Calagasma margarita Bergroth 1914
Creators: name: Lupoli, Roland
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Pentatomidae
Calagasma
Calagasma margarita

description: Calagasma margarita Bergroth, 1914
Calagasma margarita Bergroth, 1914: 432 –433 (description); Rolston, 1987: 69 –70 (synonymy).
Materiel examined (n: 6). French Guiana, 1 ♂ syntype in Bergroth’s collection at the MZHF. There is no locality label associated with this specimen, but only a handwritten label " Calagasma margarita B." (Fig. 1 D, also available at http://id.luomus.fi/GV.39157). French Guiana, Roura (Montagne des Chevaux RN 2 pK 22): 24.I.2010, 1 ♀, glass flight interception trap; 20.I.2013, 1 ♀ (Fig. 3 D), Lumivie® trap with blue LED (Light- Emitting Diode); 24.II.2013, 1 ♀, Lumivie® trap with blue LED; 26.VII.2014, 1 ♂ (Figs. 1 E & F, 3A, B, C), GemLight® trap with one UV LED and one green LED. Régina (Les Nouragues, Inselberg): 7.I.2013, 1 ♂, glass flight interception trap, SEAG leg. (Roland Lupoli collection). The interception and automatic light traps collect the insects in a liquid medium which were harvested weekly all year long (Dalens & Touroult, 2014). The insects were sorted by family by the Société Entomologique Antilles-Guyane (SEAG) as part of their French Guiana insect identification program.
Measurements. Total length: 8.4 mm (8.1–8.6); pronotum width (at humeral angles): 5.7 mm (5.4–6.0); abdomen width: 6.7 mm (6.4–6.9); head length: 1.2 mm; head width across the eyes: 1.9 mm; pronotum length: 1.7 mm. Antennomers I: 0.5 mm, II: 2.4 mm, III: 2.6 mm, IV: 2.4 mm.
Diagnosis. Background dorsal color red, with two dorsolateral greenish-brown symmetrical spots on the pronotum. More than half of the basal portion of each corium matt greenish-brown, which gives it the appearance of leather texture, the same color as the two pronotal spots (Fig. 1A, D, E). U-shaped impunctate calloused yellow spot present on the central part of the scutellum (Fig. 1A), marking a slope in the scutellum between the raised apical part and the lower basal part which are both red with concolorous punctation. Character not visible in dorsal view (Fig. 1A) but in lateral view (Fig. 1 F). Antennomers I rufous and relatively shorter, not exceeding the apex of the head, antennomers II yellow, antennomers III and IV yellow with black spots at the tip. Antennomers II shorter than antennomers III. Mandibular plates parallel along lateral margins. Anterolateral margins of the pronotum slightly concave. Callus raised upward. Venter brownish yellow as the legs. Tibiae cylindrical.
Female genital plates with posterior margins of laterotergites 8 almost flat and slightly rounded on their outer edge (Fig. 3 D). Similarly, posterior margins of laterotergites 9 with a rounded end, and gonocoxites 8 triangular.
Pygophore soft, thin and slightly sclerotized, mainly yellow with red spots (Fig. 3 A, B, C). Parameres and proctiger rufous. Ventral rim and dorsal rim poorly developed descending very low, just forming a cuticular fold, lined with red for dorsal rim, leaving proctiger and parameres completely visible in the dorsal view. Posterolateral angles of pygophore ear-shaped and covered with setae that continue along dorsal rim. Parameres posteroventrally directed, shaped like carpenter's hammers and positioned flat in pygophore, with the widest parts face to face in the dorsal view, protruding slightly on the ventral side. Proctiger cylindrical. Yellow bilobed process located just behind proctiger (Fig. 3 B).
Comments. The characteristics of the six examined C. margarita specimens resemble the description of Bergroth (1914) and not that of Spinola (1837) and Rolston (1987). The comparison between the specimen collected in French Guiana 26.VII.2014 (Fig. 1 E), the syntype from MZHF (Fig. 1 D) and the Bergroth drawing (Fig. 1A) emphasizes the care and precision of Bergroth in his description.
Although the background color of C. margarita is red, but a brighter red than E. histrio, the overlying pattern is completely different. Bergroth did not mention the three yellowish-white triangular spots bordered with black on the pronotum of E. histrio (Fig. 1 C). Similarly, the dorsolateral greenish-brown symmetrical spots on the pronotum and corium of C. margarita (Fig. 1A) are not present on the pronotum and corium of E. histrio (Fig. 1 C), whereas in E. histrio the basal part of the corium is mainly pink and sporadically punctated by black dots, with a black line bordering the outline of the corium (Fig. 1 C). The U-shaped yellow spot on the central part of the scutellum of C. margarita (Fig. 1A) is absent in E. histrio which has only a yellow spot on the basal edge of the scutellum (Fig. 1 C). The enhanced apical part of the scutellum is also absent in E. histrio. C. margarita is about 25–30 % smaller than E. histrio. The body of C. margarita is more circular than the body of E. histrio which is more oval. Also, the anterolateral borders of the pronotum are convex in E. histrio whereas they are concave in C. margarita. C. margarita antennomers II have no black spot at their tips (Fig. 1A) although E. histrio antennomers II have black spots. Spinola and Rolston also stated that antennomers II are longer than antennomers III in E. histrio, whereas the reverse is true in C. margarita (Fig. 1A). Rolston mentioned that antennomers I surpasse the apex of the head in E. histrio. This is apparent in the specimen of UFPR (Fig. 1 C). In contrast, in C. margarita, antennomers I are relatively shorter and do not exceed the apex of the head (Fig. 1A). Mandibular plates are parallel in C. margarita (Fig. 1A) whereas they are strongly reflexed along the lateral margins in E. histrio. The tibiae of C. margarita are actually cylindrical (Fig. 1 E), whereas they are triangular with a wider apex in E. histrio. Female genital plates (Fig. 3 D) are clearly different from those of E. histrio (Figs. 2A & B). The posterior margins of laterotergites 8 are almost flat and slightly rounded on their outer edge in C. margarita whereas they form an acute right angle in E. histrio. Similarly, the posterior margins of laterotergites 9 in C. margarita have a rounded end whereas they form a 45° acute angle in E. histrio. The gonocoxites 8 are subrectangular in E. histrio whereas they are triangular in C. margarita. Then, all these data confirm that C. margarita is not a junior synonym of E. histrio but a valid species.
Distribution. FRENCH GUIANA, Régina and Roura.
description: Published as part of Lupoli, Roland, 2016, Diagnosis of Calagasma Bergroth and Epipedus Spinola with description of Calagasma eclipsa sp. nov. and Epipedus rolstoni sp. nov. (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomidae: Pentatominae: Carpocorini), pp. 330-338 in Zootaxa 4170 (2) on pages 335-336, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4170.2.6, http://zenodo.org/record/260743