NAUJOS IR RETOS LIETUVOS VABZDŽIŲ RŪŠYS. 27 tomas 15 NEW SPECIES OF PLANT BUGS (HETEROPTERA, MIRIDAE) IN LITHUANIAN FAUNA, REGISTERED IN 2014-2015 RADVILĖ MARKEVIČIŪTĖ¹ ², TEEMU RINTALA³ ¹Nature research centre, Akademijos 2, LT-08412, Vilnius, Lithuania. E-mail: [email protected] ²Department of Zoology, Vilnius University, M. K. Čiurlionio 21/27, LT-03101 Vilnius, Lithuania. ³Metsähallitus, Parks & Wildlife Finland, Talaskuja 3, 13200 Hämeenlinna, Finland. E-mail: [email protected] Introduction Miridae (Hemiptera: Hetroptera) plant bugs are distributed worldwide with about 1,500 genera and over 10,000 species described (Herczek, Popov, 2009). They are 2 to 15 mm in length, elongate or oval-shaped, green, brownish-yellow, black or red coloured insects (Wachmann et al., 2004). One of the most important features which distinguishes this family from most of the other bugs is hemelytra, which have a well-developed cuneus (Rintala, Rinne, 2010). The cuneus membrane generally contains one or two distinct cells at the base (Chinery, 2007). Most species are herbivorous, feeding on plants, developing fruits and seeds but there are also predators and zoophytophages, which could be used as biological pest control agents. Most plant bugs pass the winter as eggs but there are also species of insects which hibernate in the adult stage (Wachmann et al., 2004). The fauna of suborder Heteroptera in Lithuania is still insufficiently known (Söderman, Dapkus, 2009; Söderman, Rintala, 2009). There are 124 species of plant bugs recorded (Stonis et al., 2010). During the research in Žalioji Giria forest (Panevėžys district) there were found 8 new species for Lithuanian fauna. Material and Methods The study was carried out in Žalioji Giria forest (Panevėžys district) (Northern Lithuania; coordinates 55°51′N, 24°30′E) in 2014 from June to October and in August of 2015. Material was collected by Radvilė Markevičiūtė. Adult insects where caught using an entomological net. All species were identified by Radvilė Markevičiūtė and Dr. Teemu Rintala. The collected material is stored in the collection of Radvilė Markevičiūtė and in the Museum of Zoology of Vilnius University. List of species MIRIDAE Amblytylus nasutus (Kirshbaum, 1856) Žalioji Giria f., 28 06-12 07 2014, 22 spec., on Poa pratensis. This species is distributed from southern Scandinavia through the rest of Europe to 16 NEW AND RARE FOR LITHUANIA INSECT SPECIES. Volume 27 North Africa and Asia Minor, spread to North America (Wachmann et al., 2004). Dicyphus epilobii Reuter, 1883 Žalioji Giria f., 21 09 2014, 1 spec., on Epilobium hirsutum. This species is distributed from the Southern Scandinavia through the Western and Central Europe up to the Northern Mediterranean, spread as far to the East as the Carpathians (Wachmann et al., 2004). Globiceps fulvicollis Jakovlev, 1877 Žalioji Giria f., 28 06-19 07 2014, 12 spec., on Calluna vulgaris. This species is distributed in Europe from the Northern Mediterranean region to the Inner Asia (Wachmann et al., 2004). Megalocoleus tanaceti (Fallén, 1807) Žalioji Giria f., 05 07-14 09 2014, 141 spec., 30 08 2015, 2 spec., on Tanacetum vulgare. This species is distributed almost in all of the Europe and only on the Northern edge in the Mediterranean. It is also found in Siberia and in the Caspian region (Wachmann et al., 2004). Monalocoris filicis (Linnaeus, 1758) Žalioji Giria f., 11 07-23 08 2014, 2 spec., on Pteridium aquilinum. This species is distributed in Europe, Siberia, China, Japan and Korea (Wachmann et al., 2004). Oncotylus punctipes Reuter, 1875 Žalioji Giria f., 15 06-12 07 2014, 75 spec., on Tanacetum vulgare. This species has its main distribution in the Eastern Palaearctic, the Eastern Siberia to Scandinavia, the Mediterranean, Central Europe and parts of Asia (Wachmann et al., 2004). Pinalitus rubricatus (Fallen, 1807) Žalioji Giria f., 17 08 2014, 1 spec., on Pinus sylvestris. The species is found in almost all of the Europe, in the East in Siberia and Central Asia, it was also introduced to North America (Wachmann et al., 2004). Polymerus tepastus Rinne, 1989 Žalioji Giria f., 22 06-28 09 2014, 62 spec., on Galium uliginosum. This species is found in Scandinavia, in large areas of Asia, in China, Eastern Siberia, the Russian Far East and Japan (Rintala, Rinne, 2010). Discussion This study presents faunistic data on 8 species of family Miridae (Heteroptera) recorded in Lithuania for the first time. All mentioned species are widely spread across the Europe. This suggests more European plant bugs species could be found in Lithuania. Moreover, new species in Lithuanian fauna demonstrate that there is a lack of information in this particular field. Therefore, more research should be done on plant bugs in Lithuania. One of a few rare species of plant bugs found in Lithuania during this study is Pinalitus rubricatus. According to Stonis (Stonis et al., 2013), this species was considered absent in Lithuania, since no individuals were found at the time. However, Fauna Europea (Aukema, 2013), suggests that Pinalitus rubricatus does exist in the country. NAUJOS IR RETOS LIETUVOS VABZDŽIŲ RŪŠYS. 27 tomas 17 This study increased the number of Miridae known in Lithuania to 132 species. Acknowledgements We are grateful to Dr. Sigitas Podėnas for his help during the research. References Aukema B. 2013. Fauna Europaea: Miridae. In Aukema, Berend (eds). Fauna Europaea: Hemiptera Heteroptera. Fauna Europaea version 2.6.2, http://www.faunaeur.org (Accessed August 2015). Chinery M. 2007. Insects of Britain and Western Europe. London, A&CBlack: 80–85. Herczek A., Popov Y. A., 2009. New plant bugs (Insecta, Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Miridae) from the Eocene Baltic amber. Denisia 26, zugleich Kataloge der oberösterreichischen Landesmuseen Neue Serie 8: 93–98. Rintala T., Rinne V., 2010. Suomen luteet. Helsinki, Syke: 255–265. Stonis J. R., Remeikis A., Baužys D., 2013. Pažinkime pasaulio vabzdžius. Blakės. Įvairovė ir pavadinimai. Vilnius, Edukologija: 5–95. Söderman G., Dapkus D. 2009. New records of Hemiptera from Čepkeliai Strict Nature Reserve (southern Lithuania) in 2007. New and Rare for Lithuania Insect Species 21: 12–14. Söderman G., Rintala T. 2009. Heteroptera and Auchenorrhyncha (Hemiptera) collected from southeastern Lithuania in 2008. New and Rare for Lithuania Insect Species 21: 15–20. Wachmann E., Melber A., Deckert J. 2004. Band 2 Cimicomorpha. Dahl, F: Die Tierwelt Deutschlands, 75. Naujos Lietuvos faunos žolblakių (Heteroptera: Miridae) rūšys, registruotos 2014- 2015 metais R. MARKEVIČIŪTĖ, T. RINTALA Santrauka Publikacijoje pateikiami nauji duomenys apie Panevėžio rajone esančioje Žaliojoje girioje 2014–2015 metais aptiktas 8 naujas Lietuvai žolblakių rūšis. Taip pat pateikiamas šių rūšių paplitimas Europoje ir pasaulyje bei duomenys apie radimo datą, vietą, aptiktų individų skaičių ir augalų, ant kurių buvo rasti vabzdžiai, rūšis. Surinkta medžiaga saugoma Vilniaus universiteto Zoologijos muziejuje ir asmeninėje R. Markevičiūtės kolekcijoje. Received: 9 October, 2015 .