Comparative morphology of immature stages of four species of Chinavia (Hemiptera, Pentatomidae), with a key to the species of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Abstract Chinavia Orian (1965) is one of the most diverse genera of Pentatomidae, distributed in the Afrotropical, Neotropical and Nearctic Regions. Thirty-two species are recorded for Brazil, some of them having potential economic impact because they are found on crops and referred to as pests. The morphology of the five nymphal instars of Chinavia armigera (Stål, 1859), Chinavia aseada (Rolston, 1983), Chinavia brasicola (Rolston, 1983) and Chinavia runaspis (Dallas, 1851) are described here. Through a comparative study, identification keys were developed to allow an early identification of the 12 Chinavia species of Rio Grande do Sul.


introduction
The majority of the morphological and taxonomic studies of stink bugs concerns only the adult forms. However, because of taxonomic, economic and ecological importance, the study of the immature forms has been increased in the last years. When associated with crops of economic importance, an oportune identification of the species allows an early adoption of pest control, reducing production losses (Brailovsky et al. 1992). Also, the description of the morphology of stink bug eggs and nymphs can contribute with new characters for classification and phylogenies (Matesco et al. 2009b). The knowledge of immature stages also enables more reliable estimation of the richness and abundance of species and helps to assess the impact of environmental changes (Costa et al. 2006, Mendonça et al. 2009).
The nymphal stage in Pentatomidae is divided into five instars, which can be distinguished by body size, general coloration, presence and distribution of maculae, and degree of development of scutellum and pterothecae in the first and second thoracic segments (DeCoursey and Esselbaugh 1962, Jones and Coppel 1963, Brailovsky et al.1992. The nymphal stages of Pentatomidae have characters that allow the construction of identification keys Allen 1968, Saini 1989) to recognize the instars or the families (Southwood 1956, Leston and Scudder 1956, Costa et al. 2006); these keys often give more emphasis to characteristics of the fifth instar.
This paper describes the morphology of the five nymphal instars of Chinavia armigera (Stål, 1859), C. aseada (Rolston, 1983), C. brasicola (Rolston, 1983) and C. runaspis (Dallas, 1851). The morphology of the eggs of these four species will be described and discussed in a future paper. Identification keys for each instar are also provided.

Material and methods
Adults and nymphs were collected in four locations in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, between March 2007 andMarch 2011 (Table 1). Individuals were reared in the
First instar (Fig. 2). Body round and convex, surface without punctuation. General color dark brown to black. Head conical and strongly declivent; black, with median orange macula, which extends from the posterior portion of the head to the posterior margin of metanotum; clypeus with apex obtuse, surpassing mandibular plates, these subtriangular shaped. Ocelli absent. Antennae black, intersegmental areas with light brown color; antennal segments with short hairs well distributed. Antennal segment I shortest and antennal segment IV longest; antennal segments II and III subequal. Rostrum black, reaching the metacoxae. Thorax mostly dark, except for the median orange macula. Legs black, with hairs uniformly distributed on all segments, tibiae ventrally cylindrical and dorsally flattened, tarsi with two segments, a pair of tarsal claws and pulvili. Abdomen dark brown to black with the three pairs (3+3) of white maculae located between lateral dorsal plates and the first three median dorsal plates, and a white rounded median macula located anteriad of the first median dorsal plate. Dorso-abdominal scent glands ostioles of anterior, median and posterior glands present on dorsal plates placed at intersegmental line between the abdominal terga 3-4, 4-5 and 5-6 respectively. Dorsal median and lateral plates black, without punctuation, the lateral semi-circular, adjacent to the lateral margin of each segment. Spiracles near anterior margin of lateral plates, on abdominal segments II to VIII. From urosternites III to VII, 1+1 trichobothria placed medially of an imaginary line across spiracles and near posterior margin of each segment.
Second instar (Fig. 3). Body oval, less convex than in the first instar. Head predominantly black colored, densely punctured on the dorsum. Clypeus with apex obtuse, subequal to mandibular plates, larger than in the previous instar. Eye diameter equal to width of clypeus at base. Rostrum black, not reaching metacoxae. Thorax with 1+1 orange maculae along the margins of the pronotum; margins of pronotum and mesonotum serrate and slightly deflected. Hairs more abundant on the tibiae. Abdomen mostly dark brown; dorsal abdominal maculae distributed as follows: 1+1 white, rounded, located between the lateral and the first dorsal median plates; a white macula, small, rounded, located anteriad of first median dorsal plate; 4+4 white maculae between the lateral and median dorsal plates. Dorsal median and lateral plates black and punctured. From urosternites III to VII, 2+2 trichobothria, one trichobothrium placed medially of the spiracular line and the other along that line. Other characteristics as described for the first instar. Third instar (Fig. 4). Mandibular plates subtriangular, length subequal to clypeus, whose apex is obtuse. Thorax densely punctured, predominantly black, except for the orange maculae on anterolateral margins, which are finely crenulated. Abdomen with a pair (1+1) of white, large and rounded maculae, one on each side of the first dorsal median plate; small white macula anteriad of first dorsal median plate; four pairs (4+4) of white maculae between the lateral and median dorsal plates. Black median and lateral dorsal plates, strongly punctured. Lateral plates semicircular in shape, with orange macula in the center, emarginated in black. Other characteristics as described in previous instars.
Fourth instar (Fig. 5). Body oval, predominantly dark brown. Mandibular plates with broad bands and clypeus with a thin median strip straw-yellow. Rostrum black, not reaching metacoxae. Thorax predominantly black, except a straw-yellow macula without defined shape and an orange macula along the anterolateral margins. Posterior margin of mesonotum sinuous, denoting the scutellum and formation of wing pads, which reach the posterior margin of metanotum. Abdomen dark brown, sparse punctuation, not as dense as on the thorax, abdominal maculae distributed as follows: 1+1 white, round, large, located between the lateral plates and the first median dorsal plate; a white and oval macula located anteriad of the first median dorsal plate; 4+4 white maculae located between the dorsal median plates and the dorsal lateral plates; 1+1 white, small, rounded macula located along the posterolateral margins of the second median dorsal plate. Lateral plates semicircular, orange emarginated in black, slightly punctured; median plates predominantly black, coarsely punctured, with sparse brownish maculae. Other characteristics as described in previous instars.
Fifth instar (Fig. 6). Body oval to pyriform. Head flat, punctured. Mandibular plates predominantly straw-yellow, with black border and orange band extending from the anterior margin of the eyes to the apex of the clypeus, which is black, with a straw-yellow median strip, wider in the posterior portion, on the edge of the pronotum. Antennae generally straw-yellow, with black maculae. Thorax predominantly straw-yellow, with dark brown and sparse maculae, shapeless, producing a variegated appearance. Margins of pronotum and mesonotum serrate, with a pair (1+1) of anterolateral orange maculae. Pronotum wider; mesonotum more developed; scutellum well delimited. Wing pads well developed, surpassing the middle of abdominal segment III. Legs straw-yellow, with dark margins; hairs more abundant on the tibiae. Abdomen predominantly brown, with the same distribution and number of maculae observed in the 4th instar. Margin of the median dorsal plates darker than the center. Median dorsal plates predominantly orange. Urosternite VIII split longitudinally in females and entire in males. Other characteristics as described in previous instars. (Rolston, 1983) http://species-id.net/wiki/Chinavia_aseada Figs 7-12

Chinavia aseada
Remarks. Adults of C. aseada have general body color green and margins of the body, head, pronotum, hemelytra and connexivum reddish (Rolston 1983). Distribution includes Brazil (Pará, Mato Grosso, Distrito Federal, Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul) (Schwertner and Grazia 2007) and northern Argentina (Schwertner and Grazia 2007). The morphometric parameters of nymphal instars are shown in Table 3.
First instar (Fig. 8). Body round and convex, surface without punctuation. General color dark brown to black. Head conical and strongly declivent; black, with median orange macula, which extends from the posterior portion of the head to the posterior margin of metanotum; clypeus with apex obtuse, not surpassing mandibular plates, these subtriangular shaped. Ocelli absent. Antennae black, intersegmental areas with orange color; antennal segments with short and uniformly distributed hairs. Antennal segment I shortest and antennal segment IV longest. Antennal segments III and IV subequal in size. Rostrum black, surpassing metacoxae. Thorax mostly dark, except for the orange median macula. Legs black, with hairs uniformly distributed on all segments, tibiae dorsally flattened, tarsi with two segments, a pair of tarsal claws and pulvili. Abdomen predominantly black, with white maculae distributed as follows: one pair (1+1) round and large, located between the lateral plates and the first median dorsal plate; a small macula anteriad of first median dorsal plate; two pairs (2+2) of small, located along the margins of the lateroposterior margins of the second and third median dorsal plates. Median dorsal plates black; ostioles on median dorsal plates I-III. Lateral plates semicircular, black, without punctuation, adjacent to lateral margin of each segment. Spiracles near ventral anterior margin of lateral plates, on urosternites II to VIII. From urosternites III to VII, 1+1 trichobothria placed medially of an imaginary line across spiracles and near posterior margin of each segment.
Second instar (Fig. 9). Body oval and less convex than first instar. Head less declivent than in previous instar, predominantly black, coarsely punctured on the dorsum. Clypeus obtuse at apex, subequal in size to the mandibular plates, larger than in previous instar. Eyes almost as wide as clypeus at base. Rostrum black, not reaching the metacoxae. Thorax with 1+1 orange maculae along the anterolateral margins of pronotum; lateral margins of pro-and mesonotum slightly deflected. Legs black, dense hairs on tibiae. Abdomen predominantly black, with 5+5 white maculae between lateral and median dorsal plates, one white small macula anteriad offirst median dorsal plate. Median and lateral dorsal plates black punctured. On the ventral plates, 2+2 trichobothria on urosternites III to VII. One trichobothrium medially of the spiracular line and the other along that line. Other characteristics as described for the first instar.
Third instar (Fig. 10). Some specimens can have an orange band in the middle of each mandibular plate. Thorax densely punctured, predominantly black, except for a few orange spots, with irregular shape and size. Pronotum trapezoidal, with 1+1 orange maculae along the anterolateral margins, which are serrate. Margins of mesono-  (Rolston, 1983). 7 Adult 8 First instar 9 Second instar 10 Third instar 11 Fourth instar 12 Fifth instar. tum slightly serrate, with a pair (1+1) of orange maculae. Abdomen with a pair (1+1) of white, large maculae, which has approximately circular shape, located on each side of the first median dorsal plate. Lateral plates semicircular, orange outlined in black. A white and small macula, located above first median dorsal plate and two pairs (2+2) of white maculae between lateral and median dorsal plates. Median dorsal plates predominantly black, densely punctured, with irregularly shaped orange maculae located in the middle of the plate. Other characteristics as described in the previous instars.
Fourth instar (Fig. 11). Body oval, predominantly black. Head less declivent than in third instar, large light orange bands on mandibular plates, clypeus black. Antennae light brown. Maculae on the dorsum of the thorax shapeless, the same color as the bands on mandibular plates. Pronotum trapezoidal; mesonotum rectangular, posterior margin wide, "V" shaped, denoting the formation of scutellum. Wing pads slightly developed, reaching posterior margin of metanotum. Legs light brown with black borders. Rostrum black, reaching metacoxae. Abdomen light brown, punctuation sparse, not as dense as on the thorax; white maculae distributed as follows: one pair (1+1) of round-shaped, large, located between lateral and median plates; one rounded, located anteriad of first median dorsal plate; four pairs (4+4) of white maculae, located between lateral and median dorsal plates. Lateral plates semicircular, orange outlined in black, slightly punctured; second and third median dorsal plates predominantly black, coarsely punctured with sparse orange maculae located in the middle of the plates. Other characteristics as described in the previous instars.
Fifth instar (Fig. 12). Body oval to pyriform. Head flat, slightly punctured. Eyes with transverse straw-yellow band. Mandibular plates predominantly straw-yellow, with black margins. Clypeus predominantly black, with median straw-yellow band, wider in the posterior portion. Antennae predominantly straw-yellow. Thorax predominantly straw-yellow to light brown, with dark brown maculae, sparse, shapeless,  (Rolston, 1983) (n = 5) (mean ± standard deviation, mm). producing a variegated appearance. Lateral margins of pronotum and mesonotum depressed, slightly serrate and deflected. Pronotum wide; mesonotum more developed; scutellum well delimited. Wing pads well developed, surpassing the middle of abdominal segment III. Legs straw-yellow to dark brown, with dark margins; hairs more abundant on the tibiae. Abdomen predominantly light brown, with same number and distribution of maculae observed in fourth instar. Median plates predominantly orange. Urosternite VIII split longitudinally in females and entire in males. Other characteristics as described in the previous instars.

Measures
Chinavia brasicola (Rolston, 1983) http://species-id.net/wiki/Chinavia_brasicola Figs 13-18 Remarks. Adults have general body color green, connexivum red-orange with black maculae on posterolateral angles (Rolston 1983). The distribution includes the Brazilian states of São Paulo, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul (Schwertner and Grazia 2007). The single sitting record is a fern Dennstaedtia globulifera (Poir.) Hieron (Pteridophyta) (Schwertner and Grazia 2007). The morphometric parameters of nymphal instars are shown in Table 4. First instar (Fig. 14). Body round and convex surface without punctuation. General coloration dark brown to black. Head conical and strongly declivent; black, with median orange macula, which extends from the posterior portion of the head to the anterior margin of mesonotum; clypeus with apex obtuse, slightly surpassing the mandibular plates, these subtriangular shaped. Ocelli absent. Antennae black; intersegmental areas with orange color; antennal segments with short and uniformly distributed hairs. Antennal segment I shortest and antennal segment IV longest. Antennal segments III and IV subequal in size. Rostrum black, reaching anterior margin of urosternite II. Thorax mostly dark, except for the orange median macula. Legs black, with hairs uniformly distributed on all segments, tibiae dorsally flattened, tarsi with two segments, a pair of tarsal claws and pulvili. Abdomen predominantly black, with three pairs (3+3) of white maculae, located between lateral and median plates. Median dorsal plates black; ostioles on median dorsal plates I-III. Lateral plates semicircular, black, without punctuation, adjacent to lateral margin of each segment. Spiracles near anterior margin of lateral plates, on urosternites II to VIII. From urosternites III to VII, 1+1 trichobothria placed medially of an imaginary line across spiracles and near posterior margin of each segment.
Second instar (Fig. 15). Body oval and less convex than first instar. General color black, with punctuation on the dorsum of the head, thorax, median and lateral plates. Head less declivent than in previous instar. Clypeus obtuse at apex, subequal in size to the mandibular plates, which are broader than that observed in previous instar. Eyes almost as wide as base of clypeus. Rostrum black, surpassing the anterior margin  (Rolston, 1983). 13 Adult 14 First instar 15 Second instar 16 Third instar 17 Fourth instar 18 Fifth instar. of urosternite III. Thorax with 1+1 orange maculae along the margins of pronotum; lateral margins of pro-and mesonotum slightly deflected. Legs black, hairs more dense on tibiae. Abdomen predominantly black, maculae distributed as follows: one, white, round maculae, located anteriad of first median plate; a pair (1+1) of white maculae, located on each side of the first lateral plates; a pair (1+1) of large, rounded, orange maculae, located between lateral plates and first median plate and four pairs (4+4) white, located between lateral and median plates, the third pair is the largest. Median and lateral dorsal plates black punctured. Urosternites III to VII with 2+2 trichobothria, one trichobothrium medially of the spiracular line and the other along that line. Other characteristics as described for the first instar.
Third instar (Fig. 16). Antennal segment I shorter, segments II and IV subequal in length, larger than segment III. Thorax punctured, predominantly black, except an orange maculae along each margin. Pronotum with margins slightly deflected and serrate. Legs black, except for the area between the femur and tibia, which has light brown color; hairs denser on the ventral surface of tibia and tarsus. Abdomen with a round white macula anteriad of first median plate; one pair (1+1) of orange maculae between the first median plate and lateral plates, and four pairs (4+4) of white maculae located between median and lateral plates of tergites IV-VII. Other characters as described for the previous instar.
Fourth instar (Fig. 17). Body oval, less convex than in earlier instars, predominantly black. Head less declivent than in previous instar, black, with punctures. Some specimens with an orange band in the middle of each mandibular plates. Antennae with abundant hairs on segments III and IV. Thorax predominantly black, with orange maculae at margins of pro-and mesonotum. Pronotum trapezoidal; mesonotum rectangular, posterior margin wide, V-shaped, denoting the formation of scutellum. Wing pads slightly developed, reaching posterior margin of metanotum. Dorsal abdominal maculae with the same color and distribution as observed in third instar, but wider. Lateral plates semicircular, predominantly orange, slightly punctured. Other characteristics as described in the previous instars.  (Rolston, 1983) (n = 15) (mean ± standard deviation, mm). Fifth instar (Fig. 18). Body oval to pyriform, predominantly black. Head flat; mandibular plates wide, each with orange band present in some individuals. Thorax predominantly black, 1+1 orange maculae on pronotum and mesonotum along the anterolateral margins, median macula orange. Pronotum wider; mesonotum more developed; scutellum well delimited. Wing pads well developed, surpassing the middle of abdominal segment III. Legs black, hairs denser ventrally. Abdomen black, coarsely punctured with maculae dorsally distributed as follows: one pair (1+1) of orange maculae near first median plate, with another white, semicircular macula between the preceding two maculae; and four pairs (4+4) of white maculae, located near lateral plates, on segments IV to VII; lateral plates with semicircular orange maculae, outlined in black. Urosternite VIII split longitudinally in females and entire in males. Other characteristics as described in the previous instars.
First instar (Fig. 20). Body round and convex, surface without punctuation. General coloration dark brown to black. Head conical and strongly declivent. Clypeus with apex obtuse, length subequal to that of mandibular plates, these subtriangular shaped. Ocelli absent. Diameter at eyes smaller than the base of clypeus. Antennae black, intersegmental areas light brown; antennal segments covered by few hairs sparsely distributed. Antennal segment I shortest and antennal segment IV longest. Antennal segments III and IV subequal in size. Rostrum black, slightly surpassing the mesocoxae. Thorax predominantly dark brown, with a large, rounded,orange macula, which extends from middle of the head to the posterior margin of mesonotum. Legs black, denser hairs on tibiae and tarsus; tarsi two-segmented with a pair of claws and pulvili. Tibiae dorsally flattened. Abdomen dark brown, with three pairs (3+3) of white maculae, located between lateral and median plates, which are black. Median dorsal plates black; ostioles on median dorsal plates I-III. Lateral plates semicircular, black, without punctuation, adjacent to lateral margin of each segment. Spiracles near anterior margin of lateral plates, on urosternites II to VIII. From urosternites III to VII, 1+1 trichobothria placed medially of an imaginary line across spiracles and near posterior margin of each segment.
Second instar (Fig. 21). Body oval and less convex than in first instar. Head less declivent than previous instar, predominantly black, coarsely punctured in the dorsum. Clypeus obtuse at apex, subequal in size to the mandibular plates, which are broader than in previous instar. Eyes almost as wide as base of clypeus. Rostrum black, reaching the metacoxae. Thorax with 1+1 orange maculae along the margins of pronotum; lateral margins of pro-and mesonotum slightly deflected. Legs black, dense hairs on tibiae and tarsus. Abdomen predominantly dark brown, maculae distributed as follows: one pair (1+1) of orange, rounded and large maculae, and two pairs (2+2) of white and rounded maculae. Median and lateral dorsal plates black punctured. Urosternites III to VII with 2+2 trichobothria, one trichobothrium medially of the spiracular line and the other along that line. Other characteristics as described for the first instar.
Third instar (Fig. 22). Mandibular plates and clypeus subequal in length. Thorax predominantly black, coarsely punctured, with a pair (2+2) of orange maculae along anterolateral margins, which are depressed, slightly deflected and not serrate. Abdomen predominantly black, with maculae distributed as follows: a white small, round macula, anteriad of first median plate; one pair (1+1) of large, orange, semicircular, located between first median and lateral plates; five pairs (5+5) of white and round maculae, located between lateral and median plates; and two pairs (2+2) of white, small maculae located near second and third median plates. All median and lateral plates predominantly black and coarsely punctured; lateral plates semicircular. Other characteristics as described in the previous instars.
Fourth instar (Fig. 23). Body oval, less convex than in previous instars, predominantly black. Head less declivent than in third instar, clypeus black. Thorax predominantly black, except for shapeless, light orange maculae, on dorsum and margins. Maculae on the dorsum of the thorax light orange. Pronotum trapezoidal; mesonotum rectangular, posterior margin wide, V-shaped, denoting the formation of scutellum. Wing pads slightly developed, reaching posterior margin of metanotum. Lateral plates orange with black margin, with few punctures. Maculae on abdominal dorsum with the same coloration and distribution as in previous instar, but larger. Other characteristics as described in the previous instars. Fifth instar (Fig. 24). Body oval to pyriform. Head flat, slightly punctured; mandibular plates wide, each a longitudinal orange band. Thorax predominantly black with a pair (1+1) of orange maculae on pronotum along anterolateral margins and laterally on mesonotum. In some individuals, additional orange maculae are dispersed on the dorsum of the thorax. Pronotum wider, anterolateral margins slightly convex; mesonotum more developed, scutellum well delimited. Wing pads well developed, surpassing the middle of abdominal segment III. Legs black, hairs more abundant ventrally. Abdomen predominantly black, densely dotted, with maculae distributed as follows: one white macula anteriad of the first median plate; one pair (1+1) of orange maculae between lateral and first median plates; four pairs (4+4) white maculae lon segments IV-VII. Lateral plates semicircular, orange with black margins, with few punctures. Median plates predominantly black, coarsely punctured, with orange maculae in the center of the plate. Urosternite VIII split longitudinally in females and entire in males. Other characteristics as described in the previous instars. Thorax

Discussion
Recognition of Chinavia species at the nymphal stage is based on the general color pattern of the body and number, size and coloration of dorsal maculae (Grazia et al. 1982;Schwertner et al. 2002;Matesco et al. 2003). The first instar of C. armigera, C. aseada, C. brasicola and C. runaspis follow the pattern observed for other Chinavia species with described immatures: body coloration predominantly dark; head and thorax with a dorsal median yellow to reddish macula; abdomen with a series of white to orange maculae lateral to the first three median plates (Schwertner et al. 2002, Matesco et al. 2009a. Chinavia musiva differs from other species by having the general color of abdomen predominantly green and variegated, without maculae (Matesco et al. 2008). The four species studied here have the dorsal median macula orange colored; in C. armigera this macula is darker than in the other species. The shape and size of dorsal median macula may also vary. In C. runaspis, the shape is round and it is the largest size observed in the species studied so far. Furthermore, of all the Chinavia species found in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, only C. obstinata has white maculae surrounding all abdominal lateral plates, and the maculae lateral to first median plate are yellowish (Matesco et al. 2003). The remaining species have lateral plates entirely black, without surrounding white maculae. Furthermore, the first instar nymphs of the four species described here have only white maculae on the dorsum of the abdomen. From the second instar on, nymphs of Chinavia have a pair (1+1) of maculae on lateral margins of pronotum, which differ in color as compared to other species: yellow in C. impicticornis and C. nigridorsata; reddish-orange in C. pengue and C. ubica, and orange in the remaining species, including those described here. On the abdomen, the anterior median white maculae, the presence of 1+1 yellow or orange maculae lateral to first median plate, and 1+1 white maculae surrounding the fore lateral plates are common features of Chinavia nymphs in general (Matesco et al. 2009a). However, C. armigera and C. aseada are distinguished by not having lateral plates surrounded by maculae and have the abdominal maculae exclusively white. The same can be observed in C. pengue, but this species shows areas of head and legs in red as diagnostic characters, besides not having maculae on lateral margins of pronotum.
In the third instar, all the dorsal maculae expand and other maculae with the same color can appear on the mandibular plates and lateral margins of mesonotum, which allow an easier identification of the species. Species that do not have maculae on the mandibular plates and margins of mesonotum are C. brasicola and C. obstinata. These two species differ from each other in the size of the white maculae located before the first median plate and abdominal maculae, which are broader in these two species. Bands on the mandibular plates, maculae in the middle of the thorax and in the center of median and lateral plates dorsally can appear from the fourth instar on. In C. armigera, C. erythrocnemis and C. pengue, bands on mandibular plates are pale straw-yellow, red and red-orange, respectively. In the fifth instar, the diagnostic characteristics become more evident, allowing easier identifications at the species level. Wing pads surpass or at least reach the posterior margin of the metanotum, and nymphs already exhibit sexual dimorphism: sternum VIII is entire in males and divided into two lobes in females (Dupuis 1947, Brailovsky et al. 1992.
The nymphs of C. brasicola are similar to those of C. runaspis, as they display a general color predominantly black, and white and orange maculae distributed on the dorsum of the thorax and abdomen. However, the white maculae observed in C. brasicola are larger than those observed in C. runaspis. In this instar, nymphs of C. armigera, C. aseada and C. nigridorsata are very similar in color pattern, and posterolateral angles of the pronotum are more acute than in the other species. However, the predominant color of the thorax, which is dark brown in C. nigridorsata, while predominantly light brown in the two other species may distinguish them. However, some individuals of C. aseada and C. nigridorsata may have thoracic coloration reddish instead of dark brown. Median dorsal plates of C. aseada have orange maculae and C. nigridorsata red-orange. Lateral plates of C. armigera and C. nigridorsata are predominantly orange to orangered, outlined in black, as in C. aseada. However, the black margins of the lateral plates observed in C. aseada are narrower than in the two other species mentioned above. The number and distribution of trichobothria in the nymphs of C. armigera, C. aseada, C. brasicola and C. runaspis follow the pattern described by Schaefer (1975) for Pentatomoidea, which also has been previously observed in other species of Chinavia (Grazia et al. 1982, Matesco et al. 2003, 2007, 2009a.