Skip to main content

Yunnan harlequin bug (Dindymus albonotum) named for yellowish-white thorax

NEWS - Researchers report a new species, Dindymus albonotum, from specimens collected from a forest near the Wanmu tea plantation in Puer, Yunnan, China. The species has a body shape and coloration similar to Dindymus brevis Blöte (1931) and Dindymus flavinotum Stehlík (2013), but is easily distinguished.

Yunnan harlequin bug (Dindymus albonotum) named for yellowish-white thorax

The researchers from Nanning Normal University in Nanning, the Chinese Academy of Forestry in Beijing, China Agricultural University in Beijing and the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences in Haikou named the species in reference to the yellow posterior lobe of the pronotum. The Latin noun albonotum means "yellowish-white thorax".

Yunnan harlequin bug (D. albonotum) is red with black and milky white markings. The antennae are black and the base of the first segment is red. The labia are blackish brown and the first segment is red. The posterior pronotal lobe is milky white.

The leura and sterna of the thorax are black, the posterior edge of the pleura and the posterior edge of the acetabula are milky white. The legs are black, the apical part of the femur and the base of the tibia are red. The abdomen is black. The posterior edge of the fifth abdominal sternum, the sixth and seventh abdominal sternites are milky white.

The body is oval. The pronotum and forewings are widened transversely. The head is less than wide, the eyes protrude laterally. The anterior and posterior lobes of the pronotum are narrow. The anterior edge of the pronotum is not wider than the head, and is less than 1/2 the distance between the lateral pronotal angles.

The posterior border of the anterior pronotal lobe is convex anteriorly. The posterior pronotal lobe is rarely perforated. The costal border of the corium is widened laterally and is smooth, the corium (except the costal border) and clavus are tightly perforated.

The body length is 14.78 mm and the maximum width of the abdomen is 7.13 mm. The head is 2.78 mm long and 2.61 mm wide. The length of the synlipsis is 1.39 mm. The length of the antennal segments I-IV = 4.35, 2.61, 1.91, 3.48 mm. Length of labial segment I-IV = 2.52, 2.52, 2.09, 1.22 mm.

Length of pronotum 2.86 mm. Width of pronotum 4.96 mm. Length of anterior pronotal lobe 1.22 mm. Length of posterior pronotal lobe 1.74 mm. Length of scutellum 2.73 mm and length of hemelytron 12.17 mm.

Until today Pyrrhocoridae (Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Pyrrhocoroidea) has 525 species in 49 genera spread throughout the world. Dindymus was first officially described by Carl Stål (1833-1878) in 1861 in Ofvers, VetensAkad, Förh, Stockholm, 18. This genus has five synonyms, four subgenera and incertae sedis with more than 45 species.

Original research

Zhao P, Ou M, Cao L, Liu H, Wang J (2024). One new species and two new records of Pyrrhocoridae (Hemiptera, Heteroptera) from China. ZooKeys 1210: 273-286, DOI:10.3897/zookeys.1210.125457

Popular Posts

Awar awar (Ficus septica)

Awar-awar or Hauli tree or barabar or sirih popar or tobo tobo ( Ficus septica ) is species of plants in Moraceae, trees grow in bushes or in neglected places and sap contained in roots, twigs, leaves and fruit is used to treat poisoning and digestive problems. F. septica is usually 1-5 m high, although in the forest it can be up to 25 m. Round, hollow and bare branches. Roots, twigs, leaves and fruit will emit a yellow sap and sticky if injured. The base of the leaves is large and spiky, arranged alternately or face to face with a stem length of 2.5-5 cm. Large leaf blade, round egg, 9-30x9-16 cm, rounded base and blunt narrow tip, flat-edged, upper side dark green with 6-12 secondary bones pale white. Fruit paired, single or clustered up to 4 items, short-stemmed, at the base has 3 protective leaves, light green or gray green and 1.5 cm in diameter. F. septica is food for 22 animal species including wasps, bats, birds, monkeys and mice as well as seed dispersing vectors. A...

Mexican ruellia (Ruellia simplex)

Mexican ruellia ( Ruellia simplex ) is a species of plant in the Acanthaceae, an evergreen perennial, 1 meter tall, forming a colony of stalks with lance-shaped leaves. The leaves are narrowly elongated, 6-30 cm long, 1-2 cm wide, a main vein in the middle with many small pinnate veins. The flowers are metallic blue to purple, trumpet-shaped with a corolla 5.1 cm wide, 6 cm long, five-lobed. There is a dwarf variety that is only 30 cm tall. This plant is used to treat itching, coughs and diabetes. Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Lamiales Family: Acanthaceae Subfamily: Acanthoideae Tribe: Ruellieae Subtribe: Ruelliinae Genus: Ruellia Species: Ruellia simplex

Three new species of Huntsman spider (Pseudopoda Jäger 2000) from Qizimeishan National Nature Reserve

NEWS - A spider survey in Qizimeishan National Nature Reserve in Xuan’en County, southwest Hubei Province, adjacent to the northeastern edge of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, discovered three new species: arc huntsman spider ( Pseudopoda arcuata ♀), Qizimeishan huntsman spider ( Pseudopoda qizimeishanensis ♂ ♀) and Mian Wei huntsman spider ( Pseudopoda weimiani ♂ ♀). The reserve covers a total area of 345.5 km2 and the highest peak is about 2010 meters. It mainly protects the central subtropical mountain evergreen broadleaf forest and subalpine sphagnum swamp wetland area. The reserve is rich in wildlife resources and has been listed as a key biodiversity area in the China Biodiversity Conservation Action Plan. Pseudopoda Jäger 2000 is the largest genus of the Sparassidae Bertkau 1872 with 256 species. Currently, 155 species of Pseudopoda are known in China. This genus is a small to large spider that lives mainly in leaf litter and less frequently in plants. P. arcuata derives its spe...