC-DONALD 1963a: 30 (male genitalia); MCDONALD 1963b: 235, figs 17, 18 (female genitalia); KUMAR 1964: 62 (male genitalia); KUMAR 1965: 53, fig. 87 (female genitalia); MCDONALD & CASSIS 1984: 566 (description); CASSIS & GROSS 2002: 589 (catalogue) Callidea imperialis: DALLAS 1851: 24 (new combination)
Diagnosis: CallipHara imperialis is recognised by the following characters: dorsum dark orange (Fig. 19b); head and tip of scutellum iridescent dark-green (Fig. 19b); pronotal callosite region with black medial spot (Fig. 19b); ventral surface of body mostly dark black with iridescent green tinge, lateral margins of sternites of pregenital abdomen orange (Fig. 21b); dorsum densely punctate (Fig. 19a); abdominal SIV-VII strongly spinose (Fig. 21b); lateral margins of abdominal venter impunctate (Fig. 21b); CAI elongate, S-shaped; CAII with bifid lobal sclerite; CAIII(D) elongate, narrow, S-shaped, sclerotized process; and, CAIII(V) absent.
Description: Body elongate-ovoid; large, males 17-19 mm, females 18-20 mm;
Colouration. Body bicoloured (Fig. 19b), dorsum mostly burnt-orange with head fuscous iridescent green and tip of scutellum iridescent green, sometimes callosite region of pronotum with large dark medial spot; antennae and labium black; legs black, with iridescent green or blue tinge; thoracic pleura mostly fuscous, laterally with iridescent green hue, metepisternum orange; most of abdominal venter black, with lateral margins orange; terminalia black with iridescent green hue.
Texture. Dorsum with moderate distribution of very shallow punctures; abdominal venter weakly rugulose.
Vestiture. Dorsum glabrous; abdominal venter with sparse distribution of decumbent, simple, pale setae.
Structure. Antennae: AII(a) very short, ca. 1/3 of AI. Labium: reaching posterior margin of abdominal sterna IV. Eyes: not large, about 1/2 length of Head. Pregenital Abdomen: posterior angles of abdominal connexiva VI-VII with acuminate spines (Fig. 21b). Male Genitalia: genital opening of pygophore with dorsal and ventral patches of setae; vesica short, with a small subdistal tumescence, ejaculatory apparatus small, paired ventral conducting canals, with three pairs of convolutions; ejaculatory reservoir absent; CAI elongate, S-shaped, apex acute, strongly sclerotised; CAII basally membraneous medially, apex with bifid lobal sclerite; CAIII(D) elongate, narrow, S-shaped, sclerotized process; CAIII(V) absent. Female Terminalia: paratergites VIII large, subtriangular; paratergites IX small, subelliptoid; gonocoxae I large, subtriangular, flap-like.
Measurements. MCDONALD & CASSIS 1984: Table 6.
Material examined: Queensland: 1♂ 1♀, Bluewater Range, N of Townsville, T Woodger & L Ring, 29-xii 1990 (AM); 1♀, ‘K3613’ (AM); 3♂♂ 2♀♀, Brisbane (AMNH); 1♂, Palm Island, W Taylor (AMNH); 2♂♂ 2♀♀, ‘318’ (AMNH).
Distribution: CallipHara imperialis is endemic to Australia (Fig. 23), found primarily in the wet tropics of northeast Queensland. CASSIS & GROSS (2002) also listed it from the Northern Rivers of New South Wales and southeast Queensland, but there is some doubt as to whether this species occurs this far south. We have seen a single specimen from the Northern Territory, without a specified location. This species was erroneously recorded from New Zealand (CASSIS & GROSS 2002, references therein).
Host plant and biology: No host plant has been recorded.
Remarks: LYAL (1979) designated a lectotype, and we have accepted this as the original description does not indicate the number of specimens in the type series.
LYAL (1979) assigned C. imperialis to the CallipHara excellens species-group, on the basis of the male pygophore and aedeagus. The lobal sclerite of CAII is significantly different to all other of the Australian species of CallipHara, bifid, but not U-shaped as in the other species. In addition, this species has Sshaped CAI and CAIII(D). Our observations differ significantly from those of MC-DONALD’ s (1961) description of the conjunctival appendages. In addition, MCDONALD (1961) does not report a setal patch on the dorsal margin of the pygophore, which is in contradistinction to LYAL (1979) and our observations a character state present in all species of CallipHara.
description: Published as part of Gerry Cassis & Loren Vanags, 2006, Jewel Bugs of Australia (Insecta, Heteroptera, Scutelleridae), pp. 275-398 in Denisia 19 on pages 340-341, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.12996779