Abstract
The study presents new data on the morphology and distribution of the labial tip sensilla of six species of two nabid subfamilies—Protosteminae and Nabinae (Heteroptera: Cimicomorpha), which were obtained using a scanning electron microscope. In both taxa, there are five morphologically distinct types of sensilla on the tip of the labium: peg sensilla with a terminal pore, nonporous peg sensilla, elongated placoid sensilla with wall pores (multiporous), and trichoid sensilla. In addition, oval plate sensilla with a terminal pore (Tp-opls) were observed in the genus Himacerus. Campaniform sensilla and nonporous chaetic sensilla were observed on the surface of the last segment of the labium in all of the studied species. Over a dozen trichoid sensilla were scattered on the last segment of the labium only in the genus Prostemma. Based on their external structure, it is likely that these sensilla are chemosensitive and mechanosensitive. The oval plate sensilla with a Tp-opls (gustatory) in Himacerus (Nabinae) represent a morphological novelty that probably evolved independently of other nabids.
Highlights
According to the combined morphological and molecular analysis by Schuh et al (2009), Nabidae belong to the infraorder Cimicomorpha and the clade Cimiciformes
Nonporous trichoid sensilla (Np-ts)—smooth and hair-like mechanosensilla arising from flexible sockets
The diversity of labial sensilla in bugs is inextricably connected with the diversity in the feeding behavior and evolutionary pressure on the bugs that are observed in specific taxa, and this has been the subject of long-standing interest in morphological and functional research
Summary
According to the combined morphological and molecular analysis by Schuh et al (2009), Nabidae (damsel bugs) belong to the infraorder Cimicomorpha and the clade Cimiciformes. Views on the relationships between and within the groups that belong to this clade are varied and unclear (Schuh and Slater 1995; Schuh et al 2009). Kerzhner (1981) recognized four subfamilies of Nabidae: Nabinae, Prostemminae, Velocipedinae, and Medocostinae. The first two subfamilies belong to the Nabidae, whereas the systematic positions of the Velocipedinae and Medocostinae have recently been recognized as being separate families (Schuh et al 2009) and this concept has been adopted in this study. Damsel bugs include approximately 20 genera and 500 species, which are distributed worldwide from about 70°N to 56°S (Schuh and Slater 1995; Kerzhner 1996). Forty-two species from five genera occur in Europe (Aukema 2013)
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