
short communication

Checklist and description of three new chromatic patterns of Pachycoris torridus
(Scopoli, 1772) (Hemiptera: Scutelleridae)

Tatiani Seni de Souza-Firmino1,2, Kaio Cesar Chaboli Alevi1, Luis Lenin Vicente Pereira1,

Cecilia Artico Banho1, Fernando Cesar Silva Junior1, Emi Rosane Silistino de Souza1 &

Mary Massumi Itoyama1

1Instituto de Biociências, Letras e Ciências Exatas, Departamento de Biologia, São José do Rio Preto,

SP, Brazil.
2Corresponding author: Tatiani Souza-Firmino, e-mail: tatseni@hotmail.com

SOUZA-FIRMINO, T.S., ALEVI, K.C.C., PEREIRA, L.L., BANHO, C.A., SILVA JUNIOR, F.C.,

SOUZA, E.R.S., ITOYAMA, M.M. Checklist and description of three new chromatic patterns of

Pachycoris torridus (Scopoli, 1772) (Hemiptera: Scutelleridae). Biota Neotropica. 16(1): e20140195.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1676-0611-BN-2014-0195

Abstract: In the present paper, 27 chromatic patterns of the specie Pachycoris torridus (Scopoli, 1772)

were grouped and three new patterns are described. Because of this high phenotypic polymorphism,

P. torridus already been registered eight times as a new specie, highlighting the importance of the

application of different tools to assist in taxonomy of this hemipterous of economic importance.

Keywords: Insect, Heteroptera, polymorphism, agricultural pest.

SOUZA-FIRMINO, T.S., ALEVI, K.C.C., PEREIRA, L.L., BANHO, C.A., SILVA JUNIOR, F.C.,

SOUZA, E.R.S., ITOYAMA, M.M. Checklist e descrição de três novos padrões cromáticos de Pachycoris

torridus (Scopoli, 1772) (Hemiptera: Scutelleridae). Biota Neotropica. 16(1): e20140195. http://dx.doi.org/

10.1590/1676-0611-BN-2014-0195

Resumo: No presente artigo, 27 padrões cromáticos da espécie Pachycoris torridus (Scopoli, 1772) são

agrupados e três novos padrões são descritos. Devido a esse grande polimorfismo fenotı́pico, P. torridus

já foi registrado oito vezes como espécie nova, o que ressalta a importância da aplicação de diferentes

ferramentas para auxiliar na taxonomia desse hemı́ptero de importância econômica.

Palavras-chave: Insecta, Heteroptera, polimorfismo, peste agrı́cola.

Introduction

The insects of the Scutelleridae family are popularly known as

shield-backed bug, due to its scutellum which covers the whole body

(Grazia & Schwertner 2011). A striking feature of Scutelleridae is

intraspecific phenotypic variability, as can be observed in the species

Poecilocoris lewisi (Distant, 1883), Pachycoris klugii (Burmeister,

1835) and Pachycoris torridus (Scopoli, 1772) (Miyamoto & Kosaku

2002, Peredo 2002). Pachycoris species are very similar to each other,

although few differences exist among their genitalia and measure of

scutellum and head (Peredo, 2002).

The stink bug P. torridus is phytophagous and polyphagous

that has great prominence as an agricultural pest, with records of

their attacks in 16 vegetable crops (Marques et al., 2012), with

emphasis on the cultures of physic nut (Jatropha curcas Linnaeus

1753), raw material for the production of biodiesel (Borges Filho et

al. 2013). This hemipterous is longevous and can live out to 600

days (Gabriel & Franco, 2012), with wide distribution in the

Neotropical region. Shows a wide variation in chromatic patterns,

characteristic that made P. torridus be registered several times as a

new species (Costa Lima 1940), getting names like: Tetyra

schousboei (Fabricius, 1803), Pentatoma fabricii (Tigny 1801),

Scutellera decorate (Perty, 1833), Pachycoris Klungii (Burmeister,

1835), Pachycoris linaei (Westwood in F. W. Hope 183), Pachycoris

Aquila (Herrich-S. 1839), Pachycoris stallii (Uhler 186) and

Poecilocoris aeneiventris (Vollenhoven, 1863) (Maes 1994).

Monte (1937) initiated the descriptions of stains patterns of

this stink bug and registered 13 different patterns, terming

standard 1 to 13. The author highlights the pattern 13 (Figure 1)

as the basic for P. torridus. Currently, there are 27 chromatic

patterns described for this hemipterous in different scientific

articles (Monte 1937, Sanchez-Soto 2004, Santos et al. 2005,

Pikart 2011, Souza et al. 2012). Thus, in this study we performed

a checklist of all the patterns of stains described in the literature

for P. torridus and we describe three new (Figure 2).

Material and Methods

The checklist of twenty-seven chromatic patterns described for

P. torridus was compiled from the literature (Monte 1937, Sanchez-

Soto 2004, Santos et al 2005, Pikart 2011, Souza et al. 2012). For

description of three new patterns, specimens of P. torridus were

collected in Brotas, Sao Paulo, Brazil (22°14'17.6" S, 48°07'56.0" W)

in Jatropha curcas Linnaeus (1753). The description was based on

http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1676-0611-BN-2014-0195 http://www.scielo.br/bn

Biota Neotropica 16(1): e20140195, 2016

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basic pattern of spots described by Monte (1937). Vouchers were

deposited in the collection of the Laboratory of Cytogenetics and

Molecular of Insects, of Institute of Biosciences, letters and the

Exact Sciences (UNESP/IBILCE), Sao Jose do Rio Preto, Sao

Paulo, Brazil.

Results

The stink bugs of the specie Pachycoris torridus are globular,

with scutellum very developed, showing different patterns of

stains and colors of its body, the coloring of the spots vary of

yellow to red. In this checklist, 27 chromatic patterns identified

for this species are detailed and ilustrated (Figure 3), according

to the information of its publication, classified with pattern 1 to

27th in the order which they were reported. Three new chromatic

patterns are described on this paper, totalizing one list with

30 chromatic patterns for this insect.

Pattern 1. Features 15 spots. Pronotum with six, being two

near the head, two on the sides and two in the posterior region,

and scutellum with nine, arranged in four rows, respectively 2, 4,

2 and 1 spots starting from the base to the apex (Monte 1937).

Pattern 2. Features 4 spots. Pronotum and scutellum with

two spots, both of paired (Monte 1937).

Pattern 3. Features 8 spots. Pronotum with four, being two

in the middle region disposed in parallel and two on the sides,

and scutellum with four, arranged in three rows, being the last

with two spots (Monte 1937).

Pattern 4. Features 16 spots. Pronotum with six, arranged

in two rows with 2 and 4 stains, respectively, and scutellum

with ten spots, arranged in four rows of 2, 2, 4 and 2 spots each,

starting from the base to the apex (Monte 1937).

Pattern 5. Features 14 spots. Pronotum with four, being

two rows with two spots each, and scutellum with ten, arranged

in four rows of 2, 2, 4 and 2 spots, respectively, from base to

apex (Monte 1937).

Pattern 6. Features 12 spots. Pronotum with six, being two

near the head, two on the sides and two in the posterior region,

and scutellum with six, arranged in three rows of 1, 4, 1 stains,

being one big spot next to the base region (Monte 1937).

Pattern 7. Features 15 spots. Pronotum with six, being two

near the head, two on the sides and two in the posterior region,

and scutellum with nine, arranged in four rows with 2, 4, 2 and

1 spots, respectively, from base to apex (Monte 1937).

Pattern 8. Features 7 spots. Pronotum with two big spots,

and scutellum with five, being one big in the region near the

base, two on the sides and two near the apex (Monte 1937).

Pattern 9. Features 2 spots. Pronotum and scutellum with

one big spot on each, featuring the spaces that would be the

spots on basic pattern (Figure 1) (Monte 1937).

Figure 1. Basic pattern of P. torridus described by Monte (1937), with
22 spots, being 8 on pronotum and 14 on scutellum.

Figure 2. New chromatics patterns observed in the present work. a) Pattern 28; b) Pattern 29; c) Pattern 30.

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Pattern 10. Features 12 spots. Pronotum with four, being

two in the middle, and two on the sides, and scutellum

with eight, arranged in three rows with 2, 4 and 2 spots each

(Monte 1937).

Pattern 11. Features 13 spots. Pronotum with six, being two

near the base, two near the apex and two on the sides, and

scutellum with seven, arranged in four rows with 2, 2, 2 and 1

spots respectively from base to apex (Monte 1937).

Pattern 12. Features 16 spots. Pronotum with six, being two

near the base, two near the apex and 2 on the sides, and

scutellum with ten, arranged in three rows of 4, 4 and 2 spots,

respectively, from the base to the apex (Monte 1937).

Pattern 13. Features 22 spots. Pronotum with eight spots,

and scutellum with fourteen, neatly arranged in four rows,

respectively of 5, 4, 3 and 2 spots from base to apex (Monte

1937).

Pattern 14. Features 22 spots. Pronotum with eight spots,

and scutellum with fourteen, with the spots 10, 11 and 12

higher than the basic pattern (Figure 1) and very close together

(Sanchez-Soto et al. 2004).

Pattern 15. Features 6 spots. Pronotum with a single spot,

the eight spots of the basic pattern (Figure 1) joined from

lateral and anterior margins, and scutellum with five spots, the

spots 1, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 5, joined and formed a continuous strip,

and spots 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 joined leaving a small space near

the apex (Sanchez-Soto et al. 2004).

Pattern 16. Features 3 spots. Pronotum with one spot,

formed by the union of the eight spots of the basic pattern

(Figure 1), and scutellum with two spots, one is the spot 2 of

the basic pattern (Figure 1), and the other formed by the union

of spots 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 (Sanchez-Soto

et al. 2004).

Pattern 17. Features 3 spots. Pronotum with one spot,

formed by the union of the 8 spots of the basic pattern (Figure

1), and scutellum with two spots formed by the union of spots

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, near the base, and spots 10, 11, 12, 13

and 14 near the apex (Sanchez-Soto et al. 2004).

Pattern 18. Features 8 spots. Pronotum with two near the

head, and scutellum with six, being two near the base, two on

median region, and two on the sides (Santos et al. 2005).

Figure 3. Schemes of 30 chromatic patterns of P. torridus. In black the spots.

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Biota Neotrop., 16(1): e20140195, 2016 3

Chromatic patterns of Pachycoris torridus

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Pattern 19. Features 4 spots. Pronotum with two near the

head, and scutellum with two on the medium region (Santos

et al., 2005).

Pattern 20. Without spots (Santos et al., 2005).

Pattern 21. Features 21 spots. Pronotum with eight spots,

and scutellum thirteen, with the spots 7 and 8 of the basic

pattern joined (Figure 1) and the spots 10 and 12 larger than

the basic pattern (Pikart et al. 2011).

Pattern 22. Features 17 spots. Pronotum with six, being

spots 1 and 8 of the basic pattern (Figure 1) joined,

respectively, with the spots 3 and 7, and scutellum with eleven,

presented the spots 7 and 8 united, and spots 10, 11 and 12

joined forming a continuous strip (Souza et al. 2012).

Pattern 23. Features 20 spots. Pronotum with eight, and

scutellum with twelve, the spots 10, 11 and 12 of the basic

pattern (Figure 1) joined forming a continuous strip (Souza

et al. 2012).

Pattern 24. Features 19 spots. Pronotum with eight spots,

and scutellum with eleven, the spots 7 and 8 of the basic pattern

joined (Figure 1) and spots 10, 11 and 12 grouped forming a

continuous strip (Souza et al. 2012).

Pattern 25. Features 20 spots. Pronotum with eight spots,

being the spots 4 and 5 very close together, and scutellum with

12, being the spots 6 and 9 joined, respectively, with spots 7 and

8 (Souza et al. 2012).

Pattern 26. Features 20 spots. Pronotum with eight spots,

and scutellum with twelve, the spots 6 and 7 joined, as well as

the spots 8 and 9, and the spots 10, 11 and 12 are larger and

closer together (Souza et al. 2012).

Pattern 27. Features 17 spots. Pronotum with seven, the

spots 4 and 5of basic pattern joined (Figure 1), and scutellum

with ten, the spots 2, 3 and 4 grouped near the base forming a

continuous strip and spots 6 and 9 joined, respectively, with

spots 7 and 8 (Souza et al. 2012).

Pattern 28. Features 23 spots. Pronotum with eight spots,

and scutellum fifteen, with one additional spot between the

spots 7 and 8 of the basic pattern (Figure 1). (This paper)

(Figure 2a).

Pattern 29. Features 21 spots. Pronotum with eight spots,

and scutellum with thirteen, the spots 7 and 8 of the basic

pattern joined (Figure 1) (This paper) (Figure 2b).

Pattern 30. Features 22 spots. Pronotum with eight spots,

and scutellum with fourteen, the spots 7 and 8 are larger and

closer together, that the basic pattern (Figure 1) (This paper)

(Figure 2c).

Discussion

The stink bug P. torridus shows different phenotypes with

several variations in the pattern of spots and colors of your

body, however, all their phenotypic diversity had not been

described. Monte (1937) iniciated the disciption of this species

and recorded 13 different patterns in 13 of 16 specimens

collected on an unidentified plant. He depicted the basic

chromatic patterns of this stink bug as being one that presents

22 spots, being eight in the pronotum and 14 in the scutellum,

neatly arranged in the scutellum where present in four rows

respectively of 5, 4, 3 and 2 spots, starting from the base to the

apex. The color of the spots is diversified, varying of red to

yellow (Monte, 1937). Years later, Sanchez-Soto et al. (2004)

recorded in Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi (1820) more four

patterns; Santos et al. (2005) more three in Cnidoscolus

pubescens Pohl (1827); Pikart et al. (2011) described a new

pattern in Coffea arabica Linnaeus (1737) and, Souza et al.

(2012) described six patterns with specimens collected in

Jatropha curcas Linnaeus (1753). In this article we performed

a checklist of the 27 color patterns described and we describe

three new patterns, completing a list of 30 color patterns

described for P. torridus.

The high polymorphism of P. torridus already led to great

taxonomic mistakes, with this species described eight time as

new (Costa Lima 1940). According to Monte (1937), the color

variations of P. torridus are not hereditary and the factors that

may contribute to the differentiation of a color are diverse and

complex, however the factors involved in the polychromatism

of P. torridus have not yet been identified.

Grazia & Schwertner (2011) in a checklist about biodiver-

sity of the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil, emphasized that the

Scutelleridae family needs of taxonomic revision and high-

lighted the importance of the developing of tools to identifica-

tion and dissemination of the knowledge of the group. Souza

et al. (2012) also emphasize that the high chromatic variation of

P. torridus makes necessary to describe new phenotypes to assure

its correct taxonomic identification. Souza-Firmino et al. (2014)

described the presence of P. torridus in 15 Brazilian states and

emphasized their infestations in the culture of physic nut and they

highlight the characteristic of polyphagous of P. torridus, which

allows this insect can colonize and mainly become an agricultural

pest to other crops of economic importance.

Thus, because of this great importance as agricultural pest,

this great phenotypic variability and due the scarcity of

information about this insect, the checklist and description of

three new chromatic patterns of P. Torridus, is a new tool for

taxonomy of this stink bug, synthesizing all the chromatic

patterns described for the specie.

Conclusion

This article makes, for the first time, one checklist of all the

chromatic patterns described for the specie P. torridus and

fundament the patterns already described in descriptions initial

contained in scientific articles. Thus, this study enabled us to

identified the high chromatic polymorphism of this stink bug.

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by Fundação de Apoio à

Pesquisa e Extensão de São José do Rio Preto (FAPERP) and

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientı́fico e Tecnoló-

gico (CNPq).

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Received 5/01/2015

Revised 30/01/2016

Accepted 11/02/2016

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	title_link
	Introduction
	Material and Methods
	Results
	Figure 1.
	Figure 2.
	Figure 3.
	Discussion
	Conclusion
	Acknowledgments

	REFERENCES
	References