Gardenia twig wilter
adult and nymph
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Hemiptera
Suborder:
Heteroptera
Superfamily:
Coreoidea
Family:
Coreidae
Subfamily:
Coreinae
Tribe:
Petascelini
Genus:
Carlisis
Species:
C. wahlbergi
Binomial name
Carlisis wahlbergi

Carlisis wahlbergi (Stål, 1858) aka the Gardenia twig wilter is a Central and Southern African species of Coreidae in the order Hemiptera.[1] The species was first described by Carl Stål, the Swedish authority on Hemiptera, and based on a specimen collected by the Swedish naturalist Johan August Wahlberg at Lake Ngami in Bechuanaland.[2]

The species shows a marked preference for the sap of Gardenia thunbergia and Gardenia volkensii, and its nymphs possess powerfully offensive scent glands to discourage predation or interference. This defensive secretion has been analysed and found to consist largely of acetic acid (66%), trans-2-hexenal (17%) and 3-hydroxybutanal (14%).[3] Even so the adults are eaten in Zimbabwe.[4] Nymphs of various Coreids secrete alarm pheromones from the dorsal abdominal glands.

The genus Carlisis comprises 4 species:[5][6]

  • Carlisis myrmecophilus Linnavuori, 1978 — Northeast Tropical Africa
  • Carlisis serrabilis Distant, 1904 — Transvaal, South Africa
  • Carlisis stuhlmanni Karsch, 1895 — Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • Carlisis wahlbergi Stål, 1858 — Southern Africa

References

  1. ↑ "Distribution for Taxon". coreoidea.speciesfile.org.
  2. ↑ "Carlisis wahlbergi (Insecta: Heteroptera, Coreidae)". www2.nrm.se.
  3. ↑ De Lange, D.J.J.; Van Rensburg, H.C. (1 January 1982). "Analysis of the defensive secretion of Carlisis wahlbergi Stal (Hemiptera: Coreidae)". Journal of the Entomological Society of Southern Africa. 45 (1).
  4. ↑ 'Edible Insects of the World' - Jun Mitsuhashi
  5. ↑ "ITIS Other Source search results for Coreoidea Species File".
  6. ↑ "genus Carlisis Stål, 1858: Coreoidea Species File". coreoidea.speciesfile.org.
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