Corresponding author: Yoshitaka Kamimura (
Academic editor: Fabian Haas
To explore diversity of earwigs (
Karthik CM, Kamimura Y, Kalleshwaraswamy CM (2022) A new species of
Earwigs are a moderately diversified group of insects which comprise approximately 1,900 species distributed mainly in tropical and subtropical parts of the world (
Distribution and subgeneric classification of
Species | Subgenus by |
Distribution | Sri Lanka | |||||
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Highland (Himalayas & N.E. mountains) | Humid Subtropical | Tropical Wet and Dry | Arid | Semiarid | Tropical Wet | |||
( |
Uttarakhand1, Madhya Pradesh1 | Madhya Pradesh1 | ||||||
( |
Tamil Nadu1 | |||||||
( |
Central Himalaya3 | West Bengal1,4 | ||||||
Not assigned | Karnataka1 | Karnataka1 | ||||||
Not assigned | Tamil Nadu1 | |||||||
( |
Karnataka1 |
Tamil Nadu1 | ||||||
Not assigned | Odisha2 | |||||||
( |
Maharashtra1, Tamil Nadu1 | Karnataka1, Kerala1 | ||||||
( |
Tamil Nadu1 | Tamil Nadu1 | ||||||
( |
Tamil Nadu1 | |||||||
( |
Maharashtra1 | |||||||
( |
Uva Province1, Central Province1 | |||||||
( |
Karnataka1 | |||||||
( |
Madhya Pradesh1 | Tamil Nadu1 | Tamil Nadu1 | Uva Province1 | ||||
( |
Central Province1, Sabaragamuwa Province1 | |||||||
( |
Karnataka1, Tamil Nadu1 | Tamil Nadu1 | ||||||
( |
Karnataka1 | |||||||
( |
Maharashtra1 | |||||||
( |
Madhya Pradesh1 | |||||||
( |
Tamil Nadu1 | |||||||
( |
Meghalaya1 | |||||||
( |
Central Province1 | |||||||
|
Not assigned | Karnataka3 | ||||||
( |
Central Province1 | |||||||
( |
Himachal Pradesh1, North Western Himalayas3 | Bihar1, Odisha1, West Bengal4 | West Bengal4 | |||||
Not assigned | Odisha1 |
1.
To explore the diversity of earwigs in different agricultural ecosystems of South India, we conducted an extensive taxonomic survey in agricultural and horticultural crop fields. Here we report a new species,
The specimen was collected by hand from a sugarcane field in Shivamogga District, Karnataka, India, and preserved in 70% ethanol. For the morphological identification, the specimen was examined under a Stemi 508 stereozoom microscope (Carl Zeiss Microscopy GmbH, Jena, Germany). Photographs of the habitus and external body parts were taken under an M205C stereozoom microscope attached with a DFC450 camera (Leica, Wetzlar, Germany). The male genitalia were removed by gently lifting the penultimate abdominal sternite, pulling out from the genital chamber with forceps, and cutting at the site of attachment to the ejaculatory ducts. The genitalia were processed by submerson in 5% KOH for two days for clearing tissues and mounted on a glass slide with glycerol. Photographs of dissected genitalia were taken an M205C stereozoom microscope attached with a DFC450 camera. Based on the photographs, the genitalia were illustrated using Adobe Illustrator CS6. The specimen, with voucher number UAHSE19K, is deposited in the Insect Systematics and Vector Biology Laboratory, Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture, Keladi Shivappa Nayaka University of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Shivamogga. The terminology of
Male has simple forceps, and is easily discriminated from that of other
Measurements (mm) of the male holotype of
Length | Measurement (mm) |
---|---|
Body without forceps | 11.12 |
Head | 1.55 |
Pronotum | 1.22 |
Tegmen | 3.00 |
Forceps | 1.30 |
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|
Head | 1.57 |
Pronotum | 1.22 |
Tegmen | 1.00 |
Ultimate tergite | 1.25 |
Head (Fig.
Prosternum (Fig.
Abdomen (Fig.
Parameres (= external parameres; Figs
The specific epithet
Only known from Shivamogga, Karnataka, India.
The male specimen (holotype) was collected from whorls of sugarcane
(Adopted from
1 | Virga much reduced, represented by dots; instead, a long chitinous rod projects from penis lobe (According to |
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– | Bifurcated virga present |
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2 | Virga paired throughout its entire length |
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– | Virga unpaired at base, sometimes forming a rounded vesicle or small protuberance; its length variable in relation to paired portion |
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3 | Unpaired portion of virga about as long as or longer than the paired portion |
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– | Unpaired basal portion of virga very short to one-third of the paired portion |
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4 | Parameres internally with a sharp tooth at about the middle, apical half narrow and points externally. Unpaired part of virga short but dilated, forming an oval vesicle |
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– | Outer margin of parameres almost straight, apical half not obliquely pointing outward. Unpaired part of virga not forming a conspicuous oval-shaped vesicle |
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5 | Posterior margin of penultimate sternite with a pair of conspicuous projections and emarginate between these projections |
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– | Posterior margin of penultimate sternite almost truncate, emarginate, or sinuate, but without conspicuous projections |
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6 | Posterior margin of penultimate sternite almost truncate, or only feebly undulate |
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– | Posterior margin of penultimate sternite emarginate at middle or bisinuate |
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7 | Virga as long as parameres |
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– | Virga longer than parameres, sometimes exceeding base of genitalia |
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8 | Posterior margin of penultimate sternite emarginate at middle or bisinuate. Virga very long, extending beyond base of genitalia |
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– | Penultimate sternite posteriorly emarginate at middle. Virga short or long, but not extending beyond base of genitalia |
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9 | Penultimate sternite posteriorly bisinuate. Virga very long, extending beyond base of genitalia, paired part not flanged |
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– | Penultimate sternite weakly emerged at middle posteriorly. Paired part of virga convoluted and laterally provided with flange, each apex with a whip-like process |
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10 | Virga apparently longer than penis lobe |
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– | Virga shorter than or almost as long as penis lobe |
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11 | Virga much shorter than 1/2 of penis lobe; paired part stout and swollen |
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– | Virga longer than 1/2 of penis lobe; paired part slender |
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12 | Inner pre-apical tooth of parameres strongly hooked |
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– | Inner pre-apical tooth of parameres normal, not strongly hooked |
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In the present study, we follow
The male genitalia of
The filament with long spines at each virgal tip represents another characteristic structure of
Based on temperature and precipitation, India is divided into six regions: highland, humid subtropical, tropical wet and dry, arid, semiarid, and tropical wet zones (
The new species of earwig,
CMK and CMK thank the Director of Research, Keladi Shivappa Nayaka University of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Shivamogga, for providing the necessary facilities for the research. We thank Ranjith, Kavya yadav, Sandeep, Santrupti, and Loka Mounika for helping in the field. We are also grateful to two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments, which greatly improved the manuscript. This research was partly supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science via Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (Kakenhi) #19K06746 to YK.