Katrina Menard
Major Professor: Dr. Jim Woolley
Ph.D. Candidate
"Revealing Australia's Diversity: New Species of Sejanus (Heteroptera: Miridae) Described from Western Australia."
The Plant-bug Planetary Biodiversity Inventory is an ongoing effort by leading experts in Miridae
(Hemiptera: Heteroptera) to collect, describe, and form a database of the world fauna of two of its
largest sub-families: the Phylinae and the Orthotylinae. Both sister subfamilies are unique in their high
degree of host-plant specificity, as well as their biology. Research efforts have focused on the temperate
regions of the world, which have shown to have the highest diversity of these two groups. Australia is
of particular importance due to the high amount of endemism of its plant fauna, as well as the lack of
knowledge about its diverse mirid fauna. Currently, only 10% of its fauna have been described. As part of the effort to describe and study the fauna of the region, my research has focused on the genus
Sejanus Distant (Phylinae: Leucophoropterini), a group that is believed to have a large radiation in
Australia. Initially described from India, the distribution of this genus has been expanded through recent investigations to include Japan, China, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Pacific Islands. Presented are new species of Leucophoropterini from Australia, as well as a discussion about the status of Sejanus as a genus within the Leucophoropterini.