Psocids from Malta (Insecta: Psocodea: ‘ Psocoptera’), with new synonymy for Peripsocus stagnivagus based on the discovery of its first Palaearctic male
Author
Lienhard, Charles
Author
Mifsud, David
text
Zootaxa
2015
3936
2
251
260
journal article
10.11646/zootaxa.3936.2.5
0e06b779-1c2f-4725-975b-2a2333a294e4
1175-5326
237273
B03C5872-9D58-4F18-B70C-86AA42AFFA92
Loensia variegata
(Latreille, 1799)
Material examined.
Malta
, Verdala Palace, 12–24.
vi.2014, 1
♀, Malaise trap, DM; same data but 25.vi.–10.
vii.2014,
1
♂ and 2 ♀; and 11.vii.–1.
viii.2014,
1
♂ and 2 ♀.
Notes.
A new record for the Maltese Islands. It is a West Palaearctic species associated with bark of various trees and shrubs and occasionally found in piles of stones. The intensity of forewing colouration of the Maltese specimens is somewhat variable, corresponding to the medium- or relatively weakly-coloured forms described by
Lienhard (1998
: fig. 137b, c). However, a certain number of small patches are always present all over the membrane, in addition to the basic wing pattern consisting of a few larger pigment patches. The pale form described by
Lienhard (1998: fig. 137d)
from
Greece
, almost completely lacking the small patches, was not observed in the Maltese material.