New paper!

Evans-Blake C., Rubin J. J. & Somjee U.: "Flag-waving behavior in matador bugs is an antipredatory strategy".

To dissuade predator attack, animals may advertise their chemical defense with bright coloration and specialized behaviors. However, these antipredator adaptations can be costly, if they unnecessarily draw attention to the prey animal. Thus, animals with elaborate antipredator traits may be under pressure to selectively increase advertisement of their defenses in particular contexts. The matador bug, Bitta alipes (Hemiptera: Coreidae), possesses large, colorful flags on its hind tibia that it uses in a stereotypic “waving” behavior. Previous research found no evidence that this waving behavior is employed in social or sexual interactions. Here, we experimentally tested for a potential antipredator function of flag waving by exposing a matador bug to either an arthropod predator (praying mantid) or a similarly sized nonpredatory arthropod (nonpredatory katydid). In total, we recorded 2,938 leg waves among 25 individuals. We found that matador bugs’ waving behavior increased in duration, frequency (number of wave bouts), and intensity (number of waves per bout) in the presence of praying mantids. Notably, we found on average a 7-fold increase in the number of waves in the presence of a mantid relative to a similarly sized nonpredatory arthropod. Praying mantids consumed very few matador bugs (3/25) and never attacked bugs that were waving, lending support to the hypothesis that flags serve an antipredator function in matador bugs. We find similar flag-waving behavior in at least 5 closely-related flag-legged bug species, all of which have expanded tibial flags with contrasting coloration and are Passiflora specialists, providing opportunities for future studies to examine the evolution of elaborate flag-waving behavior as an antipredator behavior in this group.

New paper!

Yamada K.: "Japanese species of the minute litter bug genus Ceratocombus (Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Ceratocombidae), with descriptions of three new species".

A taxonomic study of the Japanese Ceratocombus Signoret, 1852 was resumed for the first time in over 100 years, with descriptions of three new species from the Ryukyu Islands: C. (Ceratocombus) ishigaki sp. nov., C. (Xylonannus) meridianus sp. nov. and C. (X.) trimaculatus sp. nov. These new species were assigned to the subgeneric placement, based on the presence of ocular setae, type of vestiture on the pronotum, tarsal formula and venation of the forewing, as noted by previous authors. Habitus images and line drawings of diagnostic features, including genital structures, are provided. Subgeneric assignments and bionomics were discussed for the three new species. A key to Japanese species of the genus and a checklist of the congeners known in the Palaearctic and Oriental Regions are also provided.

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New paper!

Canejo R.P.R. et al.: "A new species of Tenagobia (Romanogobia) Nieser, 1977 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Micronectidae) and new records of water bugs (Gerromorpha & Nepomorpha) from South America and Madagascar".

Water bugs (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Leptopodomorpha, Gerromorpha & Nepomorpha) are commonly found on the surface, margins, water column, or the bottom of water bodies globally. Most of them are generalist predators, feeding upon invertebrates or vertebrates, but the ingestion of algae and detritus has also been recorded in some species. Although most of their diversity is found in tropical areas, still significant knowledge gaps persist on the composition and distribution of this fauna in those regions. Here, we describe a new species of Tenagobia (Romanogobia) Nieser, 1977 (Nepomorpha: Micronectidae) and provide new records of 24 species of water bugs from Venezuela, Brazil, and Madagascar.

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