Revision and phylogeny of the eccritotarsine plant bug genus Caulotops Bergroth, with descriptions of four new genera and 12 new species (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Miridae: Bryocorinae)

Authors: Henry, Thomas; MENARD, KATRINA - University Of Oklahoma

Submitted to: Zootaxa
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/9/2020
Publication Date: 5/8/2020
Citation: Henry, T.J., Menard, K. 2020. Revision and phylogeny of the eccritotarsine plant bug genus Caulotops Bergroth, with descriptions of four new genera and 12 new species (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Miridae: Bryocorinae). Zootaxa. 4772(2):201-252. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4772.2.1.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4772.2.1

Interpretive Summary: Plant bugs represent the largest family of true bugs and includes numerous agriculturally important species. Many, such as lygus bugs are serious pests of crops and ornamental plantings, causing enormous economic losses in the United States annually. In this paper, we provide a revision of relatively large group of plant bugs that feed on and are often injurious to species of Agave, commonly known as Century Plants (and related plants), that are frequently used in ornamental plantings, serve as food for livestock, and are used in the preparation of popular distilled drinks. We show that all of the species of agave bugs found in the southwestern United States and Mexico have long been misplaced in a South American genus. Consequently, we establish four new genera to accommodate 18 species, 12 of which are described as new to science. A phylogenetic analysis is presented to show relationships and several identification keys are provided to aid in identification. This information will be of interest to a wide range of researchers, regulatory personnel, horticulturalists, and Federal and state departments of agriculture studying the propagation of agaves and the insect fauna associated with them.

Technical Abstract: The bryocorine genus Caulotops Bergroth (Miridae: Eccritotarsini), originally described to acccommodate its only species C. puncticollis Bergroth, is shown not to be congeneric with all other species now included in the genus from North, Central, and northern South America. Consequently, four new genera are established for the following 18 species, including five new combinations and 12 species described as new: Agaveocoris n. gen. for Caulotops agavis Reuter (as the type species) n. comb., C. barberi n. comb., and C. distanti Reuter n. comb. and the new species A. bimaculatus n. sp., A. barrerai n. sp., A. dimidiatus n. sp., A. roseus n. sp., A. rostratus n. sp., A. schaffneri n. sp., and A. scutellatus n. sp; Laterospinocoris n. gen. for Caulotops cyaneipennis Reuter, new comb. (as the type species) and the new species L. mexicanus n. sp.; Nigrotomocoris n. gen. for Caulotops nigrus (as the type species) n. comb., C. tibiopallidus Carvalho n. comb., and the new species N. longirostris n. sp.; and Schaffnerocoris n. gen., for S. fuscotibialis n. sp. (as the type species), S. pallipes n. sp., and S. similis n. sp. Each species is diagnosed and described; habitus images, illustration of male genitalia, and a key to species are provided; and host use and the unique genitalic systems of these taxa are discussed. A phylogenetic analysis, based on 22 taxa and 39 characters, resulted in three trees supporting the monophyly of the four new genera proposed in this study.