An illustrated key to the lace bugs (Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Tingidae) from "Oriental Galapagos" (the Ogasawara Islands, Japan), with descriptions of three new species of the endemic genus Omoplax Horváth, 1912.

Abstract

The lace bugs (Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Tingidae) from the Ogasawara Islands, Japan, which are known as "Oriental Galapagos", are taxonomically revised. The following eight species belonging to the two endemic genera, Acanthomoplax Souma & Kamitani, 2021 (Tinginae, Tingini) or Omoplax Horváth, 1912 (Tinginae, Tingini) are recognized from the islands: A. tomokunii Souma & Kamitani, 2021, O. desecta (Horváth, 1912), O. hisasuei sp. nov., O. inugusu sp. nov., O. karubei Souma, 2022, O. kobugashi sp. nov., O. majorcarinae Guilbert, 2001, and O. mukojimensis Souma, 2022. In previous studies published in the 2020s, O. inugusu sp. nov. and O. kobugashi sp. nov. were misidentified as O. majorcarinae, while O. majorcarinae, re-diagnosed in the present study, was confused with O. desecta. Host plants for seven of the eight species, excluding O. mukojimensis, were revealed based on field and captive observations. Five of these seven species-A. tomokunii, O. hisasuei sp. nov., O. inugusu sp. nov., O. kobugashi sp. nov., and O. majorcarinae-feed on evergreen lauraceous trees. An illustrated key is also provided to identify all eight lace bug species from the Ogasawara Islands. Moreover, differences in host plants and distribution ranges of the eight endemic species are also discussed. Future research directions necessary for the conservation of endemic lace bugs are proposed.