NEW HETEROPTERA (INSECTA: HEMIPTERA) RECORDS FROM COLOMBIA

Nuevos registros de Heteroptera (Insecta: Hemiptera) para Colombia

DIMITRI FORERO

Laboratorio de Entomología, Museo Javeriano de Historia Natural, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia. Present address: Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca NY, 14853, USA; and American Museum of Natural History, Division of Invertebrate Zoology, New York, New York 10024-5192, USA. idf2@cornell.edu.

ABSTRACT

Two species of the genus Vilga Stål and the genus Dicysta Champion are recorded for the first time from Colombia.

Key words. Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Colombia insects, Dicysta, Vilga.

RESUMEN

Se registran por primera vez para Colombia dos especies del género Vilga Stål, y por primera vez el género Dicysta Champion.

Palabras clave. Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Insectos de Colombia, Dicysta, Vilga.

INTRODUCTION

The Heteroptera, or “true bugs”, are among the most diverse groups within the Hemiptera, and are usually identified by the strong odor produced by the metathoracic scent glands (Schuh & Slater 1995). The Hemiptera is the fifth largest group of insects with at least 80.000 described species (Gaston 1991), with the Heteroptera being the largest group with more than 35.000 species (Slater 1982). The true bugs that occur in Colombia are poorly known. The data for many groups is sparse and no comprehensive account or checklist exists for the country. Here, two species of the genus Vilga Stål and the genus Dicysta Champion are recorded for the first time from Colombia. The specimens were examined during curatorial activities at the MUJ and IAVH collections. The acronyms of depositary institutions are as follow: Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia (UNCB); Laboratorio de Entomología, Museo de Historia Natural, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia (MUJ); Instituto Alexander Von Humboldt, Villa de Leyva, Colombia (IAVH); and National History Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C., USA (USNM).

Vilga Stål (Coreidae: Pseudophloeinae)
The Pseudophloeinae can be distinguished from other Coreidae subfamilies by having the tibiae terate, without a dorsal sulcus; lack of a median dorsal impression on the head; enlarged posterior abdominal angles of the seventh segment; eighth female paratergite without a functional spiracle; particular genitalic characters; and by the structure of the scent-gland auricle, in which the peritreme has a dorsal ridge entire or shortly bilobed, not with a Y-shape (Dolling 1977, 1978, 1986). The subfamily includes 28 genera distributed in all geographic areas, except non-tropical Australia (Dolling 1986). The species of Pseudophloeinae are frequently associated with Fabaceae herbs, although no host-records exist for Neotropical species (Dolling 1977, 1978, 1986). Pseudophloeinae includes three genera in the New World: Coriomeris Westwood, Ceraleptus Costa, and Vilga Stål. The first two are Holartic (Froeschner 1963, Dolling & Yonke 1976, Dolling 1977), while Vilga is Neotropical, with V. mexicana Distant 1893 ranging from Southern Arizona to El Salvador (Dolling 1977, 1986). The projecting lobe of the seventh abdominal tergum of the males unites the species included in Vilga (Dolling 1977). The genus includes 13 species accommodated in six subgenera (Dolling 1977, 1986). Dolling (1977) commented that specimens of this genus are rare in collections, maybe due to cryptic habitats.

In Colombia only V. dissimilis Distant, 1893 has been previously reported (Dolling 1977). V. westwoodi (Kolenati, 1845) (Fig. 1A), which is a widespread taxon in the Neotropics, has been recorded from Trinidad, Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil; and V. divaricata Distant, 1893 has been recorded from Panama and Guyana (Dolling 1977). The specimens of V. divaricata and V. westwoodi listed below represent the first species records from Colombia.

Figure 1. Dorsal photographs of Vilga and Dicysta. A., V. westwoodi, male, dorsal view; B., Dicysta sp., male, dorsal view, C. Dicysta sp., lateral view.

Specimens examined: Vilga divaricata: COLOMBIA. Tolima: 1♂, Melgar, 450 m, 5-III-91, [MUJ]; 1♂, Melgar, Base Aérea, 18 jun 1974, H. León, leg. [UNCB]. Vilga westwoodi: COLOMBIA. Meta: 1♂, Villavicencio, 8 oct 1970, P. Rodríguez T., leg. [UNCB]; 1♂, Acacías, Vda. Alto A., 730 m, 6 dic 1985, A. Sanchez, leg. [UNCB]; 2♂♂, Cumaral, via a Veracruz, 4°9’N 73°20’W, Vda. Laguna Brava, Fca. El Campin, 400 m, 23 oct 1994, M. Ospina [IAVH]; 1♀, PNN La Macarena, Caño La Curia, 580 m, , 24 dic 1993, F. Fernández [IAVH]; [Boyacá:] 1♀, Laguna P’alagua, Pto. Boyaca, 10 nov 1976, H. Bernal, leg. [UNCB]; Cundinamarca: 1♂, Medina, Vda. Choapal alt. 540 m, 29 jul 1986, [curso] Sist. avanzada [UNCB]; 1♂, Sasaima, C. Cordova [UNCB].

Dicysta Champion (Tingidae)
The Tingidae are called “lace bugs” due to the delicate body reticulation found in many of their species (Drake & Ruhoff 1965, Schuh & Slater 1995). Madrigal (1978) listed and commented the species present in Colombia, based partially in the world catalogue of Drake and Ruhoff (1965). The genus Dicysta has been so far recorded from Panama, Peru, Brazil, Paraguay, Australia, and New Caledonia (Drake & Ruhoff 1965, Guilbert 1997). Species of this genus have frequently been associated with Bignoniaceae species (Drake & Ruhoff 1965). After Champion’s (1897) description of the monotypic Dicysta, Drake (1922, 1922a), Drake & Hambleton (1935, 1939, 1940), Drake & Poor (1939), and Monte (1940) added several new species from the Neotropical region. The genus has never been revised and includes 14 described species (Drake & Ruhoff 1965, Guilbert 1997). The specimen studied (Figs. 1B, 1C) is the first generic record from Colombia. It was collected at a Malaise trap in a tropical dry forest of the Caribbean coast.

Several Dicysta specimens were examined at the USNM and compared to the Colombian specimen: D. amica (holotype), D. cara (holotype), D. fonsecai, D. hollandi, D. lauta (holotype), D. limata (holotype), D. neocaledonica, D. sagillata (holotype), D. serrata, D. smithi, D. vitrea, D. parilia (holotype) and D. peruviana (holotype). It was not possible to assign it to any of the species examined in the collection. The only species that could not be examined was D. brasiliensis, although from its description (Drake 1922) it differs from the Colombian specimen in that the hemelytra is widened near the apex (not widened in the Colombian specimen), and that the portion connecting the inflated part of the middle carina bears three areoles (no areoles in the Colombian specimen).
Some differences distinguish the Colombian specimen from other Dicysta species: the hemelytral tubercles are conical rather than concave anteriorly; the median carina is flat in the first half and inflated in the posterior half. The most similar species is D. sagillata, sharing with it the large hemispherical hood; the anterior part of the median carina without cells; the prominent hemelytral tubercles; and the paranota not strongly recurved. The examined specimen differs from D. sagillata in the shape of the tubercles of the hemelytra, which are conical instead of concave anteriorly; in the more flattened and expanded paranota; and in having a rather different coloration pattern. With additional specimens further studies may prove that this is a new, yet undescribed, species.

Specimen examined: COLOMBIA. Bolívar: 1♂, SFF Los Colorados, 300 m, 9°51’33”N 73°06’38”W, agosto 1996, Bosque seco, [trampa] Malaise, F. Escobar, leg. IAVH.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

T. J. Henry (USNM) kindly let me study the Tingidae collection under his care. G. Fagua (MUJ), F. Fernández (IAVH), and G. Amat (UNCB) facilitated the study of their respective collections. J. Darbro (Cornell University) corrected the English version. C.I. Bohórquez gave me useful comments on the manuscript.

LITERATURE CITED

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4. Dolling, W. R. 1986. The tribe Pseudophloeini (Hemiptera: Coreidae) in the Old World tropics with a discussion of the distribution of the Pseudophloeinae. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), Entomology series 53(3): 151-212.        [ Links ]

5. Dolling W. R. & T. R. Yonke. 1976. The genus Coriomeris in North America. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 69(6): 1147-1152.        [ Links ]

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12. Drake, C. J. & F. A. Ruhoff. 1965. Lacebugs of the World: A Catalogue (Hemiptera: Tingidae). United States National Museum Bulletin 243: 1-634.        [ Links ]

13. Froeschner, R. C. 1963. The genus Ceraleptus Costa in the Western Hemisphere. Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 36 (2): 109-113.        [ Links ]

14. Guilbert, E. 1997. Two new species of Dicysta (Hemiptera, Tingidae) from New Caledonia. Zoosystema 19 (2-3): 515-521.        [ Links ]

15. Madrigal, J. A. 1978. Chinches de encaje (Hemiptera: Tingidae) de Colombia. Revista Colombiana de Entomología 4 (3-4): 76-95.        [ Links ]

16. Monte, O. 1940. Tingitideos novos ou poco conhecidos da fauna Americana. Arquivos do Instituto Biologico 11: 283-300.        [ Links ]

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18. Slater, J. A. 1982. Hemiptera. Pp. 417-447 in: Parker, S. P. (ed.), Synopsis and classification of living organisms. McGraw-Hill, New York.        [ Links ]

Recibido: 07/02/2006
Aceptado: 26/05/2006