Dávid Rédei’s scientific contributions

Taxonomical problems of various species of Oriental and Pacific jewel bugs are discussed. The identities of problematic species are clarified and their diagnostic characters are presented and illustrated. Coleotichus borealis Distant, 1899, erroneously synonymized with C. excellens Walker, 1867; and Brachyaulax cyaneovitta (Walker, 1867), erroneously synonymized with B. oblonga (Westwood, 1837) by previous authors, are recognized as distinct species. The following new synonymies are proposed: Poecilocoris lewisi (Distant, 1883) = P. separabilis Yang, 1934, syn. n.; P. rufigenis Dallas, 1851 = P. capitatus Yang, 1934, syn. n.; P. druraei (Linnaeus, 1771) = P. heissi Ahmad & Kamaluddin, 1982, syn. n.; Cantao ocellatus (Thunberg, 1784) = C. pakistanensis Ahmad & Kamaluddin, 1996, syn. n. Lectotypes are designated for Tectocoris (now Brachyaulax) oblonga, P. capitatus, P. separabilis, Poecilocoris lewisi var. peipingensis Yang, 1934, and Callidea (now Lamprocoris) obtusa Westwood, 1837. A neotype is designated for Scutellera (now Lamprocoris) lateralis Guérin-Méneville, 1838. As a consequence of the neotype designation, Lamprocoris lateralis will become a junior objective synonym of L. obtusus. Reversion to the senior name L. obtusus is considered to be undesirable, therefore, in order to preserve stability, no nomenclatural changes are proposed in this paper, but an application has been submitted to the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature to suppress L. obtusus.

Francis Walker (1809–1874), an English entomologist, described five species of shield bugs (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) from „Formosa” (= Taiwan) in 1868. Four of them have never been recorded again since the original description and their identity has remained unknown so far. Based on the type material deposited at the Museum of Victoria, Abbotsford, Australia, Walker’s species are documented and their identities are clarified. The following new synonymies are proposed: Eysarcorini: Eysarcoris guttigerus (Thunberg, 1783) = E. latus Walker, 1868, syn. n. = E. pustulatus Walker, 1868, syn. n.; Menidini: Menida (Menida) versicolor (Gmelin, 1790) = Rhaphigaster quinquemaculatus Walker, 1868, syn. n.; Myrocheini: Laprius gastricus (Thunberg, 1822) = Sciocoris lugubris Walker, 1868, syn. n. Lectotypes are designated for Eysarcoris latus, E. pustulatus, and Sciocoris lugubris.

FIGURES 1 – 3. Holotypes and labels of 1, Eysarcoris latus Walker, 2, E. pustulatus Walker and 3, Sciocoris lugubris Walker. Scales in mm.

FIGURES 16 – 19. Dalpada smaragdina (Walker), phallus. 16, dorsal view; 17, lateral view; 18, ventral view; 19, conjunctiva and its appendages, posterior view. Scales in mm. Lettering: aa: articulatory apparatus; cp 1 – cp 3: conjunctival processes; con: conjunctiva; ejr: ejaculatory reservoir; pht: phallotheca; ves: vesica.

FIGURES 4 – 15. Dalpada smaragdina (Walker), male and female genitalia. 4 – 6, pygophore, posterior, ventral, lateral views, respectively; 7 – 9, right paramere, internal face, lateral face, and posterior view, respectively; 10 – 11, apex of female abdomen, caudoventral and lateral views, respectively; 12, spermatheca; 13 – 15, seminal receptacles and intermediate parts of the spermathecae of three females (13 and 15 from “ Takao ” [= Kaohsiung], 14 from “ Mt. Hoozan ” [= Fengshan]). Scales in mm. Lettering: lp: left paramere. In Fig. 11, the arrow shows the aspect of Fig. 10.

FIGURES 26 – 40. Laprius gastricus (Thunberg), male and female genitalia. 26 – 28, pygophore, caudodorsal, ventral, and lateral views, respectively; 29 – 31, right paramere, three different views; 32 – 33, articulatory apparatus, dorsal and lateral views, respectively; 34 – 36, lateral phallotheca, dorsal, lateral, and posteroventral views, respectively; 37 – 39, conjunctiva and its appendages, dorsal, lateral, and posterior views, respectively; 40, apex of female abdomen, caudoventral view. Scales in mm. Lettering as in Fig. 16.