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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Systematic Entomology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #354153
Research Project: Systematics of Hemiptera and Related Groups: Plant Pests, Predators and Disease Vectors

Location: Systematic Entomology Laboratory

Title: A new species of the lace bug genus Acalypta (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Tingidae) from Guatemala, and a spectacular new related genus and new species from Mexico

Author
item Henry, Thomas
item BRAILOVSKY, H. - UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL AUTONOMA DE MEXICO

Submitted to: Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/26/2018
Publication Date: 8/8/2018
Citation: Henry, T.J., Brailovsky, H. 2018. A new species of the lace bug genus Acalypta (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Tingidae) from Guatemala, and a spectacular new related genus and new species from Mexico. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 123(3):533-542.

Interpretive Summary: Lace bugs are a relatively large, worldwide group of plant-feeding bugs with about 2200 species, many of which are serious pests causing severe leaf stippling on ornamental plants, trees, and crops, including avocados, beans, and cassava. Many lace bugs are characterized by their lacy wings, but the species treated in this paper are more opaque and have oval, strongly convex bodies. In this paper, we describe one species new to science from Guatemala that represents the southernmost distribution of a mostly north temperate genus, and a related new genus and species from Mexico. Diagnoses, descriptions, and figures of the adults are provided to help distinguish these newly recognized lace bugs. This work will be of interest to all researchers working with plant-feeding insects associated with landscape plantings and agricultural crops.

Technical Abstract: The New World lace bugs (Tingidae) Acalypta emarginata, n. sp., from Guatemala, and Cervantestingis galeata, n. gen. and n. sp., from Veracruz, Mexico, are diagnosed, described, and illustrated. The discovery of Acalypta emarginata in Central America represents one of the southern-most hemisphere records for a species of this largely temperate, moss-feeding genus of Tingidae. The relationship of C. galeata with species of Acalypta is discussed.