Antestiopsis cruciata (Fabricius, 1775)
Synonyms
Cimex cruciata Fabricius, 1775
Pentatoma pantherina Westwood, 1837
Pentatoma cruciata Amyot & Serville, 1843
Strachia geometrica Nietner, 1861
Strachia velata Walker, 1867
Antestia cruciata (Fabricius) Stal, 1870
Taxonomic position
Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomidae: Pentatominae
Diagnosis
- Head moderately deflexed
- Rostrum extending beyond the posterior coxae
- Anterolateral margins of pronotum smooth, humeri rounded
- Scutellum moderately convex, as long as broad at base, apex broadly rounded
- Metathoracic scent gland with ostiolar peritreme, reaching mid metapleuron
- Connexiva distinctly exposed at repose
Male genitalia
Pygophore with dorsoposterior margin weakly concave and medially sinuate; ventroposterior margin medially concave; laterally sinuate. Parameres with short, curved stem, blade with inner margins concave. Aedeagus with a pair of apically curved dorsolateral membranous conjunctival appendages, median dorsal membranous conjunctival appendage fused forming Y-shaped penial plates enclosing the well-developed vesica
Female genitalia
spermathecal pump small, dilated with indistinct distal and distinct proximal flanges, median dilation comparatively small balloon-like, distal spermathecal duct coiled, distinctly longer than proximal duct
Biology
Eggs laid in clusters of 7-13, total development in 30 days with longer adult longevity of 6-7 (Chatterjee, 1934)
Host plants
Coffea arabica (Distant, 1902); apricot, lemon, mango, peach, tur, sandal, Lantana camera and Jasiminum sp. (Chatterjee, 1934).
Distribution
Andhra Pradesh (Mathew, 1986); Bihar (Ahmad & Rana, 1989); Himachal Pradesh (Fletcher, 1920); Karnataka (Chatterjee, 1934); Kerala (Mathew, 1986); Madhya Pradesh (Fletcher, 1920); Maharashtra (Distant, 1902); Odisha (Salini and Viraktamath, 2015); Punjab (Chatterjee, 1934); Sikkim (Atkinson, 1888); Tamil Nadu: (Distant, 1902); Uttarakhand (Chatterjee, 1934); West Bengal (Atkinson, 1888); Throughout southern India (Fletcher, 1914); Andaman Is (Salini and Viraktamath, 2015).
Selected References
Ahmad, I. & Rana, N. A. (1989). The Indo-Pakistani species of Antestia (Heteroptera, Pentatomidae). Mitteilungen der Schweizerischen Entomologischen Gesellschaft, 62(3-4), 349-358.
Chatterjee, N. C. (1934) Entomological investigations on the spike disease of sandal (24). Pentatomidae (Hemipt.). Ind. For. Rec., 20, 1-31.
Distant W.L. (1902). The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Vol. 2. London, xvii + 1-242.
Kirkaldy, G. W. (1909). Catalogue of the Hemiptera (Heteroptera) with biological and anatomical references, lists of foodplants and parasites, etc. Vol. I. Cimicidae. Berlin, xl + 392 pp.
