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Submitted to: ZooKeys
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Publication Acceptance Date: 7/8/2012 Publication Date: 9/10/2012 Citation: Henry, T.J. 2012. Revision of the plant bug genus Tytthus, with a key to species (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Miridae: Phylinae). ZooKeys. 220:1-114. Interpretive Summary: Plant bugs represent the largest family of true bugs and include numerous agriculturally important species. Many are serious crop pests, causing enormous economic losses in the United States annually. In addition, a large number of these bugs are valuable predators of various arthropod pests, making them of considerable interest to researchers involved in biocontrol. This paper provides a revision of a group of plant bugs that are specialized egg predators of certain grass-feeding planthoppers, such as the brown planthopper on rice. One species is widely known for its success as a biological control agent of the sugarcane delphacid in Hawaii, where it saved that state’s sugarcane crop from devastation. In this paper, 18 previously known species are redescribed and six species new to science are described and an identification key is provided to help recognize the species in this genus. This information will be of interest to a wide range of researchers, regulatory personnel, and Federal and state departments of agriculture working in insect pest management and biocontrol. Technical Abstract: Abstract.— The phyline plant bug genus Tytthus Fieber, previously containing 19 species, is revised. Isoproba Osborn and Drake, 1915, incorrectly placed in the subfamily Bryocorinae, tribe Dicyphini, is synonymized as a junior synonym of the Tytthus Fieber, new synonymy; the only included species, Isoproba picea Osborn and Drake is transferred to Tytthus, new combination, as the senior synonym of T. hondurensis Carvalho, new synonymy; and T. koreanus Josifov and Kerzhner, 1972 is synonymized with T. chinensis (Stål 1860), new synonymy. The six new species T. femoralis from Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico, and Peru, T. fuscicornis from New Mexico (USA), T. mexicanus from Mexico, T. pallidus from Brazil and Panama, T. uniformis from Arizona and New Mexico (USA), and T. wheeleri from the eastern United States are described, bringing the total number of species for the genus to 24. A color adult habitus illustration of T. wheeleri, color photographs for each species (except T. juturnaiba Carvalho and Wallerstein), illustrations of male genitalia, scanning electron photomicrographs of selected structures of certain species, and an identification key are provided to facilitate species recognition. |
