Searching for the identity of Podisus Herrich-Schäffer, 1851 (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae): examination of type specimens leads to taxonomic updates and description of five new species

The Asopinae are a group of stink bugs (Pentatomidae) distinctive by having predatory feeding habits, preying on other insects, especially larvae of butterflies, moths, and beetles. Many species are common, and due to their alimentary strategies, some are objects for application in biological control programs. Podisus Herrich-Schäffer is the most diverse genus of Asopinae, distributed in the Neotropical and Nearctic regions, and their species have received attention in applied studies since the second half of the 20th century.

However, the systematics of Podisus is still overlooked, and the lack of robust taxonomic information and poor species delimitation lead to misidentifications. We searched for the type specimens of Podisus deposited in the NHMUK, NHRS, MNHN, and RBINS collections in order to validate the taxonomic status of the species, and to proceed with the necessary taxonomic updates. We propose four new synonymies: Podisus volxemi Distant new junior synonym of Podisus crassimargo (Stål); Ornithosoma rivierei Kormilev and monotypic genus Ornithosoma Kormilev as new junior synonyms of Podisus semialbus Walker and genus Podisus respectively.

Podisus dufouri Bergroth and Podisus punctiger Stål are revalidated, and Podisus cornutus (Dallas) is treated as species inquirenda. Five new species are described and fully illustrated: Podisus amboroensis Brugnera, sp. nov., Podisus awajun Brugnera, sp. nov., Podisus bororo Brugnera Grazia, sp. nov., Podisus guarani Brugnera & Grazia, sp. nov., and Podisus quechua Brugnera & Sampaio, sp. nov .. We highlight the importance of the examination of type material, historical specimens, and descriptions in the taxonomy of Podisus, and suggest caution in the identification of species due to the expressive number of incongruences found in previous studies.

Keywords taxonomy; systematics; predatory stink bugs; Heteroptera; Neotropics; Nearctic; nomenclatural acts ZooBank: zoobank.org/00AE47E5-27C3-4149-AB2B-8F21680C6D5D