Igerna aurora, C.A.Viraktamath, 2011

C. A. Viraktamath, 2011, Revision of the Oriental and Australian Agalliini (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Megophthalminae) 2844, Zootaxa 2844, pp. 1-118 : 65

Igerna aurora sp. nov.

Figs 289–303.

Color. Ochraceous. Two round spots on vertex, narrow elongate spot in antennal cavity, black; ocelli surrounded by pale brown margin. Pronotum with large piceous spot with two large round posterior spots and anterior broad spot faintly visible. Anterior half of scutellum black, posterior half yellow. Forewings brownish with whitish and ochraceous fascia, claval apex yellow. Meso and meta thoracic pleura piceous with pale borders. Female much paler than male; submarginal frontoclypeal stripe and spot on clypellus brown. Two round spots on posterior submargin of pronotum and anterior central spot, black; anterolateral margins pale brown.

Morphology. Face slightly longer than broad. Ocelli closer to each other than to eyes. Antennal cavity narrow, elongate with wrinkled surface. Pronotum slightly more than half as long as wide, finely granulose. Anterior half of scutellum declivous posteriorly, posterior half flattish.

Male genitalia. Caudal lobe of pygofer with marginal stout microsetae; caudoventral margin deeply excavated in middle, in lower half produced into pointed lobe. Subgenital plates comparatively broad, apically slightly rounded, covered with stout microseate. Connective longer than broad with well developed membranous caudolateral lobes and medially sclerotized. Styles elongate with elongated inner and outer arms. Aedeagus with dorsal apodeme well developed, broader than shaft at base, shaft closely appressed to dorsal apodeme and of uniform width to about 0.66 length then broadened on anterior margin and curved caudally, with apical pair of bifurcate, caudoventrally directed processes, gonopore subapical.

Female genitalia. Hind margin of seventh sternite broadly concavely excavated exposing small eighth sternites. Ovipositor slightly exceeding pygofer.

Measurements. Specimens from Timor Islands: Male 3.6 mm long, 1.1 mm wide across eyes. Female 4.1 mm long, 1.4 mm wide across eyes. Specimens form Sunda Islands: Male 4.0– 4.2 mm long, 1.2–1.3 mm wide across eyes. Female 4.5–4.7 mm long, 1.4 mm wide across eyes

Material examined. TIMOR IS.: HOLOTYPE ♂, Hatolia , Poetia, 1–300 m, 14.vi.1963, Raimundo, No. 1138, ex Coffea robusta, Raiundo ( BMNH) . PARATYPE: 1 ♀, same data as holotype ( UASB) . Additional material: SUNDA IS: Sunda Exp. Rensch : 1 ♀, Lombok , Sembalon, 30–31.iii.1927; 4 ♂, 8 ♀, O. Fores, Geli Moetoe, 14– 20.vii.1927 ( ZMB) ; 3 ♀, Soembawa , Batoe Doelang , 10–15.iv.1927; 1 ♀, Lombok Segare, 5.vi.1927; 1 ♀, W. Flores, Badjawa 17.vi.1927; W. Flores, Rana Mêsê, 20–30.vi.197 ( ZMB) .

Remarks. The specimens from Sunda Islands differ from the type specimens in the following way: two large round spots on vertex, an elongate spot in antennal pit, two large spots on pronotum, median stripe broadened anteriorly and narrowed posteriorly between two spots (in four specimens these spots coalesce to form a transverse band on posterior half of pronotum), scutum except lateral margins dark brown to black. Median spot on vertex continued a short distance on face in some specimens, fuscous. Forewings pale brown to dark brown with costal margin, claval suture, inner claval margins paler. In paler specimens veins marked with brown, thoracic pleurites dark fuscous. Female with darker color similar to male in coloration but with a few specimens with a median stripe on clypellus that extends upward in the form of Y, fuscous. Median stripe on pronotum absent in paler specimens.

Male genitalia with anal collar process broad caudally, with a ventral finger-like process. Connective with median projection on anterior margin and a rounded lobe on caudal margin. Aedeagus similar to that in holotype but shaft of uniform width.

Igerna aurora closely resembles I. atrovenosa (Melichar) from Sri Lanka, but is darker. Both share similar aedeagus and male pygofer, however, I. aurora has a much more robust male style and the aedeagal shaft is either of uniform width (as in speciemens from Sunda Island) or expanded in distal 0.33 (as in the holotype), which is not so in I. atrovenosa .