New records of Gerridae (Insecta, Hemiptera, Heteroptera) from northern South America

Irina Morales,Silvia P Mondragón-F,Felipe Ferraz Figueiredo Moreira

doi:10.15560/17.6.1647

Abstract

Based on material deposited in a Colombian entomological collection, new records from northern South America (Colombia and Venezuela) are presented for eight species of Gerridae (Insecta, Hemiptera, Heteroptera). The species belong to the genera Brachymetra Mayr, 1865 (Charmatometrinae); Limnogonus St&aring;l, 1868; Neogerris Matsumura, 1913 (Gerrinae, Gerrini); Tachygerris Drake, 1957 (Gerrinae, Tachygerrini); Metrobates Uhler, 1871 (Trepobatinae, Metrobatini); and Telmatometra Bergroth, 1908 (Trepobatinae, Trepobatini). Photographs of the habitus of adults and distribution maps are also presented for each species.

Highlights

Among the aquatic insects, water striders of the family Gerridae (Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Gerromorpha) occupy a wide variety of habitats
The specimens of B. shawi were recognized by the unmarked pronotum, which reaches at least the abdominal mediotergite I and is narrowly rounded at the apex in winged forms; the forewings reddishbrown, darker than the pronotum, with yellow veins; and the venter of male pygophore with a distinct notch at the Morales et al | New records of Gerridae
There is no checklist of semiaquatic bugs for the latter country, and the poor knowledge concerning the local Gerridae fauna is probably due to the lack of specialist taxonomists in the region (Moreira et al 2016)

Summary

Introduction

Water striders of the family Gerridae (Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Gerromorpha) occupy a wide variety of habitats. They are usually found in streams, rivers, and lakes and are specialized in inhabiting the surface of the water (Andersen 1982). Recent studies on the Gerridae from Colombia show an increasing interest in the taxonomy and diversity of the family locally, including the description of new species (e.g., Mondragón-F. et al 2017; Molano et al 2017a, 2017b, 2018; Floriano et al 2019), new distribution records (e.g., Padilla-Gil 2017), and regional surveys (e.g., Moreno et al 2018). The same is not true for Venezuela, where only a few studies concerning the family have been published so far, mostly restricted to old species descriptions (e.g., Drake and Roze 1954) or

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Conclusion