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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Systematic Entomology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #367359
Research Project: Systematics of Hemiptera and Related Groups: Plant Pests, Predators and Disease Vectors

Location: Systematic Entomology Laboratory

Title: Bajacanthus immaculatus: A new hoplinine genus and species of stilt bug (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Berytidae) from Baja California Sur, Mexico, with a revised key to the genera of the tribe

Author
item Henry, Thomas
item WALL, MICHAEL - SAN DIEGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM

Submitted to: Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/20/2019
Publication Date: 11/23/2019
Citation: Henry, T.J., Wall, M. 2019. Bajacanthus immaculatus: A new hoplinine genus and species of stilt bug (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Berytidae) from Baja California Sur, Mexico, with a revised key to the genera of the tribe. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 121(4):616-624. https://doi.org/10.4289/0013-8797.121.4.616.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4289/0013-8797.121.4.616

Interpretive Summary: Stilt bugs represent a relatively small, worldwide family of both predaceous and plant-feeding insects. A number of species are serious agricultural pests on such crops as tomatoes, causing millions of dollars damage, whereas many others are predators of certain pest species making them potentially important in biocontrol programs. In this publication, we describe a new genus and species of stilt bug that was discovered feeding on a newly described plant known only from one locality in Baja California Sur. This paper will be of interest to ecologists study insect- plant coevolution, biological control workers studying plant-predator systems, and other researchers investigating flora and fauna of this isolated region of North America.

Technical Abstract: The new stilt bug genus Bajacanthus, n. gen., and new species immaculatus, n. sp., are described from the Vizcaino Peninsula in Baja California Sur, Mexico, discovered on the recently described endemic plant Bajacalia moranii B. L. Turner (Asteraceae). A diagnosis, description, digital images of the adult male and female, male genitalia capsule, and parameres are provided to facilitate recognition. A discussion of relationships is given and a revised key to the genera of the tribe Hoplinini (Gampsocorinae) is provided