Enigmatic thread-legged bug (Ploiaria enigmatica) from Western Ghats, Maharashtra, India

NEWS - A new species enigmatic thread-legged bug (Ploiaria enigmatica, Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Reduviidae: Emesinae: Leistarchini) from the Western Ghats, Maharashtra, India, has a series of interesting characters not found in any Indomalayan member of Ploiaria (Scopoli, 1786) and appears morphologically similar to some Afrotropical relatives.

The Ploiaria species is about 4 mm long and is the only known apterous morph for both sexes. The new species is easily recognized among the Indomalayan species of the genus by its forelegs which have a single long and strong spine-like seta located on a tall basal process on the ventral surface of the trochanter.

Five long and strong processes, some of which are longer than the maximum width of the femur and four long spines with short bases on the tibia. Furthermore, abdominal tergites IV-VII are each provided with a median tubercle located on the posterior edge of the segment. The pygophore is equipped with a broad, truncated and shallowly marginated superoposterior process.

Swapnil Boyane of Texas Tech University in Lubbock and colleagues named the new species from the Latin adjective enigmaticus meaning “enigmatic, puzzling”, referring to the unusual morphology of the new species and its enigmatic resemblance to certain African species rather than any Indomalayan Ploiaria members.

Three Ploiaria species have been recorded from India so far: P. anak (Distant 1909), P. soudanica (Dispons, 1960) and P. raviaspinosa (Pansare, Ghate & Webb, 2018). P. soudanica specimen collected in India and the type specimen of P. raviaspinosa are untraceable and are not available for actual comparison. However, it is clear that none of the above three Ploiaria species is identical to P. enigmatica.

Interestingly, P. enigmatica is morphologically very similar to some of its Afrotropical relatives P. tuberculata, P. decorata and the North African P. berlandi. It is not clear whether the morphological similarities of these species indicate a phylogenetic relationship or are the result of parallel evolution. P. enigmatica in two climatic habitats: one semi-arid and one very humid

The number of Ploiaria apterous recorded from India is now four species, although P. soudanica is highly doubtful, while P. nuda and P. mellea are so far unverified. The exploration of this genus in the Indian Subcontinent and the Western Ghats is far from satisfactory and it is thought that many species are still unrecorded and undescribed.

Original research

Hemant V. Ghate, Swapnil S. Boyane, Balasaheb V. Sarode, Pratik P. Pansare & Dávid rédei (2024). A new apterous species of the genus Ploiaria (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Reduviidae) from Maharashtra, India. Zootaxa 5507 (4): 565–578, https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5507.4.4, DOI:10.11646/zootaxa.5507.4.4

Dlium theDlium

Crested blue ear (Cyanotis cristata)

Crested blue ear ( Cyanotis cristata ) is a species of plant in the Commelinaceae, a fleshy and strong herb, growing as a vine. Leaves 8 cm long, 2.5 cm wide, oblong, rounded or heart-shaped base, blunt or pointed tip, sparsely ciliated at the edge; sheath loose, up to 8 mm long, scaly. C. cristata has flowers 6-7 mm in diameter. Calyx tube 2 mm long, lobes 2-2.5 mm long, hairy. Corolla pale blue to purple, 6 mm long. Stamen filaments bearded, purple. Ovary rounded, hairy at the apex. Capsules 2-3 mm long, ovate. Seeds about 1 mm long, trigonous, 2 large holes on either side. This species grows in grasslands, degraded forest areas, wastelands, waterways and roadsides. C. cristata is found in wet rocky areas, moist soils, grasslands, ravines and riverbanks. Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Liliopsida Order: Commelinales Family: Commelinaceae Subfamily: Commelinoideae Tribe: Tradescantieae Genus: Cyanotis Species: Cyanotis cristata

False ashoka (Monoon longifolium)

False ashoka ( Monoon longifolium ) is a plant species in the Annonaceae, a small tree, evergreen, up to more than 20 meters high, symmetrical pyramidal with pendulous branches, hardwood, easy to grow and very adaptive. M. longifolium has long narrow lanceolate leaves with wavy edges, 25 cm long, 6 cm wide, copper brown pigmentation but over time becomes bright green and finally dark green. Pale green flowers resemble delicate stars. The flowering period is usually 2-3 weeks. Fruits in 10-20 pieces, round, up to 2 cm wide, green but turn purple or black when ripe. Trees are used to filter air pollution. Leaves are used for decorative decoration during festivals. Trees are easily pruned into various shapes and maintained in the required size. Flexible, straight and light rods are used in making sailing ship masts. Wood for making pencils, boxes and matches. Seed oil has anti-oxidant, anti-lipooxygenase and antimicrobial activity. Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: An...

Broad-leaved dock (Rumex obtusifolius)

Broad-leaved dock ( Rumex obtusifolius ) is a species of plant in the Polygonaceae, herbaceous perennial, growing broadly, up to 150 cm tall, large, oval-shaped leaves with a heart-shaped base and rounded tip, large taproot with many branches extending to a depth of 150 cm. R. obtusifolius has leaves up to 30 cm long, 15 cm wide and green. Stems are long, hard, alternate, green or reddish in color and unbranched until just below the inflorescence. A main vein in the middle and green or reddish in color. Flat or wavy surface. The inflorescences consist of large clusters of racemes that contain small, greenish flowers that turn red as they mature. Seeds are reddish brown and dry. Broad-leaved dock grows in fertile soils, grasslands, waste lands, roadsides, ditches, coastlines and riverbanks, forest margins, forest clearing and agricultural land. The leaves are used as a salad to make vegetable broth or cooked like spinach. Dried seeds are used as a spice. Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tr...

Dlium