First records of Heterotoma merioptera (Scopoli, 1763) and Aradus serbicus (Horváth, 1888) (Heteroptera: Miridae et Aradidae) from Germany
Author
Morkel, Carsten
text
Zootaxa
2010
2651
64
68
journal article
10.5281/zenodo.198822
760a6ca0-02d5-493e-af11-be554ff45ff8
1175-5326
198822
Heterotoma merioptera
(Scopoli, 1763)
(
Miridae
,
Orthotylinae
,
Orthotylini
)
Material:
Germany
, Saxony, Daubitz NW Walddorf, Heiderandweg – Wolfsstein env., on
Vaccinium myrtillus
L., 6.
ix.2008, 1
Ψ, C. Morkel leg. et det. (
Fig. 1
)
The comprehensive paper of
Kment & Bryja (2006)
summarises all information on
Heterotoma merioptera
available so far, providing revised distributional, biological, and ecological data as well as diagnostic characters. Previously frequently confused with the closely related
H. planicornis
(Pallas, 1772)
of generally European distribution, the occurrence of
H. merioptera
seems to be limited to the southeastern European countries, extending to
Asia Minor
and the Near East (
Kment & Bryja 2006
).
H. merioptera
is considered to be the more thermophilous of the two species, occurring in natural and semi-natural habitats (
Kment & Bryja 2006
).
The current record from the eastern border of
Germany
extends the known distributional area of
H. merioptera
at its northwestern range. The ecological finding circumstances on
Vaccinium myrtillus
in pine forest are similar to those given by
Herczek (1979
, cited in
Kment & Bryja 2006
) in nearby
Poland
.
As
Heteroptera
are valuable indicators of climatic change (
Rabitsch 2008
), further investigations should prove if
H. merioptera
may continue to extend its distributional range, and thus be considered as a species recently benefiting from global warming.