A new genus of Amorbini (Heteroptera: Coreidae) from Australia, with two new species

7 Pages·1998·2.1 MB·English

by  H Brailovsky

A NEW GENUS OF AMORBINI (HETEROPTERA: COREIDAE) FROM AUSTRALIA,
WITH TWONEW SPECIES
H. BRAILOVSKYAND G.B. MONTEITH
Brailovsky, H. & Monteith, G.B. 1998 06 29: A new genus of Amorbini (Heteroptera:
Coreidae)fromAustralia,withtwonewspecies.MemoirsoftheQueenslandMuseum42(2):
379-385. Brisbane. ISSN 0079-8835.
Anewgenus(Kurrajongia)containingtwonewspecies(K. armataandK. aploa)inthetribe
Amorbini (Coreidae) is described. Both species feed on Brachychiton spp. (Sterculiaceae)
ineasternAustralia. Dorsal view illustrationsofadultsand nymphs and drawingsofthe
maleandfemalegenitaliaareprovided,aswellasakeyandbiologicalnotes. Hemiptera,
Coreidae, Amorbini. Brachychiton.
H. Brailovsky, Instituto de Biologia UNAM, Departmento de Zoologia, Apartado Postal
§70153, Mexico 04510 D.F.; G.B. Monteith, Queensland Museum, PO Box 3300, South
Brisbane 4101, Australia; 1 October, 1997.
The tribe Amorbini (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: DIAGNOSIS. ThenewgenusresemblesGelonus
Coreidae) has 6 described genera in the Austra- St&l in having head and pronotum wider than
lian region:Acroelytron Mayr(1 species),Amor- long, tylus unarmed and extending anteriorly to
bus Dallas (15 species), Cneius Stal (1 species), thejugae, tibiae sulcate, and the abdominal ster-
Gelonus Stal (1 species), Kurnaina Distant (1 nite VII ofthe 9 with plica and fissura. It also
species), and Tambourina Distant (1 species). lacksthe incrassatehind femora which are found
This paperdescribes anew genus ofAmorbini in Amorbus but not in Gelonus (Steinbauer,
with two new species, both ofwhich are associ- 1995).
ated with the common Kurrajong trees {Brachy- In Kurrajongia the rostrum reaches the me-
chitonpopulneus and B. diversifolius) in eastern tastemum, with rostral segment 111 longer than
Australia. Theyare moderately large (15-20mm) 1.30mm.Theapexofthetylusreachesorextends
bugs with a speckled greyish appearance which beyond the antenniferous tubercles, the femora
occur in large clusters on the trunks ofthe trees. are unarmed, the eyes are large, slightly stylate
However,duetotheircamouflagedappearancethey and project beyond the lateral margins of the
havebeenvirtuallyoverlookedbycollectorsuntil head. The pronotal calli are elevated and irregu-
recentyears whentheirhosttree becameknown. larlyroundedateachside. InGelonustherostrum
The following abbreviations are used for insti- is shorter, reaching only on tothe anteriorpartof
tutions where specimens are located: ANIC = themesostemum,withrostralsegmentIII shorter
Australian National Insect Collection, Canberra; than 0.60mm. The tylus is short extending
AM = Australian Museum, Sydney; DPIQ=De- slightly beyond the antenniferous tubercles and
partment of Primary' Industries, Indooroopilly, thefemoraarearmed.Theeyesarehemispherical
Brisbane; IBUNAM = Instituto de Biologia and not conspicuously projecting, with the calli
(Coleccion Entomologica), Universidad Na- almost flat.
QM
cional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico City; DESCRIPTION. Head. Width across eyes
= Queensland Museum, Brisbane; SAM = South
Australian Museum, Adelaide; UQIC = Univer- pgrreoadtuecretdhabneyleonngdth,anntoennnidfeecrliovuesntt,ubpeernctlaegsonaanld,
sity of Queensland Insect Collection, BrGisBbaMne=. dorsally flat; tylus laterally compressed and pro-
AGb.bBr.eMvoinatteiiotnhs;usSeFd=inStthateelFaboerlesdta;taNPlis=ts:National jaercmteidng,uappwiacarldlyassaunbgalcuotbeosperojaencdtiosnh;ojrtuegraethuan-n
Park. All measurements are given in mm. tylus; antenniferous tubercles prominent,
Kurrajongia gen. nov. obliquely truncate, unarmed; antennal segment I
robust, thickest, slightly curved outwards and
ETYMOLOGY. For the common name ofKurrajong longer than head; segments II and III terete and
given to the hosttrees ofboth species included in the robust; segmentIV fusiform;antennalsegmentII
genus. Kurrajongs are familiartrees ofinland eastern the longest, segment III theshortest; ocelliraised
Australia. onlowtubercles;preocellarpitsdeep;postocellar
TYPESPECIES.Kurrajongiaarmatasp.nov.(Fig. I). pits deep or slightly excavated; eyes large.
,
380 MEMOIRS OFTHE QUEENSLAND MUSEUM
slightly stylate, hemispherical, projecting con- outer margin straight to slightly concave; gono-
spicuously beyond lateral margins of the head; coxae I conspicuously enlarged dorso-ventrally,
postocuiar tubercle relatively small; bucculae largerthan paratergite IX, in caudal view closed,
elongate, angulate anteriorly, not extending be- in lateral view slightly convex; paratergite VIII
yond middle third of eyes, with external edge triangular, with spiracle visible; paratergite IX
sinuate or entirely rounded; rostrum at least to square, largerthanparatergiteVIII. Spermatheca:
anterior edge of metastemum and sometimes a Fig. 2A.
little further; rostral segments 1 and IV subequal, Male genitalia. Genital capsule: Posteroventral
segments II and III subequal and slightly shorter margin emarginate (Fig. 2B, E), with edge
thanIandIV;mandibularplateabsent; fronswith rounded and slightly excavated on the midline.
deep central longitudinal incision. Parameres: Inner margin ofthe basal portion of
Thorax.Pronotumtrapeziform,clearlyorslightly the body with a lobe projecting anteriorly; inner
wider than long, moderately declivent; collar margin ofthe middle third ofthe body flattened,
wide;frontalanglesproducedforwardasmedium extendinganteriorly, andsometimesreachingthe
tobroad,shortprojections;anteriormarginentire; basal lobe; distal portion hook-like (Fig. 2C-D,
F-G).
anterolateral margins almost straight or slightly
concave, with short and subacute spines or nod- Integument. Body surface rather dull, with long
ules; humeral angles rounded or acute and pro- orshort,decumbenttosuberect,goldenorsilvery,
duced into a short, laterally directed, conical bristle-likehairs.Head,pronotum,scutellum,cla-
tooth; posterolateraledgestraightorsinuate;pos- vus, corium, connexival segments, thorax,
terior edge straight; callus elevated, irregularly femora, tibiae, and abdominal sterna densely tu-
rounded at each side, divided along midline by a berculate; pronotum and scutellum irregularly
longitudinal furrow and ending on a deep almost striate.
circular central depression; disc striate and KEY TO SPECIES OF KURRAJONGIA
densely tuberculate. Anterior lobe of meta- GEN.NOV.
thoracic peritreme elevated and auriculiform,
posterior lobe sharp, small; propleura, 1. Humeral anglesofthe pronotum produced into an
angulatetooth; pronotum clearlywiderthan
mesopleura, andmetapleuradenselytuberculate;
long; second antennal segmentwithan apical,
mesostemumwithmediansulcus,flankedbytwo whitering; thirdantennal segmentwith nomore
elevated ridges. than apical halfpale; basal two segments ofhind
Legs. Forecoxal cavitiesslightly opened, middle tarsus white, contrastingwith very dark apical
cavity wide and conspicuously opened, and hind segment; parameresas inFig. 2F-G
cavity open; femora unanued, densely tubercu- K. armata sp.nov.
late; tibiae terete, sulcate. Humeral angles ofthepronotumrounded; prono-
tum with length aboutequallingwidth; second
Scutellum. Triangular, length equal to orslightly
antennal segmentwithoutwhite apex; thirdan-
greater than width; anterior third elevated, with tennal segmentwithmorethan apical halfpale;
anteriormarginandposteriorthirdflat;apexsub- basal two segmentsofhindtarsusnotcontrast-
acute; discandapexdenselytuberculate; anterior ingly pale; parameres as in Fig. 2C-D.
margin and anterolateral areas striate and pol- K. aploasp.nov.
ished black.
Kurrajongia armata sp. nov.
Hemelytra. Macropterous, almost reaching the
(Figs l,2E-G, 4A, 6)
apexofthelastabdominalsegment;costalmargin
emarginate; apical margin clearly sinuate with ETYMOLOGY.Namedfortheangularprojectionsof
innerthirdconcaveandouterthirdstraight;apical the humeralangles ofpronotum.
angle obtuse; hemelytral membrane elongate MATERIAL. HOLOTYPE: QMT46015 d, Braemar
with several longitudinal veins, few ofthem bi- SF via Kogan (Qld), 15-19.X.1979, G.B. Monteith, in
QM. PARATYPES (nymphs (N) listed are not types)
furcate.
Abdomen. Connexival segments reflexed above (sQalmde):l2oc9al9it,ys,a4m.iev.da1t9a96a,shoonloBt.yppeo,piunlQnMeu;m4,dGdBM3,9 9in
mcoanrngeixnivoaflhesmeeglmyetnrtosn astirmepslte;,ponsotterisoprinaonsgel;esabo-f QIMB;UN1A9M,;40k1m2dS(3o9f9Th9e5NLy,ndB,ur13n.eilxl.l9R8.2,, G3BkMm,Win
dominal sternawith weakmedial depression, ex- Eidsvold, 14.iv.1996,onB.populneiim,GBM, inQM;
tendingto middle third ofstemite V. 3966309 9 IN,MlMoffattNP,Rotary ShelterShed,
Female genitalia. Abdominal stemite VII with 27.ii.I996, on B. popuineum, GBM, in QM, ANIC,
plica and fissura; plica narrow, rectangular, with SAM; 29 9, Mt Moffat NP, Kenniffs Lookout,
NEW GENUS OFAMORBINI
381
13.
xii.l987, GBM,Thompson&Yeates, inIBUNAM
& UQIC; 3$ 9 IN, Mt MoffattNP, Mt Rugged Sum-
mit,27.ii.1996,on5.populneumtrilobus^GBM&CJ.
Burwell, inQM; 161 92N,Cracow, 13.iv.I996, on5.
populneum, GBM, in QM; I 9, 34km N ofTaroom,
20.ix.1997,GBM,on B.populneum, inQM;4d 1 9,
‘The Amphitheatre’, Expedition Ra NP, 24-
&
26.ix.1997, D. L.Cook, on B.populneum trilobus\
161 93N, 25km N Monto, lO.iv.1996, on B. popul-
neum,GBM, inQM;6c5'^19IN, BinjourPlateau, via
Gayndah, I4.iv.1996,onB.populneum,GBM, inQM;
W
1146., 50km Eidsvold, 14.iv.I996, on B. populneum,
GBM, in QM; I 9, 5km S Bogantungun, 12.iv.I996,
onB.populneum,GBM,inQM;2N,AuburnRiverNP,
via Mundubbera, 17-19.iv.l987, on B. populneum,
GBM, in QM; 3c?dlN, 2ml WNW Beta, 30.iv.l957,
Key & Chinnick, in ANIC: 2S6\9, Chinchilla,
xi.l988, D. Bunting, in DPIQ and IBUNAM; 1 9,
‘Allinga’, Chinchilla, I7.V.1984, G. Lithgow, in QM;
(1Q9M, ChPianrcahliylpleast:owQnM,TI46.i6i,011968-446,0G4.9L,it4h6g0o5w1,-4in60Q7M4.,
46076-46128, 46133-46138).
DIAGNOSIS. Kurrajongia armata is easily dis-
tinguished from the only other species in the
genusby itsshorter, broaderformandthecharac-
ters given in the key. The parameres (Fig. 2F-G)
are also distinct.
DESCRIPTION. MALE. Colouration. Dorsal:
pale orange yellow with tubercles orange hazel;
followingareas blackto darkredbrown: sides of FIG. 1. Dorsal viewof 9 Kurrajongiaarmata.
head in front ofeyes, ocellartubercle, two longi-
VII;coxaehazelbrownwithexternal marginpale
tudinal bands running laterad ofmidline on the
yellow;trochanterspaleyellowwithsomeventral
anterior and middle third of pronotal disc, two hazel brown spots; femurpaleyellow withtuber-
large spots on the posterior margin of pronotal
cles redbrown,andtwoblack irregularrings, one
disc, basal angle, anterior margin (except
subbasal, the other subdistal; tibiae pale yellow,
midline) and lateral margins ofthe anteriorthird densely marked with red brown tubercles, with
ofscutellum, irregular spots scattered on clavus baseandapexmostlyblack; hindtarsussegments
and corium, and a square spot on the midline of
connexivalsegmentsIIItoVII;apexofscutellum oIraanndgeI;I paanlteeryieorllaowndanpdossteergimoerntloIbIeIsdaorfkmheatzae-l
pale yellow; hemelytral membrane dirty am-
thoracicperitreme,theareaaroundeachabdominal
barine,withveins,basalangleandsomediscoidal spiracle, and one or two discoidal or irregular
or irregularspotting dark brown; abdominal seg- spots on prothorax, mesothorax, and metathorax
ments bright orange yellow, with most of VII
pale yellowto creamyyellow.
black;antennalsegmentsIandIIwithventralside
black, and dorsal side red brown with irregular Structure. Pronotum: Clearly wider than long;
spottingyellow;apicalonetenthofIIyeIlow;seg- frontalanglesproducedforwardasmedium-sized
ment III with basal three fifths black, and distal projections; anterolateral margins emarginate,
two fifths yellow; segment IV dark red brown obliquely straight orslightly concave, with short
with basal yellow ring. Ventral: Pale orange yel- and subacute spines; humeral angles acute, pro-
low with tubercles bright red brown to bright duced into laterally-directed, conical teeth; pos-
terolateral edge sinuate.
orange hazel; following areas black: apex ofros-
tral segment IV, area around the metathoracic Genital capsule. Posteroventral margin emargi-
peritreme,anterolateralmarginsandspinesofthe nate, with edge rounded, and slightly excavated
thoracic pleura, most ofmesostemum, scattered on the midline (Fig. 2E). Parameres: Fig. 2F-G.
spots on abdominal sterna III to VII, and genital FEMALE. Colouration. Similar to 6. Connexi-
capsule and middle third ofpleural sterna III to val segmentsVIIIandIXblackorredbrownwith
,
382 MEMOIRS OF THEQUEENSLAND MUSEUM
FIG. 2.A-D,Kurrajongiaaploa;A, $ spermatheca; B, S genitalcapsule;C-D, 6 parameres. E-G,Kurrajongia
armata; E, 6 genital capsule; F-G, 6 parameres.
posterior third orange yellow; dorsal segments Kurrajongia aploa sp. nov.
VIII and IX black, with following areas dark (Figs 2A-D,3,4B)
orange yellow; longitudinal midline band, and ETYMOLOGY. From aploos(Greek adjective mean-
lateral edges; genital plates pale orange yellow, ingsimple), referstothe lackofspinesonthehumeral
with tubercles, and each edge ofparatergite VIII angles ofthe pronotum.
and IX black to red brown. Variation: 1, femora MATERIAL. HOLOTYPE: QMT46014 d, Maiden-
paleyellow,withtuberclesandirregularspotsred well (Qld), 18.iii.I996, on Brachychiton populneus^
brown, andwith only one blacksubdistal ring; 2, GBM, in QM. PARATYPES (nymphs listed are not
abdominal stemiteVIIwith fissuramostlyblack. types) (Qld): 29 9 IN, same dataasholotypc, in QM;
Measurements (mm). 6 first, then 9. Head H1.6F2ra9uc9a,,BilunfAfNRI.Cf;oo2t9hilllNs,,vCioaoByiagrg,en18d.eini,i.ll-9796.,i.oIn97B2.,
length: 1.80, 2.10; head width across eyes: 2.40, populneum, GBM, in QM, SAM; 26639 94N, Mis-
2.62; interocular space: 1.35, 1.50; interocellar take Mtns via Cunninghams Gap, 10-12.iii.1978,
GBM
space: 0.47, 0.52; length antennal segments: I, 1000-1 100m, on B. populneum, and D. Booth,
3.30,3.40; II,3.85, 3.95; III,2.65,2.80; IV,3.40, 1(329 94NinUQICand I<3 1 9 inIBUNAM; 1d 1 9
3.40; length rostral segments: I, 1.30, 1.60; II, Gayndah, Masters, inAM; 19,nodata,, inDPIQ; 16,
t1u.2m0:,T1o.t3a0l;lIeInI,gt1h.:230.,110.,430.:55I;V,wi1d.t40h,ac1r.5o5s.sPfrroonntoa-l 6BI.rNii,isiNb.lau9nn6e0d,,ubC4.b.Jex..rPm1a9eu2rl5e,,iFnailnQlsM,I;B2U5IkNdmAIM9S;,Wno1S9td,aanttaBh,roirisnpbeAa,nMe2;,-
angles: 2.05, 2.30; width across humeral angles: 3.iv.l988, on B. populneum, GBM, in QM; Id, 6km
4.35, 5.40. Scutellar length: 1.85, 2.20; width: I N ofTaroom, 2.iii.l991, G. Daniels, in UQIC; New
W
75, 2.20. Total body length: 14.00, 16.90. South Wales: 66<339 9,22km ofretreat (35km E
cDeIntSrTalRIweBsUtTerInONQu(eFeings,l5a)n.dWifdreolmyadliistttlreibwuetsetd oinf AoinfMAMaMan.nidll(QaQ,MM;60P1a0<rm3a,,lvTp2ee3n.stx:e.rQf1iM9e9Tl54d,,60S3.5ci0h.,u19h4426&,07RC5.a,sPs4ui6ls1l,2e9ni-,n
the Darling Downs, northalmost 1200km tonear 46132).
The Lynd, SW of the Atherton Tableland. A DIAGNOSIS. Kurrajongia aploa can be recog-
sighting record by the second author is available nized by its more elongate form, the humeral
fornWymphs on KurrajongtreesatGranite Gorge, angles which are rounded andnotproduced, and
just ofMareeba. Tliiswouldextendtheknown characters ofthe antennae andhindtarsi given in
range ofthe species another250km furthernorth the key. The parameres (Fig. 2C-D) are also dis-
butrequires adults for confirmation. tinct.
.
NEW GENUS OFAMORBINI 383
DESCRIPTION. MALE. Colouration. Dorsal:
Pale orange yellow with tubercles orange hazel;
followingareasblacktodarkred: sidesofheadin
front of eyes, ocellar tubercle, preocellar pits,
postocellar pits, lateral margins of vertex, two
longitudinal bands running laterad ofmidline of
the anterior and middle third of pronotal disc,
basalangle,anteriormargin(exceptmidline),and
lateral margin ofthe anterior third ofscutellum,
and irregularspots on clavus and corium; prono-
tal discscatteredwithsomecreamyyellowspots;
hemelytral membranedirtyambarine,withveins,
basalangle andsomediscoidalorirregularspots
,
dark brown; apex ofscutellum yellow; connexi-
val segmentsblackwithanteriorangleandposte-
rior margin yellow; abdominal segments bright
orange yellow, with the greatest part ofVII and
lateral portion ofVI black; antennal segments I
and II, with ventral side black anddorsal side red
brown with yellow marks; segment III yellow
with basal third black; segment IV black to red
brown, with narrow basal ring yellow. Ventral:
Pale orange yellow with tubercles bright red
brown to bright orange hazel; following areas
black: apex of rostral segment IV, area around
lobes ofthemetathoracic peritreme,anterolateral
margins of the thoracic pleura, four discoidal
spotsontheanteriormarginofabdominalstemite
IV, andtwo on the sternaV and VI, and one row FIG. 3. Dorsal view of3 Kurrajongiaaploa.
of discoidal spots near abdominal spiracles of
sterna III to VII; anterior and posteror lobe of at midline ofsegment IX, and lateral portions of
metathoracicperitreme, the areaaround each ab- each segment; genital plates pale orange yellow,
dominal spiracle, and some discoidal or irregular with basal angleofgonocoxae I, external edgeof
spots on prothorax, mesothorax, and thoracic paratergite IX, and smallspotnearthespiracleof
metapleura pale to creamy yellow; coxae and paratergite VIII black.
trochanters pale yellow, with some dark brown Measurements (mm). 3 first, then $. Head
spots; femora dirty yellow, with tubercles and length: 2.25, 2.55; width across eyes: 3.15, 3.25;
marks red brown, and with subdistal irregular interocular space: 1.75, 1.92; interocellar space:
black ring; tibiae dirty yellow, and densely cov- 0.57, 0.57; length antennal segments: I, 3.50,
ered by dark red brown spots; hind tarsal seg- 3.85: II,4.60,4.85; III,2.85, 3.20; IV, 3.40, 3 63;
ments I and II hazel orange; segment III dark length rostral segments: I, 1.70, 2.00; II, 1.50,
hazel orange.
1,75; III, 1.40, 1.65; Iv, 1.70, 1.90. Pronotum:
Structure. Pronotum slightly wider than long; total length: 3.75, 4.50; width across frontal an-
frontal angles produced forward as broad projec- gles: 2.35, 2.70; width across humeral angles:
tion; anterolateral margins emarginate, almost 3.90, 5.00. Scutellar length: 2.00, 2.30; width:
straight, and nodulose; humeral angles rounded; 1.70, 2.00. Total body length: 17.10, 20.40,
posterolateral edge almost straight. DISTRIBUTION (Fig. 5). This species is known
Genitalcapsule. Posteroventralmarginconspicu- from a series oflocalities, mostly at higher alti-
osly emarginate, protruding, with edge rounded, tude, alongthe Dividing Range from Tenterfield
and slightly excavated on the midline (Fig. 2B). in far northern New South Wales north to the
Parameres: Fig. 2C-D. Cooyar-Maidenwell district just north of
FEMALE. Colouration) Similar to 3 Connexi- Toowoomba in southern Queensland. Beyond
val segments VIII and IX black to red brown; that area there is one record 150km further north
dorsal segments VIII and IX black, with follow- at lowerelevations on the subcoastal ranges near
ing areas dirty orange yellow: longitudinal band Biggenden and another from 200km to the west
384 MEMOIRS OFTHE QUEENSLAND MUSEUM
versifolius R.Br. in Horsfield.
Their distribution in eastern
Australia and the records for
Kurrajongiaspeciesareshown
in Fig, 5. B. populneus is di-
vided into two subspecies and
the dotted line shows the ap-
proximate boundary between
them based on information in
Guymer (1988) and more re-
cent herbarium records pro-
videdbythatauthor.Almostall
recordsforbothspeciesoiKur-
rajongiaarefromB.populneus
but the two records from north
Queensland {K. armata at The
K
Lynd; presumed nymph of
armata from Granite Gorge)
arefromwithintherangeofthe
closely related B. diversifolius.
Inthe south thetwo subspecies
of B. populneus were not all
differentiatedatthetimeofcol-
FIG.4. LastinstarnymphsofKurrajongiaspp. A,K. armata. B,K. aploa. lection ofthe bugs. However it
appears that all records of K.
K
near Taroom. There are two early records from aploaare from B. populneuspopulneus while
Brisbanewhichhavenot been repeatedby recent armataoccurs on both that subspecies and on B.
collecting. Except for the Taroom locality the p. trilobusGuymer. ThesingleTaroom specimen
distribution ofK. aploa is allopatric with respect ofK. aploa is puzzling because there appears to
to that of K. armata which is generally further be no Kurrajong trees at the locality. When the
inland. locality was revisited in Sept., 1997 the only
Brachychiton found was the narrow leafed bottle
HOSTPLANTS OF KURRAJONGIA SPECIES tree, Brachychiton rupestris (Mitchell ex Bin-
dley) Schumann but Kurrajongia was not found
Allhostrecordsforth&esebugsarefromtreesof on thattree.
Brachychiton Schott Endl. (Sterculiaceae)
which has been recently monographed by Although there is a diverse flora ofBrachychi-
Guymer (1988). It includes trees commonly toounssptehcaitestahveaitlawbolevienrAyustdriasltiian,ctit isspveecriyescuroi-f
known as Bottle Trees and Kurrajongs. Brachy-
Kurrajongia which have arisen both feed on a
chiton is considered to be one ofthe older en- very small taxonomic range ofspecies. This may
demiccomponentsoftheAustralianfloraandhas
beanartefactofcollectingbecausethesebugsare
3in1 NspeecwiesGuoifnewah.icWhi3t0hionccAuurstirnalAiuastrtahleiya oacncdu2r verycryptic and requirespecial search. However
within the region ofsouthern Queensland where
acrossthenorthandeastofthecontinentwithone the bugs are common on B. populneus there are
species inthecentraldeserts. Centresofdiversity at least five other Brachychiton species which
are in the Kimberley (9 spp) and in Cape York
havebeenexaminedbythesecondauthorwithout
Peninsula (10 spp). However records ofKurra- results. Brachychiton species in other areas may
jongiaare all from only two ofthe three non-de-
ciduous species which form the Section repay attention.
Poecilodermis of Brachychiton. These are the BIOLOGY OFKURRAJONGIA SPECIES
familiartreesknownasKurrajongsandwhichare
widelyretained(orreplanted)on farms ineastern Bothspeciesarefoundonthetrunksofthetrees
Australia because oftheirvalue as drought relief where they adopt a flattened posture against the
fodder for stock. The species are the common roughbarkwhichmakesthemveryhardtosee. A
&
Kurrajong, B. populneus (Schott Endl.) R.Br. characteristichabitofbothspecies, atleastin late
in Horsfleld, and the northern Kurrajong, B. di- summer, is the formation ofvery large aggrega-
NEWGENUS OFAMORBINI 385
FIG. 6. Living adult 9 of Kurrajongia armata on
foliageofBrachychitonpopulneus.
twigswheretheyadoptthesameflattenedposture
lengthways onthe twigs.
Egg laying has not been observed though a
single oldegg, presumedtobe ofK. armata, was
foundinabarkcreviceadjacenttoanaggregation
ofthat species.
Thenymphsaresimilarlycolouredtotheadults
and have no aposematic colour or behaviour as
seen, for example, in Amorbiis nymphs.. Last
instars ofboth species are shown in Fig.4. They
can be separated by the same prothorax, antenna
andtarsal features described in the key to adults.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The following individualsand institutions pro-
videdloansandotherassistance; G.Cassis(AM),
J. Donaldson (DPIQ) and Margaret Schneider
(UQIC). Cristina Urbina (IBUNAM) prepared
the adult dorsal view illustrations and Geoff
Thompson (QM) drew the nymphs. JeffWright
(QM) photographed the living adult. Special
thanks are extended to the Consejo Nacional de
Ciencia y Tecnologia, Mexico (CONACyT) for
financial assistance to the senior author. Gordon
GuymeroftheQueenslandHerbariumgaveadvice
tions of mixed adults and nymphs. These may on taxonomy and distribution ofBrachychiton.
number several hundred individuals and may
measure 20cm in diameter. These aggregations LITERATURE CITED
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atic Botany I: 199-323.
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jongia armata has only been taken on the main plant utilisation of eucalypt feeding Coreidae
trunks of the trees but K. aploa individuals are (Hemiptera: Heteroptera). PhDthesis. University
occasionally found on the smaller branches and ofTasmania, Hobart.