Chinamiris muehlenbeckiae
| Chinamiris muehlenbeckiae | |
|---|---|
| Holotype of Chinamiris muehlenbeckiae | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hemiptera |
| Suborder: | Heteroptera |
| Family: | Miridae |
| Genus: | Chinamiris |
| Species: | C. muehlenbeckiae
|
| Binomial name | |
| Chinamiris muehlenbeckiae Woodward, 1950
| |
Chinamiris muehlenbeckiae is a species of leaf bugs belonging to the order Hemiptera.[1] The species is endemic to New Zealand, and was first described by Thomas E. Woodward in 1950.[2] It primarily lives on the native New Zealand species Muehlenbeckia australis.
Description
The species has a length of 4.4 mm (0.17 in) and is broadly oval. The head, pronotum, scutellum, and hemelytra are clothed with a mixture of short, fine, recumbent, dark hairs and pale, deciduous, scale-like hairs, except on the species' membrane . The species has a large and pale ostiolar peritreme. C. muehlenbeckiae is dark brown with black or brownish black mottlings.[2]
It can be distinguished from other members of the genus by the horn-like projection on the left side of the species' pygophore, its wide tapering nronotal carina, oval form, small size and brown colour.[3]
Taxonomy
Woodward described the species in 1950 as the type species of the genus Chinamiris, which he described in the same paper.[2] The genus was monotypic for over 40 years, in 1991 entomologists Alan C. Eyles and José Cândido de Melo Carvalho revised the genus, adding 30 species to the genus.[3] The holotype was collected from Muehlenbeckia australis near Foxton in January 1950, and is held at the Auckland War Memorial Museum.[4]
Ecology
The species lives and feeds primarily on Muehlenbeckia australis and other Muehlenbeckia species, likely by feeding on sap.[3][5] Adults are seen primarily between January and March, while nymphs are primarily seen in January.[5] The species is likely able to fly.[5]
Distribution and habitat
The genus is endemic to New Zealand, known from the North Island between the Bay of Plenty and Wellington regions, and the upper South Island near Nelson.[3] It is typically found in lowland montane areas in association with Muehlenbeckia
References
- ^ "Chinamiris muehlenbeckiae Woodward, 1950". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
- ^ a b c Woodward, T. E. (1950). "New Records of Miridae (Heteroptera) from New Zealand, with Descriptions of a New Genus and Four New Species". Records of the Auckland Institute and Museum. 4: 9–23. ISSN 0067-0464. JSTOR 42906039. Wikidata Q58676700.
- ^ a b c d Eyles, A. C.; Carvalho, José C. M. (January 1991). "Revision of the genus Chinamiris Woodward (Hempitera: Miridae)". New Zealand Journal of Zoology. 18 (3): 267–321. doi:10.1080/03014223.1991.10418045. ISSN 0301-4223. Wikidata Q54585638.
- ^ "Chinamiris muehlenbeckiae". Collections Online. Auckland War Memorial Museum. Retrieved 23 September 2025.
- ^ a b c Larivière, M.-C.; Larochelle, A. (14 May 2004). "Heteroptera (Insecta: Hemiptera): catalogue" (PDF). Fauna of New Zealand. 50. Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research. doi:10.7931/J2/FNZ.50. ISSN 0111-5383. OCLC 315061551. Wikidata Q45001754.