9 p. ; 24 cm.Includes bibliographical references

Ruckes, Herbert, 1895-

American Museum of Natural History Scientific Publications

AMER]ICAN MUSEUMNOVIYTATESPUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORYCITY OF NEW YORK OCTOBER 28, 1952 NUMBER 1591SOME SCUTELLEROID HEMIPTERA OFTHE BAHAMA ISLANDS, BRITISHWEST INDIESBy HERBERT RUCKES1In 1950 and 1951 members of the Department of Insects andSpiders of the American Museum of Natural History conductedcollecting trips in the Bimini Islands, those small, isolated bitsof land representing a northwestern extension of the Bahamaarchipelago, about 60 miles due east of Miami, Florida. Nospecial effort was made to gather Hemiptera as distinct from otherinsects. The following analysis of the scutelleroid fauna of theseislands can therefore represent only a sampling of the total biotaof this area. It is, however, of great interest to know that insuch general collecting a wide range of genera and species of theseHemiptera were taken. Since much of the wild vegetation on theislands is essentially a thorny growth, sweeping and beatingmethods often favored by hemipterists were seldom attempted.Most specimens were captured by hand picking, on the wing, oras a result of being attracted to lights at night.The analysis of the collections shows that certain species takenfrom South Bimini Island, where most of the survey was conducted,have faunal affiliations with the mainland of Florida and the GulfCoast, while some are linked with either the Greater Antillesor the Lesser Antilles or both. A few forms that are widespreadtropical or Neotropical species are also represented. Many generaand species were not taken, probably because, as stated, thecollectors did not purposefully concentrate on Hemiptera. Suchgenera as Corimelaena, Edessa, Euschistus, Solubea, and Arvelius,which could be expected to occur in these islands, are conspicuous1 Department of Biology, The City College of New York.2 AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES NO. 1591by their absence. Many species of these are recorded from mostof the adjacent islands as well as from continental North America.FAMILY CYDNIDAE BILLBERGSUBFAMILY CYDNINAE DALLASGENUS AETHUS DALLASAethus DALLAS, 1851, List of Hemiptera, p. 112.Aethus communis UhlerAethus communis UInLER, 1877, Bull. Geol. Geogr. Surv., vol. 3, p. 379.Fifteen males and 40 females taken at lights. This species isone instance in which sexual dimorphism is clearly marked. Thelateral margin of the pronotum of the male is distinctly and deeplysinuate, while that of the female is weakly and evenly convexarcuate.TYPE LOCALITY: Cuba and Florida.GENERAL DISTRIBUTION: Indiana? (Blatchley), Texas, Flor-ida, Cuba, Jamaica, and probably also from other islands of theWest Indies.Aethus curvipes DallasAethus curvipes Dallas, 1851, List of Hemiptera, p. 114.Thirty-one specimens of this larger, curve-legged species weretaken at lights. This is about the largest species in the genusand is readily distinguished by the curvature of the hind tibiaeand dusky, fuscous-marked membrane.TYPE LOCALITY: Jamaica.GENERAL DISTRIBUTION: Jamaica, Andros Island (Bahamas),Rio de Janeiro (Berlin Museum), and probably other West IndianIslands.NEW RECORD FOR BAHAMA ISLANDS: South Bimini Island,July and August, 1951.Aethus diminutus, new speciesCastaneous brown to dark fuscous, slightly obovate in outline.Head as wide between the eyes as long through its midline;apex evenly rounded as in allied species; spines along the anteriormargin short, blunt, and all of the same size; two spines on apex oftylus andfiveon anterolateralmargin of each jugum; only three long1952 SCUTELLEROID HEMIPTERA OF BAHAMA ISLANDS 3setae on each jugal margin just in front of eyes; two setae on eachside of disc of head, one in front of each eye and one just behindthe anterior margin; a pair of setae, one long and one short, onthe under side of the apical margin just laterad of the base of thebuccula. Pronotal disc slightly convex, without any indenta-tions, a vague double row of obsolescent, wide-spaced puncturesacross the posterior half; a pair of large setigerous pits nearapical margin diagonally behind the ocelli; a pair of less pro-nounced setigerous punctures inside each lateral margin, one nearanterior angle and one larger, about midway along the length;marginal setae of pronotum at least 10 in number on each side.Scutellum with a few small, scattered punctures on the disc;marginal punctures indistinct and tending to become confluentposteriorly; apex of scutellum almost angulate rather thanrounded. Hemelytra with some scattered punctures on disc; a rowof distinct punctures following the cubital vein, with a secondrow laterally, converging towards the former posteriorly; a rowof subcostal and radial punctures present but not distinct;costal margin with three long setae on the basal third; membraneclear hyaline, with a small fuscous spot near the middle of itsbase. Abdominal venter impunctate, apical edges of segmentsobscurely roughened; only two setae laterally on each segmentadjacent to the spiracle. Mesosternal evaporating area verylarge, reaching the lateral margins of the supporting sclerites.Rostrum nearly reaching posterior margins of mesocoxae, secondjoint almost as long as third and fourth combined. Antennalsegments I, II, and III subequal, each slightly shorter than seg-ments IV and V, which in themselves are subequal. Antennae,rostrum, and tarsi testaceous, each becoming paler apically. Hypo-pygium of the male broadly scoop-shaped, its apical marginentire.HOLOTYPE: Male, 3.75 mm. long, 2.25 wide across humeri;South Bimini Island, Bahama Islands, British West Indies, May,1951 (collected by Cazier and Gertsch).ALLOTYPE: Female, 4 mm. long, 2.5 mm. wide across humeri;same data as for the holotype.PARATYPES: None.Types deposited in the American Museum of Natural History.Closely related to Aethus indentatus Uhler but differing in thenumber and arrangement of spines and setae on head and thorax,the convexity of pronotum, its punctation and that of the scutel-4 AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES NO. 1591lum and hemelytra, the presence of three setae on the costal mar-gin of hemelytra, the shorter posterior tibiae, and the absence ofan indentation of the disc of the pronotum. While similar insize to A. indentatus, this species is still smaller and in that respectoutstanding in comparison with allied species in the genus.GENUS GEOCNETHUS HORVATHGeocnethus HORVATH, 1919, Ann. Mus. Nat. Hungarici, vol. 17, p. 245.Geocnethus cubensis Barber and BrunerGeocnethus cubensis BARBER AND BRUNER, 1932, Jour. Dept. Agr. Porto Rico,vol. 16, p. 236.This appears to be the commonest species of scutellerid in theBimini Islands. The American Museum collection now has 248specimens (116 females, 132 males) which, as were the other cyd-nids, were all taken at lights.TYPE LOCALITY: Cayamas, Cuba.GENERAL DISTRIBUTION: Probably throughout a number ofCaribbean islands.NEW RECORD FOR BAHAMA ISLANDS: South Bimini Island,July and August, 1951.GENUS AMNESTUS DALLASAmnestus DALLAS, 1851, List of Hemiptera, p. 126.Amnestus pusio (StMl)Magoa pusio STAL, 1858, K. Svenska Vetensk.-Akad. Handl., vol. 2, no. 7,p. 14.This very small pale brown cydnid appears to be quite common,35 specimens having been taken on June 20, 1950. Not to beconfused with A. pussilus Uhler, a species that is nearly one-fifthto one-quarter again larger, though similar in color, and of morenorthern distribution.TYPE LOCALITY: Not stated.GENERAL DISTRIBUTION: Virginia (United States NationalMuseum), Florida (Blatchley), Cuba, Puerto Rico, Grenada,St. Vincent, and probably widely distributed throughout theCaribbean area.NEW RECORD FOR BAHAMA ISLANDS: South Bimini Island,June, 1950, and May, 1951.1952 SCUTELLEROID HEMIPTERA OF BAHAMA ISLANDS 5FAMILY PENTATOMIDAE LEACHSUBFAMILY SCUTELLERINAE DISTANTGENUS DIOLCUS MAYRDiolcus MAYR, 1864, Verhandl. Zool. Bot. Gesellsch. Wien, vol. 14, p. 904.Diolcus irroratus (Fabricius)Cimex irroratus FABRICIUS, 1775, Systema entomologiae, p. 699.A common scutellerid of a genus that is restricted to the UnitedStates and the Caribbean islands. Distinguishable from otherspecies by the lack of greenish punctations, a rostrum that doesnot reach beyond the hind coxae, and the absence offurrow on the first few abdominal segments.TYPE LOCALITY: America.GENERAL DISTRIBUTION: Cuba, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico,Jamaica, Antigua, and probably to be found on other West IndianIslands.NEW RECORD FOR BAHAMA ISLANDS: East Bimini, SouthBimini Island, June and July, 1951.SUBFAMILY PENTATOMINAE STALGENUS THYANTA STALThyanta STAL, 1862, Rio Janeiro Hemiptera, vol. 2, p. 58.Of half a dozen species of this genus that might be expected tooccur in the Bimini Islands, three appear in the collections madein 1950 and 1951. Two that otherwise are common throughoutthe Caribbean islands, T. peritor (Fabricius) and T. casta Stal,are, strangely, absent. One species, T. custator (Fabricius)typical of the Florida peninsula, is represented, as well as T.antiguensis (Westwood), a widely distributed Neotropical form.A species recently described as T. bimini Ruckes was collected inabundance and is also represented by two specimens in the UnitedStates National Museum collected near Miami, Florida, manyyears ago. Faunal links between the mainland and the Antillesare indicated by this distribution.Thyanta custator (Fabricius)Cimex custator FABRICIUS, 1803, Systema rhyngotorum, p. 164.The most common green pentatomid in America. It appearsin several forms, one being found from Florida northward along6 AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES NO. 1591the Atlantic coastal belt, which is the form represented in Bimini.TYPE LOCALITY: Carolina.GENERAL DISTRIBUTION: Entire United States, Canada, andnorthern Mexico.NEW RECORD FOR BAHAMA ISLANDS: South Bimini Island,August 2-20, 1951.Thyanta antiguensis (Westwood)Pentatoma antiguensis WESTWOOD, 1837, Hope catalogue, vol. 1, p. 36.This small, rather brightly colored, variegated species is foundwidespread in Neotropical regions, along the Gulf Coast, through-out Mexico and Central America, as well as in Brazil, Peru, andVenezuela. The species is very plastic, and the examples fromBimini tend to be slightly more testaceous green than reddishgreen.TYPE LOCALITY: Antigua.GENERAL DISTRIBUTION: As stated above, Neotropical, alsofrom Texas, eastward to the southern end of the Florida penin-sula.NEW RECORD FOR BAHAMA ISLANDS: South Bimini Island,August 10-20, 1951.Thyanta bimini RuckesThyanta bimini RUCKES, 1952, Bull. Brooklyn Ent. Soc., vol. 47, p. 65.Mrs. Patricia Vaurie, who collected most of the several dozenspecimens of this recently described species, says that many weretaken at lights during the night. This is to be expected since aclose relative [T. custator (Fabricius) ] found in continental UnitedStates has a habit of flying in great swarms towards any sourceof illumination.TYPE LOCALITY: South Bimini Island.GENERAL DISTRIBUTION: South Bimini Island; Miami, Florida.NEW RECORD FOR BAHAMA ISLANDS: South Bimini Island, thetype locality, June-August, 1951.GENUS LOXA AMYOT AND SERVILLELoxa AMYOT AND SERVILLE, 1843, Hemiptera, p. 137.Loxa pilipes HorvathLoxa pilipes HORVATH, 1925, Ann. Mus. Nat. Hungarici, vol. 22, p. 318,pl. 5, fig. 5.1952 SCtJTELLEROID HEMIPTERA OF BAHAMA ISLANDS 7TYPE LOCALITY: Puerto Rico.GENERAL DISTRIBUTION: Caribbean islands, Puerto Rico,Dominica.NEW RECORD FOR BAHAMA ISLANDS: South Bimini Island,May, 1951.Loxa florida Van DuzeeLoxa florida VAN DUZEE, 1909, Bull. Buffalo Soc. Nat. Sci., vol. 9, p. 156(fig.).Distinguishable from the preceding species by the less prominenthumeral spines, the greater degree of convexity of the scutellum,and less extended apical angle of the last abdominal segment.This is another interesting example of faunal connection betweenthe western Bahamas and the mainland on the one hand and(refer to L. pilipes above) the Antilles on the other.TYPE LOCALITY: Crescent City, Florida.GENERAL DISTRIBUTION: Florida.NEW RECORD FOR BAHAMA ISLANDS: South Bimini Island,August 10-20, 1951.GENUS MURGANTIA STAkLMurgantia STAL, 1862, Stettiner Ent. Zeitg., vol. 23, p. 105.Murgantia histrionica (Hahn)Strachia histrionics HAHN, 1834, Wanzartigen Insecten, vol. 2, p. 116, fig.196.This is the common "harlequin" bug found widely distributedthroughout continental United States. Only one specimen wastaken from Bimini but, as a record, shows faunal connection be-tween the Bahamas and the mainland.TYPE LOCALITY: Mexico.GENERAL DISTRIBUTION: Continental United States, Mexico,and Central America.NEW RECORD FOR BAHAMA ISLANDS: South Bimini Island,May 20, 1951.GENUS NEZARA AMYOT AND SERVILLENezara AMYOT AND SERVILLE, 1843, Hemiptera, p. 143.8 AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES NO. 1591Nezara viridula (Linnaeus)Cimex viridukt LINNAEUS, 1758, Systema naturae, ed. 10, vol. 1, p. 444.An extremely common large green pentatomid found in allwarmer parts of the world.TYPE LOCALITY: Indies.GENERAL DISTRIBUTION: Texas, Florida, and virtually all theCaribbean islands.NEW RECORD FOR BAHAMA ISLANDS: South Bimini Island,May to August, 1951.GENUS BREPHOLOXA VAN DUZEEBrepholoxa VAN DUZEE, 1904, Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc., vol. 30, p. 78.Brepholoxa heidemanni Van DuzeeBrepholoxa heidemanni VAN DUZEE, 1904, Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc., vol. 30,p. 78.Previously known only from the Florida mainland but nowbeing collected in abundance in the Bimini Islands.TYPE LOCALITY: Biscayne Bay, Florida.GENERAL DISTRIBUTION: Apparently localized at the lowertip of Florida, the Florida keys, and Bimini. An allied speciesoccurs in Puerto Rico.NEW RECORD FOR BAHAMA ISLANDS: South Bimini Island,May, June, July, August, 1951.GENUS BANASA STALBanasa STAL, 1860, K. Svenska Vetensk.-Akad. Handl., vol. 2, no. 7,p. 24.Banasa herbacea (Stil)Piezodorus herbacea STAL, 1872, K. Svenska Vetensk.-Akad. Handl.,vol. 10, no. 4, p. 44 (Piezodorus).Some 82 specimens of this bright green species were, as weremany other pentatomids and cydnids, taken at lights. Althoughoriginally assigned to the genus Piezodorus by StUl, the charactersdo not conform to those of that genus but are similar to those ofBanasa. Barber in the "Scientific survey of Puerto Rico andthe Virgin Islands" (1939) suggested that this species be removedfrom Piezodorus and assigned to Banasa. The author is in agree-ment with this proposal.1952 SCUTELLEROID HEMIPTERA OF BAHAMA ISLANDS 9TYPE LOCALITY: St. Thomas Island, Virgin Islands.GENERAL DISTRIBUTION: Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, andprobably other West Indian islands.NEW RECORD FOR BAHAMA ISLANDS: South Bimini Island,June to August, 1951.SUBFAMILY ASOPINAE (SPINOLA)Asopoideae SPINOLA, 1850, Tavola Sinottica, p. 29.GENUS PODISUS HERRICH-SCHAEFFERPodisus HERRICH-SCHAEFFER, 1853, Die Wanzartigen Insecten, vol. 9, p.296, p. 337.Podisus sagitta (Fabricius)Cimex sagitta FABRICIUS, 1794, Entomologia systematica, vol. 4, p. 99.This is a common predatory species which is found abundantlyin southern Florida. The single specimen from Bimini apparentlyis a varietal form, as it is much more blotched and punctured withblack and possesses black annuli near the apical ends of the femora.Other structural characters are like those accepted for the species.TYPE LOCALITY: West Indies.GENERAL DISTRIBUTION: Texas, Florida, St. Croix, VirginIslands, Mona Island, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Central America, andnorthern South America.NEW RECORD FOR BAHAMA ISLANDS: South Bimini Island,August, 1951.

Scutelleroid Hemiptera of Bahama Islands

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