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Title: Acrolophyses, a new seed bug genus and two new species (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Rhyparochromidae: Myodochini) from forest-canopy fogging in Ecuador and Peru

Author
item DELLAPE, P. - National University Of La Plata And Museum
item Henry, Thomas

Submitted to: Insect Systematics & Evolution
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/13/2010
Publication Date: 2/25/2010
Citation: Dellape, P.M., Henry, T.J. 2010. Acrolophyses, a new seed bug genus and two new species (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Rhyparochromidae: Myodochini) from forest-canopy fogging in Ecuador and Peru. Insect Systematics & Evolution. 41:75-89.

Interpretive Summary: Eleven families of true bugs are commonly called seed bugs because of their preference for feeding on ripe seeds up on plants or seeds that have fallen to the ground. Certain species of the group treated in this paper are pests of grains and peanuts stored in piles after harvest, whereas others may seriously damage crops being grown for seed reproduction, causing millions of dollars in damage annually. We recently discovered two species of seed bugs from Ecuador and Peru that are new to science. Although the habits of these new bugs are unknown, they were taken in canopy-fogging samples suggesting that they feed on the seeds of their respective host trees or on fallen seeds entrapped among the branches and epiphytes found in the forest canopy. These new bug are described and illustrated and their relationship with other seeds bugs is discussed. This information will be of interest to a wide array of researchers working in pest management, biological control, and plant-pest quarantine.

Technical Abstract: The new myodochine (Rhyparochromidae) genus Acrolophyses is described to accommodate the two new species A. aboricolous from Ecuador and Peru, designated as the type species, and A. hadros from Ecuador. The new species are diagnosed and described, and adult photographs, scanning electron photomicrographs of selected structures, and illustrations of male genitalia are provided to aid in identification. The relationship of Acrolophyes with the genera Distingphyses and Pephysena is discussed.