INSECTS of MICRONESIA Heteroptera: Pentatomoidea1
INSECTS OF MICRONESIA Heteroptera: Pentatomoidea1 By HERBERT RUCKES RESEARCH ASSOCIATE, DEPARTMENT OF ENTOMOLOGY AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, NEW YORK EMERlTUS PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY, CITY COLLEGE OF NEW YORK INTRODUCTION The Pentatomoidea consists of the families Plataspidae, Cydnidae, Pentatomidae, Acanthosomidae, Phloeidae, Urostylidae, Aphylidae, and Lestoniidae. In this classification I am following the terminology proposed by China and Miller (l955, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. XII, 8: 257-267). Of these various families, representatives of the Phloeidae, Urostylidae, Lestoniidae, and Aphylidae have not, as yet, been recorded from Micronesia. The Phloei dae, represented by two genera, are found only in Brazil. The Urostylidae, however, are native to India; China, Japan, Australia, the Philippines, and intermediate islands such as Borneo and Java. It is rather surprising that examples of this family have not been taken from Micronesia since the other pentatomoid fauna of these islands is, for the most part, derived from the nearby Australian, Asian, and adjacent insular regions where the Uro stylidae occur. Aphylidae and Lestoniidae are strictly Australian families, each represented by a single genus. The remaining families have varying representation in the Micronesian fauna. I wish to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to Miss Marjorie Statham, of the technical staff of the Department of Entomology of the American Museum of Natural History, for generously donating her time and ability to make the fine drawings that accompany this report. Her gratuitous services are, indeed, greatly appreciated. Thanks are also extended to Miss Setsuko Nakata, of the Bernice P. Bishop Museum staff, for editing and preparing the typescript of this article for publication.
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