Abstract
We report a systematic study of the female copulatory tubes of forty species in the genus Anthocoris, most of which are from the Northern Hemisphere. Our results indicate that female copulatory tubes can be used as a reliable character to identify females and analyze phylogenetic relationships in this genus. We propose thirteen species groups based on the copulatory tubes of females, other morphological characters of both sexes, and the previous species groups adopted in the continental faunas.
Highlights
The genus Anthocoris Fallén is the second largest genus in the family Anthocoridae of the suborder Heteroptera, which includes about seventy species (Gross, 1954; Henry & Froeschner, 1988; Péricart, 1996; Carpintero, 2002)
The copulatory tube was reported to be stable within species, suggesting the feasibility of using this structure as an important character for identifying females in some genera, such as Orius Wolff, Acompocoris Reuter and Tetraphleps Fieber, and to infer the phylogenetic relationship of the Anthocoridae
The copulatory tube of Anthocoris can be divided into two parts, a basal duct and an apical sac (Fig. 1)
Summary
The genus Anthocoris Fallén is the second largest genus in the family Anthocoridae of the suborder Heteroptera, which includes about seventy species (Gross, 1954; Henry & Froeschner, 1988; Péricart, 1996; Carpintero, 2002). The female copulatory tube in the family Anthocoridae is a secondary copulatory structure that exists in the tribes Anthocorini, Blaptostethini, Oriini and Scolopini. The entrance of this specialized structure is on the surface of the abdominal intersegmental membrane between sterna VII and VIII, very close to the valvulae (Carayon, 1957). Carayon (1953) studied the copulatory tube of Anthocoridae first and suggested that this special structure might play a role in the temporary storage of sperm. The present study, presents detailed examination of the copulatory tubes of forty species in the genus Anthocoris
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