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27 June 1995 PROC. ENTOMOL. SOC. WASH. 97(2), 1995, pp. 379-395 EUROPIELLA REUTER (HETEROPTERA: MIRIDAE): RECOGNITION AS A HOLARCTIC GROUP, NOTES ON SYNONYMY, AND DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES, EUROPIELLA CARVALHOI, FROM NORTH AMERICA RANDALL T. SCHUH, PER LINDSKOG, AND I. M. KERZHNER (RTS) Department of Entomology, American Museum ofNatural History, New York, New York 10024, U.S.A.; (PL) Department ofEntomology, Swedish Museum ofNatural History, Stockholm S- 104-05 Sweden; (IMK) Department ofInsect Taxonomy, Zoological Institute, Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia 199034. Abstract. -The subgenus Poliopterus Wagner of Plagiognathus Fieber is placed in syn- onymy with Europiella Reuter. The identity of Holarctic species is clarified. New com- binations are created because of generic synonymy, species are transferred from other genera, and many names are placed in synonymy. Most species for which hosts are known feed on Artemisia, a few feeding on other Asteraceae such as Chrysothamnus, Helichrysum, and Tanacetum, with two species being recorded from the Lamiaceae. Key Words: Heteroptera, Miridae, Europiella, new species, new synonymy, Holarctic Reuter (1909) used the name Europiella the history of synonymy for the Nearactic for two species of phyline Miridae from fauna, as well as more detailed distributions North America. Since that time many ad- of the species, can be found in Henry and ditional American species have been placed Wheeler (1988). in the genus. Wagner (1949) described the This paper is presented in honor of our subgenus Plagiognathus (Poliopterus) to long-time colleague and friend Jose Can- contain several species of Palearctic Phyli- dido de Melo Carvalho. His influence on nae related to P. albipennis (Fallen). Our the study ofthe Miridae has been profound, individual research efforts have shown that because of his monumental world catalog many species placed in Europiella and Pla- and his unparalleled descriptive efforts, par- giognathus are in fact congeneric, or in a ticularly on the Neotropical fauna. few cases conspecific, that many species from We thank Thomas J. Henry and Michael North America that have previously been D. Schwartz for reviewing the manuscript. placed in Europiella do not belong there, and some Palearctic species placed in Pla- Europiella Reuter giognathus sensu stricto and Chlorillus ac- tually belong to Europiella. There is much Type species. -Agalliastes stigmosus confusion regarding the correct application Uhler 1893. of species-group names, including substan- Europiella Reuter 1909: 83 (n. gen., desc.); tial synonymy. In the following pages we Knight 1968: 37 (key to spp.). provide solutions to these problems and de- Poliopterus Wagner 1949: 53 (n. subgen. of scribe a new species. Additional details on Plagiognathus, desc.). NEW SYNONYMY. 380 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON Diagnosis.-Relatively small, length 2-5 stricto, but some species such as Plagiog- mm; some spp. sexually dimorphic, body nathus alpinus, have been placed in Chlor- form varying from elongate and nearly par- illus or Psallus by some authors. The struc- allel-sided to broadly ovoid, especially in ture of the genitalia indicates that they females. Coloration varying from almost should be placed in Europiella, as does com- completely black to almost completely green parison with some North American species, or white, usually with a few dark markings which are similar in coloration. All but two at the bases of spines on the legs. Vestiture of them feed on Artemisia. of dorsum with reclining simple setae and In the New World there are several spe- recumbent, woolly, sericeous setae; head cies that are very closely related to albipen- weakly produced and not overlapping an- nis, and a number ofothers that we treat as terior margin of pronotum. Male genitalia congeneric. Among these is stigmosa (Uhl- varying greatly in size, but pygophore al- er), the type species of Europiella Reuter ways large relative to total size ofabdomen; 1909. We are therefore treating Poliopterus right paramere truncate apically, with a more Wagner as the junior synonym of Euro- or less well-developed protrusion on either piella. The male genitalia of stigmosa are side, never lanceolate in form; vesica always shown in Figs. 12-14 and those of albipen- with two apical spines, these sometimes nis in Fig. 16. elongate and broadened basally (Figs. 12, The generic limits ofPlagiognathus are a 13), or much shorter and variously acumi- subject that can be properly addressed only nate and/or strongly curving (Figs. 6, 7, 9, with a much more wide-ranging analysis of 10, 15-17); secondary gonopore placed to the Holarctic Phylini, something that we do the side ofthe chitinous bands ofthe vesica not attempt in this paper. Because subgen- rather than between them and distinctly era have been used primarily in the Pale- proximad of attachment of spines. Often arctic, a consistent treatment of the world breeds exclusively on Artemisia, occasion- fauna including the use of Palearctic sub- ally on other Asteraceae, and rarely on other generic concepts would leave many species plant families. unplaced as to subgenus. It is for these rea- Discussion. -Wagner (1949) described sons that we treat Europiella as a distinct the subgenus Poliopterus, with albipennis genus. (Fallen) as the type. He consistently placed Knight(1968, 1969, 1970)diagnosedEu- it in the genus Plagiognathus Fieber by vir- ropiella without examining the structure of tue ofits members having two elongate chi- the male genitalia. He included some spe- tinous spines apically on the vesica and with cies which are clearly congeneric with stig- the secondary gonopore rather distant from mosa, the type. He also included many oth- them. Within Plagiognathus, Wagner rec- er species (as enumerated by Henry and ognized Poliopterus by the presence ofonly Wheeler 1988) which bear a superficial re- light colored setae on the dorsum. Wagner semblance to stigmosa and its congeners. (1975) placed 13 species from the Mediter- These species are found in desert areas of ranean Region in Poliopterus; the majority western North America feeding primarily of those for which hosts are known feed on on Atriplex, Sarcobatus (Chenopodiaceae), species ofArtemisia. and Lycium (Solanaceae), but nearly all of Members of another assemblage of Pa- them belong to a separate lineage. Com- learctic species, richly represented in the Far parison ofpreparations ofthe male genitalia East (Kerzhner 1 988a) and including one of paratypes of most of these species and European species, are green and dissimilar the genitalia of Megalopsallus atriplicis to albipennis in appearance. They were tra- Knight, the type species of Megalopsallus ditionally placed in Plagiognathus sensu Knight, indicates that most, if not all, of VOLUME 97, NUMBER 2 381 92 ---7 1~~~~~~~~~~~~1 15 16 17 13 14 Figs. 1-17. Male genitalia of Europiella spp. 1-5. E. carvalhoi. 1. Vesica. 2. Detail of apex of vesica. 3. Obverse view of distal portion of vesica. 4. Right paramere. 5. Left paramere. 6-8. E. decolor (western North America). 6. Vesica. 7. Apex of vesica, rotated 90 degrees. 8. Right paramere. 9-11. E. artemisiae (western North America). 9. Vesica. 10. Apex of vesica, rotated 90 degrees. I 1. Right paramere. 12-14. E. stigmosa. 12. Vesica. 13. Obverse view ofdistal portion of vesica. 14. Right paramere. 15-17. Comparative views of apex of vesica of Holarctic species. 15. E. artemisiae (Europe). 16. E. albipennis (Europe). 17. E. decolor (Europe). 382 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON them are congeneric. We provide below a Agalliastes tibialis Fieber 1864: 228 (n. sp., list of all names for which new combina- desc.). tions are formed in Megalopsallus. Agalliastes lanuginosus Jakovlev 1875: 172 Some species which are clearly congeneric (n. sp., desc.). with stigmosa have often been placed in Plagiognathus albipennis var. tibialis: Ja- othergenera. We have transferred all ofthose kovlev 1877: 279 (syn.). of which we are aware. Plagiognathus albipennis: Reuter 1878: 175 In the Holartic there are Artemisia-feed- (part; descr., variability, syn.). ing species placed in other genera of Phy- Plagiognathus collinus Wagner 1941: 249 linae (e.g. species placed in Phyllopidea (n. sp., desc., figs.). NEW SYNONYMY. Knight) as well as in other subfamilies of Plagiognathus arenicola Wagner 1941: 252 Miridae. Critical examination of these spe- (n. sp., desc., figs.). NEW SYrNONYMY. cies indicates that although the host pref- Plagiognathus (Poliopterus) collinus: Wag- erence of Europiella spp. is helpful in be- ner 1952a: 197 (key, desc., figs.). ginning to establish a basis for their generic Plagiognathus (Poliopterus) arenicola: identity, it is often only with examination Wagner 1952a: 197 (key, desc., figs.); ofthe male genitalia that generic placement Wagner and Weber 1964: 413 (key, desc., and specific identity can be determined with figs.); Wagner 1975: 35 (key, desc., figs.). certainty. Plagiognathus (Poliopterus) lanuginosus: We have organized most ofour treatment Josifov 1974: 14, 20 (restored from syn- on geographical grounds, because the per- onymy, list, host); Wagner 1975: 34 (key, tinent literature is organized on that basis. desc., figs.). Distribution.-From southernmost Swe- IDENTITY AND SYNONYMY OF den, southeastern Finland, and Leningrad EUROPIELLA ALBIPENNIS AND Two Province, Russia, at least to Bulgaria and RELATED SPECIES from France east at least as far as East Ka- Three closely related species ofEuropiella zakhstan. are widely distributed in the Palearctic, two Hosts.-Living exclusively on Artemisia of these also occurring in the Nearctic. No campestris in Northern Europe; records of other species ofthe genus are Holarctic. All Plagiognathus lanuginosus from A. mariti- three of these species have been identified ma in southern Europe probably refer to E. by various authors as Plagiognathus albi- decolor. pennis. We found that these taxa are reliably Notes. -In this species the dark spots on distinguished from one another by the form the hind tibia are usually larger than in re- of the vesical appendages as seen in dorsal lated species and the venter is black in both view (e.g.