Anthophilolygus alaneylesi Yasunaga & Schwartz & Chérot 2018, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Yasunaga, Tomohide
name: Schwartz, Michael D.
name: Chérot, Frédéric
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Miridae
Anthophilolygus
Anthophilolygus alaneylesi

description: Anthophilolygus alaneylesi sp. nov.
(Figs 54–55, 73–76, 94–98, 118–125)
Type material. HOLOTYPE: ♁, THAILAND: NAKHON NAYOK: Sarika, Maduea Riv. upper stream margin, 14.3677, 101.2719, on Homonoia riparia (flowers and leaves), 20 Mar 2014, T. Yasunaga & K. Yamada (AMNH _ PBI 00380617) (DOAT). PARATYPES: THAILAND: CHAIYAPHUM: Chulabhom Dam, 16°32–33 ′ N, 101°38–39 ′ E, 760–780 m alt, 16 Apr 2013, T. Yasunaga, 1 ♀ (TYCN). NAKHON NAYOK: Same data as for holotype, 1 ♁ (TYCN); Sarika near Nang Rong Waterfall along stream, 14°19 ′ 39.5 ″ N 101°19 ′ 07.4 ″ E, on Homonoia riparia, 31 Dec 2012, T. Yasunaga, 1 ♁ 2 ♀♀ (CNC, TYCN); Sarika near Sarika Waterfall, 14°18 ′ 32 ″ N 101°15 ′ 20 ″ E ~ 14°18 ′ 09 ″ N 101°15 ′ 38 ″ E, on Homonoia riparia mixed with Scurrula sp., 22 Mar 2010, T. Yasunaga & K. Yamada, 1 ♁ (TYCN). NAKHON RATCHASIMA: Wang Nam Khieo, Udom Sap, Sakaerat Environmental Research Station, 14.5163, 101.9325, on Homonoia riparia, T. Yasunaga, 1 ♀ (AMNH _PBI 00380618) (TYCN); same locality, 14°30 ′ 27 ″ N, 101°55 ′ 39 ″ E, 410 m alt., UV light trap, 19–20 Aug 2008, T.Yasunaga & B. Shishido (TYCN), 1 ♀; 12–14 Jun 2009, T. Yasunaga & K. Yamada, 1 ♁ (TYCN).
Description. Male. Body ovoid, very tiny in size, 2.52– 2.70 mm. COLOURATION: Generally pale green (but sometimes fading to yellowish or brownish in dry-preserved specimens). Antennae pale green (yellowish brown in dry-preserved specimen), two distal segments dark brown. Labium pale brown, apex of segment IV reddish brown. Ostiolar peritreme creamy yellow. Hemelytron almost uniformly pale green, paracuneus more or less darkened; apex of cuneus narrowly infuscate; membrane including veins pale smoky brown, with distally darkened large areolar cell and a dark spot posterior to cuneus. Coxae and legs pale green (yellowish brown in dry-preserved specimen); each femur sometimes tinged with red (cf. Fig. 76), apically with two obscure rings; tibia with reddish brown spines, lacking dark spot at base of each spine.Abdomen uniformly pale green (yellowish brown in dry-preserved specimen). SURFACE AND VESTITURE: Dorsal surface shining, shallowly and somewhat coarsely punctate, with densely distributed, pale, simple, semierect setae. Head with pale, short, erect setae; labium shiny. Pronotum shallowly and transversely rugose; scutellum almost flat. Hemelytron shallowly and coarsely punctate. STRUCTURE: Vertex with a basal transverse carina as thick as pronotal collar. Antennae a little shorter than body; segment II slightly incrassate toward apex, about as long as basal width of pronotum; antennal segments III and IV filiform. Labium reaching or slightly exceeding apex of metacoxa, almost equal in length to antennal segment II. Pronotal collar about as thick as antennal segment III; scutellum almost flat. Metatarsomere III longer than I or II. GENITALIA (Figs 118–123): Pygophore with a triangular PS (Fig. 119). Left paramere C-shaped, with tumid sensory lobe; hypophysis with an elongate median process and small ventral process (Fig. 120); right paramere rather bulbous, with slender, pointed hypophysis (Fig. 119); endosoma almost membranous with sparsely distributed, short spinules and a thin, primary lobal sclerite (PL) (Figs 121–122); secondary gonopore small, thick-rimmed; phallotheca simple, slender (Fig. 123).
Female. Similar to male, 2.82–2.98 mm, except antennae segment II slightly shorter than basal width of pronotum. GENITALIA (Figs 124–125): Sclerotized rings narrow-rimmed, elongate ovoid, rather large; interramal lobe narrow, sparsely spinulate.
Measurements (in mm). ♁/ ♀: Total length of body 2.52– 2.70 / 2.82–2.98; head width including eyes 0.76–0.80 / 0.76–0.81; vertex width 0.25–0.29 / 0.30–0.33; lengths of antennal segments I–IV 0.34–0.38, 1.05–1.08, 0.55–0.60, 0.43–0.47 / 0.39–0.45, 1.09–1.10, 0.61–0.63, 0.46–0.48; labial length 1.05–1.08 / 1.07–1.20; mesal length of pronotum including collar 0.46–0.62 / 0.66–0.75; basal width of pronotum 1.05–1.11 / 1.17–1.27; maximum width across hemelytron 1.20–1.28 / 1.30–1.53; and lengths of metafemur, tibia and tarsus 1.05–1.17, 1.44–1.63, 0.31–0.35 / 1.20–1.35,1.65–1.77, 0.40–0.43.
Differential diagnosis. Recognized by its remarkably tiny size (total length <3 mm); shiny pale green general colouration; shallowly punctate dorsum with densely distributed, simple, semierect setae; and a dark spot on paracuneus; and narrowly darkened apex of cuneus. Most similar in external appearance to Nepiolygus arare Yasunaga, Schwartz & Chérot, 2002 (known from Ryukyus, Japan, Figs 77, 110–111) rather than other Anthophilolygus congeners; distinguished by denser dorsal vestiture, presence of two obscure rings at apex of metafemur that is sometimes tinged with red, endosoma without distinct lobal sclerites, and posterior wall of bursa copulatrix lacking median process between interramal lobes.
Etymology. Named in honor of our long time New Zealand colleague, Alan C. Eyles.
Biology. This new species is associated with willow-leaved water croton, Homonoia riparia Lour. (Euphorbiaceae), grown along clean mountain streams in central Thailand. Adults were occasionally attracted to UV light at night. Collection records suggest a multivoltine life cycle for this mirid.
Distribution. Central Thailand (Nakhon Nayok, Nakhon Ratchasima).
Comments. Placement of this new species in Anthophilolygus is based on (1) dorsal vestiture pattern, (2) shape of metathoracic scent efferent system and pretarsal structure, (3) proportion of each tarsomere, (4) almost membranous endosoma with a single, thin sclerite and sparse spinules, and (5) simple form of female genitalia with narrow, sparsely spinulate interramal lobes and narrow-rimmed sclerotized rings, although it at first sight more resembles Nepiolygus Yasunaga, Schwartz & Chérot, 2002 or Micromimetus species (due to its remarkably small size). All other species of the Lygus -complex described from the Asia-Pacific region, except for Nepiolygus arare (cf. Fig. 77), are obviously larger in size (> 3.2 mm, mostly> 4 mm).
description: Published as part of Yasunaga, Tomohide, Schwartz, Michael D. & Chérot, Frédéric, 2018, Review of the plant bug genus Prolygus and related mirine taxa from eastern Asia (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Miridae), pp. 357-388 in Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae (Acta. Ent. Mus. Natl. Pragae) (Acta. Ent. Mus. Natl. Pragae) 58 (2) on pages 369-372, DOI: 10.2478/aemnp-2018-0030, http://zenodo.org/record/4504807