Observations on the Biology and Anatomy of Myerslopiidae (Hemiptera, Membracoidea)

Abstract

Adults and nymphs of Mapuchea chilensis (Nielson), from the poorly known family Myerslopiidae, were collected from the litter horizon of temperate forests and shrub bogs in southern Chile. The species apparently feeds on roots and creeping stems of angiosperms. Salivary sheaths of captive specimens terminated in vascular bundles. Indirect evidence suggests feeding on phloem sap. Both nymphs and adults are strong jumpers and both actively disperse, as evidenced by their capture in pan traps. The Malpighian tubules of this species produce no brochosomes and, unlike in most previously studied Membracoidea, comprise no specialized secretory segment. Each tubule comprises secretory cells scattered among excretory ones, a condition not previously known among Hemiptera.