First record of Gardena melinarthrum (Heteroptera: Reduviidae) from Thailand with a note on its predation of an araneophagic spider

Abstract

The thread-legged assassin bug Gardena melinarthrum Dohrn, 1860 (Heteroptera: Reduviidae) is reported for the first time from Thailand. Morphological data of the female adult, including detailed information of the genitalia, is provided with photographs. We also report the predation of an araneophagic spider Portia sp. (Araneae: Salticidae) by the bug in a spider’s web. It is the occasional observation of intra-guild predation evidence involving an assassin bug (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Gardena melinarthrum) and a spider (Araneae: Salticidae: Portia sp.) in a riparian habitat.

Keywords

• araneophagy
• intra-guild predation
• natural history
• new record
• Portia
• Southeast Asia