On the taxonomic status of Lygus israelensis Linnavuori, 1962 (Heteroptera: Miridae)

2005·0.02 MB·

by  Aglyamzyanov, R S

© Zoological Institute, St.Petersburg, 2006
On the taxonomic status of Lygus israelensis Linnavuori, 1962
(Heteroptera: Miridae)
R.S. Aglyamzyanov
Aglyamzyanov, R.S. 2006. On the taxonomic status of Lygus israelensis Linnavuori,
1962 (Heteroptera: Miridae). Zoosystematica Rossica, 14(2), 2005: 211-212.
Lygus israelensis Linnavuori, 1962 is shown to be a separate species, not a subspecies of
L. gemellatus.
R.S. Aglyamzyanov, Zoological Institute, Johannes University, Mainz, Germany.
Lygus israelensis Linnavuori, 1962, sp. dist. In the punctation of the corium and the shape
of the spiculum, L. israelensis is closest to L.
Lygus italicus orientalis Linnavuori, 1960: 64 (junior pratensis (Linnaeus, 1758). For the punctation
primary homonym of Lygus kalmi var. orientalis Reu- of the corium, this followed already from the
ter, 1896). Holotype: M, Israel, Nabi Rubin; deposited description by Linnavuori (1960): “Pronotum
at American Museum of Natural History, New York.
coarsely punctate. Elytra densely and rather finely
Lygus italicus israelensis Linnavuori, 1962: 78 (new re-
placement name for orientalis Linnavuori). punctate”. The spiculum of L. israelensis is cla-
Lygus gemellatus israelensis: Wagner, 1966: 654. vate, of almost the same shape as in L. pratensis
Lygus israelensis: Linnavuori, 1972: 459. (Fig. 4). L. israelensis differs from L. pratensis
Lygus gemellatus israelensis: Wagner, 1974: 78; Kerzh- in the black pattern on cuneus, scutellum and pro-
ner & Josifov, 1999: 120.
notum. The extreme lateral margin of cuneus is
usually narrowly black in L. israelensis vs. not
Material examined. Syria: 4 M, 3 F, Damaskus, 1-
black in L. pratensis. In L. pratensis, the dark
7.V.1952; 8 M, 44 F, Hama, 24-28.V.1952; 5 M, 7 F, Ba-
nias, 19-23.V.1952. All specimens collected by G. Sei- median stripe on the scutellum is usually not bi-
denstücker and deposited at the Zoologische Staatssam- furcate apically and at most reaching to two-thirds
mlung, München. of the scutellum. The black pattern of pronotum
Discussion. This taxon was described by Lin-
in L. pratensis frequently includes longitudinal
navuori (1960) on the basis of specimens from
dark stripes. Finally, the two species differ in the
Israel as L. italicus orientalis. To avoid homony-
colour and size of the body. The typical colour of
my, the name was replaced by L. italicus israel-
L. israelensis is light yellowish or green-straw,
ensis Linnavuori, 1962. Linnavuori (l972) up-
apparently green in living specimens. The colour
graded its rank to species (L. israelensis), but
of L. pratensis is usually yellow and has often
Wagner (1966, 1974) and Kerzhner & Josifov
(1999) treated it as a subspecies of L. gemellatus
(Herrich-Schaeffer, 1835) and Schwartz & Foottit
(1998) even listed it as a synonym of the latter
species. Our examination shows that L. israel-
ensis is a separate species. L. israelensis is sim-
ilar in the black pattern of pronotum and scutel-
lum to specimens of L. gemellatus f. typica with
not intensely developed dark pattern on these
body parts. The black pattern of the pronotum of
L. israelensis consists usually of two dark mark-
ings behind the calli and two, behind the fore
corners. The scutellum has a short median dark
stripe bifurcated apically. The difference between
these species consists in the punctation and shape
of spiculum. Punctures in the central part of co- 1 2 3 4
rium are not denser than those on pronotum in L.
gemellatus vs. denser in L. israelensis. The apex Figs 1-4. Spiculum of aedeagus. 1, 2, L. israelensis Lin-
of the spiculum is pointed in L. gemellatus (Fig. navuori (1, male from Syria; 2, original figure by Linna-
vuori, 1960); 3, L. gemellatus (Herrich-Schaeffer); 4, L.
3) vs. clavate in L. israelensis (Figs 1, 2).
pratensis (Linnaeus). Scale: 0.1 mm.
212 R.S. Aglyamzyanov: On Lygus israelensis • ZOOSYST. ROSSICA Vol. 14
dun, brown or reddish tone. L. israelensis is on logue of the Heteroptera of the Palaearctic Region,
the average smaller: body length of L. israelen- 3: i-xiv, 1-577. Amsterdam: The Netherlands Ento-
mological Society.
sis and L. pratensis is approximately 5.5 and
Linnavuori, R. 1960. Hemiptera of Israel. I. Ann. zool.
6.0 mm, respectively.
Soc. zool. bot. Fenn. ‘Vanamo’, 22(1): 1-71.
Hence, the species status given to L. israelen- Linnavuori, R. 1962. Hemiptera of Israel. III. Ann. zool.
sis by Linnavuori (1972) must be resurrected. Soc. zool. bot. Fenn. ‘Vanamo’, 24(3): 1-108.
Distribution. Egypt (including Sinai), Israel, Linnavuori, R. 1972. A Heteropterous material from the
Syria. Mediterranean Subregion. Bull. Rech. agron. Gem-
bloux (N.S.), 6 (1971): 453-460.
Wagner, E. 1966. Eine Heteropterenausbeute aus der
Acknowledgements Türkei (Hemiptera, Heteroptera). Bull. Rech. agron.
Gembloux (N.S.), 1: 646-654.
I am grateful to Prof. I.M. Kerzhner for valuable ad- Wagner, E. 1974. Die Miridae Hahn, 1831, des Mit-
vice and correction of the text. telmeerraumes und der Makaronesischen Inseln
(Hemiptera, Heteroptera), Teil 1. Entomol. Abhandl.
References Staatl. Mus. Tierkunde Dresden, 37, Suppl. (1970-
1971): i-ii, 1-484.
Kerzhner, I.M. & Josifov, M. 1999. Cimicomorpha II.
Received 28 November 2005
Miridae. In: Aukema, B. & Rieger, Chr. (Eds.). Cata-