Journal of Threatened Taxa |
www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 March 2021 | 13(3): 17930–17938
ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893
(Print)
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.6763.13.3.17930-17938
#6763 | Received 02 October 2020 | Final
received 24 November 2020 | Finally accepted 20 March 2021
Redescription of the bug Aschistocoris brevicornis
(Heteroptera: Coreidae) and first report on its life
history from northern Maharashtra, India
Digvijay R. Jadhav 1,
Renuka R. Khairnar 2, Balasaheb
V. Sarode
3, Swapnil S. Boyane 4 &
Hemant V. Ghate
5
1–5 P.G. Research Centre, Department
of Zoology, Modern College of Arts, Science & Commerce, Shivajinagar, Pune,
Maharashtra 411005, India.
1 digvijayjadhav777@gmail.com, 2
khairnarrenu1998@gmail.com, 3 balasahebs78@gmail.com, 4 boyane.swapnil@gmail.com, 5 hemantghate@gmail.com
(corresponding author)
Editor: Anonymity
requested. Date of publication:
26 March 2021 (online & print)
Citation: Jadhav, D.R., R.R. Khairnar, B.V. Sarode, S.S. Boyane & H.V. Ghate (2021). Redescription of the bug Aschistocoris
brevicornis (Heteroptera:
Coreidae) and first report on its life history from northern Maharashtra,
India. Journal of
Threatened Taxa 13(3): 17930–17938. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.6763.13.3.17930-17938
Copyright: © Jadhav et al. 2021. Creative Commons Attribution
4.0 International License. JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and
distribution of this article in any medium by providing adequate credit to the
author(s) and the source of publication.
Funding: Self-funded.
Competing interests: The authors
declare no competing interests.
Author details: Jadhav and Khairnar are present MSc Zoology
students while Sarode
and Boyane
are past students of this department. Boyane is now with ATREE
(Bangalore) while Sarode is self-employed - both are
actively looking at biodiversity of bugs. Jadhav
and Khairnar
are at present doing MSc project on aquatic insects of Dhule area. H.V Ghate is
a retired college teacher pursuing taxonomical work.
Author contribution: Jadhav and Khairnar
studied life history in Dhule area and
recorded the details presented here. Sarode initiated
this work when he collected a pair. Sarode and Boyane helped in dissection, photography and preparation of
illustrations. Ghate wrote the manuscript with inputs
from all co-authors.
Acknowledgements: We are indebted to Bill Dolling
(U.K) for correcting and shaping this manuscript, especially the first part
dealing with morphology, as well as for continuous support to HVG. Both Ms. Khairnar and Mr. Jadhav thank their families for supporting
this work at home during this lockdown period; in addition Mr. Rajendra Khairnar (father) helped in field work. Staff at Department
of Zoology, R.C. Patel Arts, Science & Commerce College, Dhule, provided
some support to Mr. Jadhav and we gratefully acknowledge that. The authors are
indebted to the authorities of Progressive Education Society and Modern College
for facilities and encouragement.
Abstract: We redescribe
Aschistocoris brevicornis (Dallas, 1852) from northern
Maharashtra, India, a species belonging to the tribe Homoeocerini
(Heteroptera: Coreidae: Coreinae). Here we have provided detailed,
well-illustrated morphology, including the male genitalia, and notes on its
bionomics for the first time.
Keywords: Aschistocoris, Butea monosperma,
Coreinae, Homoeocerini, life history.
INTRODUCTION
The family Coreidae includes relatively robust,
elongate bodied bugs, some of which are among the largest of Heteroptera, however, there are also some slender and
delicate species in this family (Schuh & Slater 1995). During an ongoing search for Heteroptera in Maharashtra, a pair of bugs collected in
Shahada (District Nandurbar, Maharashtra State, July
2017), on Palash Tree Butea monosperma (Lam.)
Taub. (Fabaceae: Papilionaceae), proved to be Aschistocoris
brevicornis, providing the opportunity to
describe and figure this “apparently rare” species in detail. Recent surveys initiated in nearby areas,
namely Shirpur and Nizampur
(District Dhule, Maharashtra State, June to November 2020), revealed breeding
populations of this bug at these two localities. We could then observe mating,
egg-laying, and nymphal development on Butea, both
in natural as well as ‘home laboratory’ conditions.
Stål (1873) founded the genus Aschistus
for the species described by Dallas (1852) as Ornytus?
brevicornis from ‘North Bengal’. Later Aschistus brevicornis
was briefly redescribed and figured by Distant (1902)
with the same locality data as presented by Dallas. Subsequently, Distant (1908) described two
more species, Aschistus nepalensis
from ‘[Nepal]: Benikhola and Bijdura;
[India]: United Provinces, Naini Tal Districts’ and A.
sulcatus from [Myanmar]: ‘Pegu,
Palon.’
Bergroth (1909) proposed the nominal genus Aschistocoris
as a replacement name for Aschistus Stål, preoccupied by Aschistus
Förster, 1868 (in Hymenoptera, as stated by Bergroth 1909; original paper by Förster
not seen), and described another species, Aschistocoris
bombaeus, from a male specimen collected in
‘Bombay’, India.
Distant (1918) applied the genus name Aschistocoris to all four species but regarded A.
bombaeus as possibly a variety of A. brevicornis; he also added a new locality for A. brevicornis: ‘Central Prov.; Bhandara
(on Dhak)’ (now Bhandara
District of Maharashtra State, India). Dhak is the
local name of Butea monosperma. He also added
‘N. India: Dehra Dun, Sabhawala’ (Sabhawala
is a village in Dehradun District, Uttarakhand State of India) to the locality
data for A. sulcatus.
Ahmad & Perveen (1983)
revised the genus Aschistocoris for the
Oriental region and added two new species to the genus - A. neonepalensis from ‘Nepal’ and A. schaeferi from ‘S. India: Pondicherry’ (now Puducherry,
a Union Territory on the eastern coast).
They provided a key to the five species then included in the genus and
discussed its relationship with Anhomoeus
Hsiao, 1963. Perveen
(1991) transferred both A. nepalensis and A.
sulcatus to the genus Anhomoeus,
leaving only brevicornis, neonepalensis and schaeferi
in Aschistocoris, though the status of A.
bombaeus remained unexamined. More & Ghate
(2018) had discussed part of this issue earlier. All species of the genus Aschistocoris,
as it is now constituted, are confined to India and Nepal.
In a recent paper, Biswas et al. (2014) reported this
species from Raipur, Chhattisgarh State, India, and gave a brief diagnosis
accompanied by a photograph of the dorsal habitus. Although they did not indicate the sex of
their specimen it is apparent from the photograph that it is a female. Their photograph, however, does not show the
median pale longitudinal line on the pronotum and scutellum that is present in
our material and in the image of the female ‘type’ specimen of A. brevicornis available on the Coreoidea
Species File website. We are unable to
agree that the specimen in Biswas et al. (2014) belongs to this species and
perhaps even to this genus. There are no
other recent published reports of any species of Aschistocoris
from India. Prabakar (2015) listed only A.
brevicornis from India, citing the localities
Madhya Pradesh and Sikkim; he made no mention of either A. bombaeus or A. schaeferi, the
other two species known from India.
Here we redescribe Aschistocoris brevicornis,
based on recently collected specimens from Maharashtra, with several
illustrations. In addition, we provide information about bionomics of this bug
for the first time.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
Part I
Material studied: MASCZ Het 150 & 151, 07.x.2017, 1 male and 1 female, Shahada (District Nandurbar), coll. Sarode, deposited in
Modern College, Pune.
Bugs were studied under a Leica stereozoom
(MZ6) microscope and also photographed with attached Canon Powershot
S50 camera. Several images were stacked
using CombineZP software and the images were
processed with Adobe Photoshop CS5.
Measurements were done with Erma stage and ocular micrometer and an
accurate scale. The pygophore
was dissected after treating the last three abdominal segments with hot 10%
KOH, the phallic complex was dissected and the parameres
and phallus were separated and mounted in polyvinyl lactophenol (PVLP) with
lignin pink dye before photography. The
dissected specimen was briefly rinsed with dilute acetic acid, followed by 70%
alcohol, spread and mounted again.
Part II
Field work was done at two places in Dhule District (Shirpur and Sakri-Nizampur)
during 15 June–15 November 2020. Several
areas that harbor wild Butea plants were surveyed. Many adults and breeding pairs along with
nymphs of the various stages were observed in the field. Some pairs were collected and reared at home
in large plastic containers covered with nylon mesh and fed ad libitum with
fresh, tender Butea shoots and cut leaves daily. In the field the bugs were observed to prefer
tender shoot, leaves, and even flower buds.
The containers were kept in room, near well-ventilated area in window,
in the natural light cycle; temperature was not controlled. Egg laying, eggs, hatching process and nymphal development was recorded on these home-grown
bugs. Since all this work was done at
home in lockdown period (Covid-19 pandemic), microscopic examination and
detailed description/ photography of different stages could not be carried
out. All photos of habitat, mating
pairs, eggs, and nymphs were captured on mobile camera (Redmi Note 7 or Redmi
Note 9) or digital SLR (Canon EOS 760D).
Data presented here are based on observations of 14 mating pairs (11
pairs were studied in home at Shirpur (by D. Jadhav)
and three pairs were studied at home in Sakri (by R. Khairnar).
Observations on eggs and nymphs were carried out using a small
lens. Representative material of all nymphal stages is preserved in 70% alcohol and will be
processed for microscopy work at Modern College later. Presently the material is with DJ and RK.
All the
descriptions of eggs, nymphal stages and adults is
entirely based on eggs that hatched at home.
All the photos are also from the home reared population except the photo
of the mating pair. There was no way to
control temperature at home and so that variable is unknown. We regularly visited field populations nearby
to check if the home grown nymphs are stunted or showing delayed development
and we found no difference; however, these observations were done only with
naked eye or with a small lens and are therefore ‘gross’.
TAXONOMY
Family Coreidae Leach, 1815
Subfamily Coreinae Leach,
1815
Tribe Homoeocerini Amyot & Serville, 1843
Genus Aschistocoris Bergroth, 1909
Species Aschistocoris brevicornis (Dallas)
RESULTS
Part I
Observations on morphology:
Coloration and vestiture
(male)
Body elongate, almost
parallel-sided behind pronotum and slightly narrowed anteriorly. Colour ochraceous, ventrally mostly paler
(except last 2 segments) than dorsal side.
Entire body finely punctured, each puncture with fine, short, colourless
seta; at some places, especially on head, lateral and anterior most side of
pronotum, there are setigerous black granules;
similar granules present on first three segments of antenna, fourth segment
pilose; ventral part of head paler than dorsal side, setose but with very few
blackish, setigerous granules; labium darker than
adjoining area. Distinct, pale
ochraceous line present along midline in posterior half of head dorsally, in
anterior two-thirds of pronotum and entire length of scutellum.
Pronotum and scutellum sparsely
covered with short, colourless setae arising from brown punctures. A few black setigerous
granules also present on lateral margin, especially in anterior half, lateral
margin pale, with fine granules.
Ventrally all thoracic sterna more or less pale ochraceous with few
scattered black setigerous granules on pro-, meso-, and meta-sterna laterally; one lateral black spot on
each thoracic pleuron. Mesosternum and metasternum
medially sub shining due to sparse setae, pleura setose like rest of the body;
setae arising from colourless or black punctures. Hemelytra with corium and clavus as dark as
pronotum, membrane translucent (revealing dark reddish brown tergites below),
with prominent veins, shining with bronze tinge.
All legs identical in coloration,
more or less matching dorsal coloration, spotted with black and finely setose:
all coxae and basal two-thirds of femora pale ochraceous, distal third of
femora, tibiae and tarsi reddish-brown; claws dark brown.
Abdomen with tergites dark brown,
with pale border, and with two large median, round pale areas on segmental
borders 4–5 and 5–6 (in both sexes), around the opening of “remnants of dorsal
abdominal glands” (Schaefer 1964).
Abdominal sternites medially with many black
punctures with setae so that this part broadly appears greyish. This greyish median part flanked on each side
by a pale stripe in which dark brown patches form an irregular pattern; further
laterally connexivum pale in anterior half, slightly
darker in posterior half. Overall
posterior half of sixth and entire seventh sternum darker than preceding
segments. Trichobothria prominent and in
typical pattern: those on sternum three and four closer to midline than those
on the remaining sternites. Spiracles dark, situated closer to lateral than
anterior margin of segment. Most of
these coloration details are seen in (Image 1A,B) and (Image 2A–H).
Structure
Head
Sub quadrate, almost as broad as
long, slightly convex above with deep median longitudinal sulcus behind clypeus
that continues along as fine sulcus in posterior part. Head dorsally covered with black setigerous granules arranged in pattern, with median and
lateral smooth lines. Eyes large,
rounded, close to anterior angles of pronotum; width of head across eyes
greater than width of pronotum across anterior angles. Ocelli prominent, closer to eyes than to each
other, situated almost in line with posterior margin of eye. Preocellar pits
prominent. Antenniferous
tubercles situated at apex of head, slightly elevated and glossy. Clypeus and
mandibular plates slightly declivous, visible between antenniferous
tubercles (Image 2A,B). Labium long,
almost reaching mid coxae, with two rows of setae along its length; boundary
between first and second segments indistinct.
Bucculae small; head, prosternum, and mesosternum distinctly sulcate medially, beneath
labium. Antennae shorter than body,
moderately robust, antennal I segment broadest, II and III slightly slender,
these three segments densely covered with black setigerous
granules, IV segment slightly thicker, spindle-shaped and finely punctured.
Thorax
Pronotum rhomboidal, slightly
declivous towards head, its anterior margin emarginated behind head, posterior
margin straight over scutellum, lateral margins straight; humeral angles
slightly raised, sub shining (Image 2E,F).
Scutellum as long as broad. Hemelytra
with punctures on corium slightly larger than those on pronotum; clavus and
corium identical in sculpture to scutellum, veins distinctly elevated and
prominent, smooth and shining; membrane typically coreid
with many longitudinal veins, not reaching apex of abdomen (in both sexes).
Metathoracic scent gland ostiole of
characteristic shape, with well-developed peritremal
lobes (Image 2I,J) but evaporatorium very small.
All legs slender, moderately long;
fore coxae close together but mid and hind coxae well separated; femora
slightly broadened distally, hind femora not reaching abdominal apex (Image
1A,B); tibiae of uniform diameter; tarsus three-segmented with first segment as
long as remaining two, claws with globular, white pulvillus.
Pregenital abdomen
Abdomen nearly parallel sided in
basal three-quarters of its length, then slightly narrowed; abdominal segments
almost as long as broad (Image 2G,H).
Female
Female longer (Image 1A), slightly
broader in abdominal segments 4, 5, and 6 (Image 2H); in coloration ventrally
paler than male. Other structures
(barring genital segments) are nearly identical.
External genitalia
Male - Pygophore
more or less rounded, more convex ventrally, flattened dorsally, with median
crown-like projection on ventro-posterior margin and
lateral triangular projection on each side; only these three projections
visible in dorsal view (Image 2E) while ventrally about one half length of pygophore is visible.
Eighth segment not visible.
Detached pygophore appears as shown here in
dorsal, ventral and lateral views, respectively (Image 3E–G); dorsal bridge of pygophore narrow, its basal (anterior) opening elliptical
while posterodorsal (posterior) opening somewhat
flask shaped, narrow at base and wide distally.
Parameres with broad base and blade-like
distal portion (Image 3H). Dorsal view
of phallus, just removed from pygophore, is shown
here (Image 3I) along with dorsal view of everted phallus (Image 3J); these
images show well developed articulatory apparatus, partly sclerotized theca,
conjunctiva with pair of sclerotized ventral processes and other blunt,
membranous processes; vesica partly sclerotized,
short, and coiled.
Female - Seventh tergite
emarginated, partially covering genitalia dorsally; ventrally seventh sternite with a deep median notch, lateral side to this
notch is bisinuate; eighth paratergite
with spiracle, ninth without. Appearance of female external genital
plates as shown here (Images 2H, 3D).
Measurement in mm of Shahada
specimens (1
male / 1 female).
Total length – 13.8/16.5. Head
length mediodorsally – 1.62/1.75; head width at antenniferous
tubercles – 1.1/1.12; head width at eye – 1.62/1.7; head width between eyes –
0.87/0.92; eye diameter - 0.5/0.55; distance between ocelli – 0.5/0.5;
antenna: first segment – 2.12/2.25; second segment – 3.0/3.37; third segment –
1.75/2.25; fourth segment – 1.8/2.25; labium: first segment – 0.37/0.75; second
segment- 1.0/0.87; third segment – 1.5/1.87; fourth segment – 1.25/1.37;
pronotum breadth at anterior angles – 1.37/1.5; pronotum width at humeral angles – 3.0/3.25; median length of pronotum
– 2.75/3.0; scutellum width at base – 1.37/1.5; scutellum median length –
1.62/1.75; prosternum – 1.0/1.1; mesosternum –
1.5/1.87; metasternum – 1.0/1.37; legs: fore coxa –
0.25/0.25; fore femur – 2.5/3.0; fore tibia – 2.0/2.25; tarsus with claw –
1.5/1.4; mid coxa – 0.5/0.5; mid femur – 2.8/3.0; mid tibia – 2.4/2.75; tarsus
with claw – 1.5/1.75; hind coxa – 0.5/0.5; hind femur – 5.0/5.0; hind tibia –
3.5/4.0; tarsus with claw – 1.6/2.0; visible part of pygophore
up to apex of crown-like projection – 0.82.
Part II
Observations on natural history
Habitat
Bugs were found in areas
where there were many smaller, shrub-like Butea of about 2–6 feet
(~60–175 cm) height for dispersal, not usually found on a solitary tree. Bugs were observed to feed on petiole (mainly
on petiole of 3 leaves which joins to the branch), on leaf veins of
young parts, even flower buds and in the region where new branching is
present. Butea trees are common
in most areas; small (below 6 feet) and large trees are seen on the sides of
roads, farms, and river banks, even on any vacant plot in the residential
zones. These plants are, in fact,
abundant at many places in Dhule District (Image 4A,B).
Mating and life cycle
Individual bugs as well as mating
pairs of Aschistocoris were found in areas
where at least 5 to 6 small (~1.8m) plants of Butea were present, in
late June 2020 (first mating pair was located in Shirpur
on 26 June while the most recent mating pair was observed on 10 November in the
same area). Many mating pairs were found
on central branch which was well covered by leaves; but pairs were also seen in
the open on leaves or near apex of tender shoots and buds. Mating was typical of coreid
bugs; the stout female and slender male could be easily identified (Image
4C). Eggs were laid on leaves or
petioles or slender stems in wild; many stages of nymphs were also observed
from July. This indicates that the
breeding season for this bug is late June (perhaps depending on first
pre-monsoon showers) to November. Since
eggs laid in late November would develop to imago in December, part of December
can be considered as equally important period.
The information presented below is
based on 14 pairs reared at home and about 160 eggs that hatched
successfully. Due to lack of sufficient
preservative during this lockdown, only very limited material was preserved for
future microscopic examination and over 80% nymphs or adults were released back
to nature to avoid crowding in limited space.
Observations were carried out with the help of a small lens only. Typically total development took place in
25 to 27 days. Hatching success was 100%
but nymphal mortality (especially in I and II instar)
was observed in about 20 to 30% cases.
Because many nymphs had to be released to avoid crowding, exact
percentage of mortality in home reared eggs could not be documented. Photographs and brief morphological features
of eggs and all five instars (nymphs) are presented here. Accurate measurement under microscope could
not be carried out.
Eggs
Eggs are copper red, oval, with
one side flat by which these are attached to the substratum (Size: length about
2mm, width 1mm). In nature eggs were
deposited in clusters of 6 to 9 on leaf or 10 to 14 on petiole or tender stems
in single or double line. Once eggs were
found on nearby vegetation (grass leaves in close approximation). In home reared pairs, petiole and leaf
surface were preferred as substratum, though some eggs were deposited on the
wall of the plastic container. A partly
double line of 14 eggs is seen on petiole (Image 4D) found in home reared pairs
is illustrated here.
First instar
Eggs hatched in 4 or 5 days. The first instar measures about 3mm from tip
of head to tip of abdomen, with antenna
about 2.5mm in length. Overall coloration
of the first instar is pale greenish-yellow dorsally with prominent red dots on
dorsal side, antennae and legs; ventral coloration pale green. Short erect setae arise from these red dots. The dorsal abdominal glands (DAGs) present on
boundary between 4/ 5 and 5/ 6 segments appear as two round, red dots. First instar duration was of 1 to 2 days
(Image 5A).
Second instar
The second instar is about 5mm
long, with width of head at eye about 0.5mm, maximum width of thorax 0.8mm and
maximum width of abdomen 1mm. Overall
body color is yellowish-brown. Antennae are 4-segmented, about 3.2mm long,
first two segments are yellow brown with scattered red spots, III antennal
segment is black in distal half while IV segment is red. The first three segments of antennae are
cylindrical while the last segment is spindle shaped. Dark green patch develops on thorax where
future wing pads begin to develop. Red
coloration is seen on the lateral side of thorax as well. Dorsally two median red lines are seen from
base of head along all thoracic segments.
DAGs appear distinctly swollen, each with two dark brown spots. Body is light green ventrally with few red
and black spots. Second instar duration
was between 3 to 5 days (Image 5B).
Third instar
Third instar measures 7–8 mm in
length from tip of head to tip of abdomen, width of head at eye 1.1mm, maximum
width of thorax 1.4mm and maximum width of abdomen 2mm. Antenna measures about 5mm. Eyes become more globular and become bright
red. Red lining on the dorsal side of
thorax becomes darker. Wing pads begin
to appear clearly in the third instar, are small, translucent and with few red
spots; these just reach the first abdominal segment (see Image 6A). Body segmentation has become more
pronounced. The DAGs are prominent, with
two large lateral black spots and one small median black spot. Many dorsal red spots are partly black in
posterior part while spots on legs become black. In about three days the nymph becomes darker,
the black dots become prominent and show a symmetrical pattern; a median
longitudinal pale line starts becoming prominent along entire length. The third instar required 5–6 days to go to
the next stage (Image 5C).
Fourth Instar
The fourth instar measures about
10mm in length from tip of head to tip of abdomen, with maximum width of thorax
2–2.2 mm and maximum width of abdomen 3.5mm.
Antenna is about 6mm long and pale brown. The nymph starts becoming grayish-green
with dorsal red dots turning entirely brown.
Wing pads grow up to 1.5–2 mm, are light green in color
and possess border of brown dots. Wing
pads can be observed easily by naked eyes from 13th or 14th day. Cream colored areas
are mixed with brown dots on abdomen dorsally.
Before entering 5th instar, nymph becomes overall much darker
gray with brown spots; thorax is slightly darker than
abdomen, DAGs are very prominent, enlarged and with dark triangular area in
front. Fourth instar duration was 8–9
days and was the longest instar duration (Image 5D).
Fifth Instar and adult or imago
Fifth instar shows body features
similar to an adult except for the wing pads (see Image 6B) and body size. Overall color is
darker than all previous stages and appears more grayish-green;
entire lateral margin is pale cream like that of an imago. Eyes are large, round; wing pads reach middle
of 3rd abdominal segment, appear greenish-gray
with three stripes of dark brown color in early
period (due to density of spots), but later become dark overall. The pale median longitudinal line observed on
entire thorax is continued on to abdomen and is only interrupted by the DAGs
and this line is flanked on either side by dark greenish area enclosing dark
brown spots. Entire body is finely
setose except the median pale line; body segments are well defined; abdominal
glands bordered posteriorly with white, half circular lining, with two median
red dots. Fifth instar is about 13mm,
from tip of head to tip of abdomen; head width at eye 1.5–1.7 mm, maximum width
of thorax 3.2–3.5 mm and maximum width of abdomen 3.5mm; antenna 8–9 mm
long. Fifth instar lasts 4–5 days (Image
5E).
Imago measures about 14–17 mm long
(accurate measurement under microscope not done), releases pungent smell if
disturbed; female is larger than male (Image 5F, female; also see mating pair
Image 4C for size difference). Two days
after metamorphosis the imago assumes all adult coloration as illustrated in
Image 1A,B; the other morphological features of all these Aschistocoris
specimens from Dhule are identical to the specimens from Shahada that are
described in detail in Part I. Thus
there is no doubt that both Shahada and Dhule specimens belong to the same
species A. brevicornis.
DISCUSSION
The material newly available to us
accords well with the habitus photograph of the type specimen of A. brevicornis (Dallas) and with the recent redescription of the genus provided by Ahmad & Perveen (1983), which was based on material held by the
Natural History Museum, London, originating from the localities mentioned by
Dallas (1902) and Distant (1908, 1918).
We are confident that our material is conspecific with the London
specimens and so we have been able to redescribe and
figure the species here in greater detail.
The image of the type is available on Coreoidea
Species File.
The male genitalia of A. brevicornis are in general very similar to those
described by Ahmad & Perveen (1983) for the two
species: A. schaeferi and A. neonepalensis mentioned earlier; especially the general
appearance of the pygophore with a heart like or
crown like apical structure, and the parameres, are
very comparable; the everted phallus shown here is without thecal appendages;
the conjunctiva with one pair of sclerotized, moderately long appendages and
other short, lobe like appendages is also similar. Details of female genitalia could not be
studied under present conditions but the gross appearance in ventral view
differs from that described and illustrated by Ahmad & Perveen
(1983) for the above two species. Perveen (1991) provided brief description of morphology
with several line drawings of A. brevicornis
specimens from NHM, London. Here again
the diagrams are comparable to what we have presented here as images.
Differences from the related Indian and Nepalese
species, namely A. schaeferi and A. neonepalensis, are indicated by Ahmad & Perveen (1983); however the status of the nominal species Aschistocoris bombaeus
Bergroth remains unresolved. Bergroth (1909) described the species on the basis of a male
collected in ‘Bombay’(probably a larger area known as ‘Bombay Presidency’ at
that time) while the type of A. brevicornis is
a female. Bergroth’s
original description hints that his species is fairly similar to A. brevicornis; but actual type material must be studied
to check if it is really a valid species or only a ‘variety’ as suggested by
Distant (1918) or even if this is just a difference between male and female.
Occurrence of this species in Nandurbar and Dhule districts (which formerly were together
as Dhule District), Maharashtra State, can be regarded as an addition to the
known distribution of the species; it has now been collected again from the
same host plant, Butea monosperma. Besides, entire life history is completed on
this plant in nature as well as in home reared individuals, establishing the
fact that Butea is a host plant for this bug. Bhandara, one of
the earlier localities known since the time of Distant, is about 600km east
from Shahada. Apparently, this appears
to be an overlooked species as there are no recent published records or a
detailed, well-illustrated redescription of this
species from any part of India, in spite of the fact that Butea is very
widely distributed in India. In fact,
according to Lohot et al. (2016) ‘palas’
(Marathi name for Butea) is found throughout the drier parts,
often gregarious in forests, open grasslands and wastelands. It is a characteristic tree of the plains,
often forming pure patches in grazing grounds and other open places, escaping
extermination owing to its resistance to browsing and its ability to reproduce
from seed and root suckers”.
As far as the life history is
concerned, the bug appears to be monophagous because it was not observed
feeding on any other nearby plant, at least in different areas visited in Dhule
District. Even then, none of the Butea
plants that harboured 15–20 bugs at a time were seriously damaged or showed
wilting or yellowing. Lohot et al. (2016) do not record this bug as a pest but
they have recorded two other coreid bugs, Anoplocnemis phasianus
(Fabricius, 1781) and Physomerus
grossipes (Fabricius,
1794), as pests; however, none of these two species were found during the survey
of several Butea plants in Dhule.
In Dhule area the local name for Butea is ‘khakra’
and its red flowers (called as ‘keshula’ locally) are
used in making natural color for festivals.
It is important to note here that
there is no recently published information on this species from India, in spite
of the fact that this is not a very rare bug in the areas surveyed. There was also no previous information on
life history of this bug. Earlier work
cited above only gives diagrams while we have provided many details of
morphology of this bug, in the form of digital photographs, for the first
time. Thus this note adds significant
new information about A. brevicornis.
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