A new species of Cholula (Myodochini) from Jamaica is described. This represents the first record of this genus for the Caribbean. Cholula minuta can be differentiated from other species of the genus mainly by its size. It is one of the smallest species described to date, being similar in size only to C. parvus, but C. minuta is unicolorous, while C. parvus has a mixture of black, brown and white coloration.
This paper describes a new species of Cholula in order to make the name available for a review of West Indian lygaeids that is in preparation by J. A. Slater and R. Baranowski. The genus Cholula includes 12 species of Neotropical distribution. None of the species has been recorded previously from the Caribbean; six species are reported from Mexico (C. bracteicola Cervantes & Pacheco, C. irrorandus (Distant), C. lactifera Brailovsky, C. lympha Brailovsky, C. maculatus (Distant), and C. scapha Brailovsky), five from Guatemala (C. bicolor Distant, C. irrorandus, C. parvus (Distant), C. variegata Distant, and C. vigens (Distant)), three from Panama (C. discoloria Distant, C. firmus (Distant), and C. vigens), and one from Honduras (C. parvus) (Brailovsky 1981; Cervantes & Pacheco 2003; Distant 1882-1893).
Cholula minuta Cervantes new species (Fig. 1)
Labium reaching anterior third of abdominal sternite III. Head and anterior pronotal lobe dark ochraceous; posterior pronotal lobe, scutellum, clavus and corium pale ochraceous, with ochraceous punctures. Ventral surface covered with silvery hairs.
Head and anterior pronotal lobe covered with tiny decumbent silvery hairs; eyes and ocelli reddish brown, ocelli located very close to anterior margin of pronotum; antennae pale brown, with joints pale yellow; rostrum pale yellow with tip of segment IV brown. Pronotal collar and lateral margins of posterior pronotal lobe yellow. Pronotum and scutellum very densely punctuate. Acetabulae creamy yellow; coxae ochraceous; femora, tibiae and tarsi pale yellow, fore femur slightly darker. Pro-, meso-, and metapleura pale ochraceous with posterior margins pale yellow. Clavus with three complete rows of punctures and one incomplete row. Corium with two rows of punctures parallel to claval suture; rest of corium with sparse punctures; membrane translucent. Abdominal venter pale ochraceous.
Head slightly declivent, wider than long. Width across eyes greater than width across anterior angles of pronotum. Tylus longer than juga. Lateral pronotal margins sinuate. Disk of scutellum slightly elevated. Fore femur ventrally with double ranked spines. Evaporative area occupying less than half of metapleuron; peritreme auriculate.
Female
Measurements in mm: Body length 3.6; head length 0.57; width across eyes 0.95; interocular distance 0.62; interocellar distance 0.32; postocular distance 0.02; antennal segments: I 0.22, II 0.45, III 0.37, IV 0.7; rostral segments: I 0.46, II 0.52, III 0.3, IV 0.3; pronotal length 0.87, width across humeral angles 1.32, width across anterior margin 0.72; scutellar length 0.68, width 0.68; hind leg: femur length 0.88, tibia length 0.96, tarsi length: I 0.2, II 0.07, III 0.16.
Male (Holotype)
Measurements in mm: Body length 3.4; head length 0.5; width across eyes 0.85; interocular distance 0.55; interocellar distance 0.32; postocular distance 0.02; antennal segments: I 0.2, II 0.4, III 0.35, IV 0.65; rostral segments: I 0.45, II 0.48, III 0.35, IV 0.3; pronotal length 0.8, width across humeral angles 1.12, width across anterior margin 0.65; scutellar length 0.68, width 0.68; hind leg: femur length 0.82, tibia length 0.92, tarsi length: I 0.12, II 0.07, III 0.18.
Types. Holotype, 1♂, JAMAICA: Manchester Parish, Mandeville, 24-VIII-1969, R.E. Woodruff, blacklight trap (Florida State Collection of Arthropods). Paratype. 1♀, same locality as holotype; 23-VIII-1960, J. Howard Frank, blacklight trap (R. Baranowski Collection, University of Florida).
Discussion
This species is similar in coloration to Cholula lactifera and C. bracteicola, but both species are much larger than C. minuta sp. nov. In C. bracteicola the rostrum reaches abdominal sternite V, and in C. minuta it reaches only to anterior third of abdominal sternite III. In C. lactifera antennal segment III is pale ochraceous; in C. bracteicola the distal fourth of this segment is dark ochraceous, while in C. minuta all antennal segments are pale brown. The hemelytral membrane is transparent in C. minuta and in C. bracteicola, while in C. lactifera it has a milky appearance. Cholula minuta is one of the smallest species described to date, being similar in size only to C. parvus, but C. minuta is unicolorous, while C. parvus has a mixture of black, brown, and white coloration.
Recent sampling in Mexico has shown that several species of Cholula are arboreal, and are associated with figs, so probably C. minuta is also associated with figs in the Caribbean. Cholula minuta, as well as other species in the genus, is attracted to light.
Acknowledgments
I thank Harry Brailovsky (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico) for his comments on the manuscript. I especially thank James A. Slater for lending me the holotype and for encouraging me to describe this species and continue studying lygaeids. I also thank Richard M. Baranowski for lending me the paratype specimen. Financial support to visit R. Baranowski’s collection and publish this paper was provided by a CONACyT grant (34238 V).
