Wygomiris Schuh 1984

Wygomiris Schuh, 1984

Diagnosis. Always macropterous in both sexes; body elongate oval, nearly parallel-sided, small to moderate in size (total length 3–5 mm), not very ant-like (rather conventional habitus in the Miridae); basic coloration brown to fuscous; dorsum weakly shining or matte, usually with pale, simple, upright setae and silvery or golden, reclining setae; head short, rather vertical; antenna uniformly thick; pronotum more or less shining; metathoracic scent efferent system large, usually produced at middle; stridulatory device (FWS+MFP) missing (currently possessed only by W. paveli and W. phormictes described below); pygophoral spine (PS) present; endosoma J- or L-shaped, usually with simple apical spine and small secondary gonopore; and bursa copulatrix with enlarged, ovoid sclerotized ring. Further diagnostic characters were provided by SCHUH (1984) and YASUNAGA (2012).

Distribution. Oriental Region: SE China (including Hong Kong), Laos, Nepal, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam (DUWAL et al. 2017). Several undescribed species of Wygomiris appear to occur in India, the Philippines and New Guinea (SCHUH 1984).

Discussion. Wygomiris is now represented by nine species (including two new species below) from the Oriental Region. Members of this genus appear to be associated with aerial parts of plants (possibly broadleaf trees as mentioned in above tribal discussion). Currently, the stridulatory device is confirmed only in W. paveli sp. nov. and W. phormictes sp. nov.; however, FWS and MFP of them are both reduced (Figs 141–142, 150, 152–153), similar in overall appearance to those possessed by Cleotomiris miyamotoi (Figs 66–67). Judging from the condition of the stridulatory device, we presume that (1) modern members of Alloeomimella, Cleotomiris, Hallodapus and Wygomiris had been derived from the epigeic common ancestor migrating from aerial parts of plants, (2) the derived element of Cleotomiris + Wygomiris subsequently returned to the original habitat (aerial parts of plants), and (3) the stridulatory device may be obsoleted or reduced in modern Cleotomiris and Wygomiris, as seen in the species of Acrorrhinium, Cleotomiroides and Systellonotus malaisei Lindberg, 1934 which inhabit the aerial parts of plants and lack the stridulatory device.

During examining specimens or photographic images, teratological antennal segments (possibly fused segments III+IV) were confirmed in the fifth instar nymph of Wygomiris kaliyahae collected in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand (Fig. 18, left antenna) and adult male of W. paveli sp. nov. from Pingtung, Taiwan (AMNH_PBI 00380635) (Figs 14–15, 166–167, right). Although teratological specimens occur less frequently in Cimicomorpha than in the Pentatomomorpha (WHEELER 2001), a similar antennal aberration in Apolygus nigrovirens (Kerzhner, 1988) (Mirinae: Mirini) was recently documented by YASUNAGA (2018).