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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Systematic Entomology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #399860
Research Project: Systematics of Acari and Hemiptera: Plant Pests, Predators, and Disease Vectors

Location: Systematic Entomology Laboratory

Title: Revision of the North American Hallodapini (Insecta: Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Miridae: Phylinae)

Author
item WYNIGER, D. - University Of Basel
item SCHUH, R. - American Museum Of Natural History
item Henry, Thomas

Submitted to: American Museum Novitates
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/15/2022
Publication Date: 2/17/2023
Citation: Wyniger, D., Schuh, R.T., Henry, T.J. 2023. Revision of the North American Hallodapini (Insecta: Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Miridae: Phylinae). American Museum Novitates. 3994:1-48. https://doi.org/10.1206/3994.1.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1206/3994.1

Interpretive Summary: Plant bugs represent the largest family of true bugs and include numerous agriculturally important species. Many are serious pest of crops and ornamentals, causing enormous losses annually in the United States. In this paper we treat two genera and 12 species, of which one genus and five species are described as new to science. The species in this group occur in the southwestern United States and Mexico and are the only North American representatives of a larger group occurring in the Eastern Hemisphere. All species are ant mimetic. Their feeding habits are unknown, but their association with foraging ants on stems and branches trees and shrubs suggests they are predatory. Each species is illustrated and a key is provided to aid in their identification. This work will be of interest to all researchers interested in predator/prey interactions, the biodiversity of plant bugs in North America, and the higher-group relationships within the family.

Technical Abstract: The North American Hallodapini are revised. Cyrtopeltocoris Reuter includes 12 species, five of which (C. brailovskyi, n. sp., C. fractifasciatus, n. sp., C. hallodapoides, n. sp., C. nudipronotus, n. sp., and C. pronotusus, n. sp.) are described as new. Five nominal species of Cyrtopeltocoris and three commingled species of Sericophanes Reuter are placed in synonymy, and a neotype is designated for C. mexicanus Carvalho and Costa. Phoradendrepulus Polhemus and Polhemus, described based on brachypterous males and females, is synonymized under Cyrtopeltocoris, new synonymy, and P. myrmecomorphus Polhemus and Polhemus is synonymized under C. ajo Knight. The new genus Neocyrtopeltocoris, described to include Sericophanes triangularis Knight and N. froeschneri, n. sp., is placed in the Hallodapini. Provided are habitus images, illustrations, measurements, and distribution maps for all taxa; genitalic illustrations for most taxa; and a key to the species of Cyrtopeltocoris and Neocyrtopeltocoris to aid in identification.