Epipsylla millettiae, Li, Yang & Burckhardt, 2015

Li, Bin, Yang, Mao-Fa & Burckhardt, Daniel, 2015, Epipsylla millettiae sp. nov. (Hemiptera: Psylloidea), a new psyllid from China associated with Millettia pachyloba (Fabaceae) with comments on Epipsylla including the redescription of E. hainanana, Zootaxa 3986 (1), pp. 135-143 : 137-140

Epipsylla millettiae sp. nov.

( Figs. 1–7 , 15–16 )

Material examined. Holotype ♂, China: Guangdong Province, Zhanjiang , Southern Subtropical Botanical Garden , 19.iv.2013, on Millettia pachyloba , coll. Bin Li and Meng Jiao ( GUGC, dry mounted). – Paratypes. China: 18 ♂, 27 ♀, same data as holotype ( GUGC, NHMB, BMNH, dry mounted) .

Description. Adult. Coloration. Body green. A pair of conspicuous whitish green stripes narrowly bordered by black extending from the tip of genal processes along vertex ( Fig. 15 ) to thorax converging in an oval spot on metascutellum; a second, relatively short pair of lateral stripes ( Fig. 16 ) extending from the middle of genal processes, where the lines converge, to the posterior head margin, the dorsal black line is darker and slightly broader than the ventral one; a third pair of short stripes runs over lateral tubercle of vertex adjacent to lateral ocellus, black at inner and yellow green at outer side. Vertex slightly greenish yellow. Genal processes green yellow, dorsal stripes bordered by black lines yellow basally, orange apically. Compound eyes brown, ocelli yellow to orange. Antennal segment 1 light yellow green, segment 2 yellowish brown, segments 3–7 dirty yellowish basally, black apically, dark area increasing from segments 3–7, segments 8–10 entirely black. Thoracic dorsum light green in the middle, brown turning into light brown laterally, median spot on metascutellum off white. Profemora light brown, meso and metafemora green or dirty yellowish; tibiae and tarsi ochreous. Forewing yellowish brown, transparent, veins light brown. Abdominal segments green anteriorly, ochreous posteriorly. Male terminalia green, apical tooth of paramere black; subgenital plate green to ochreous. Female terminalia green, proctiger green to yellowish; subgenital plate green to yellowish, brown apically.

Structure. Body medium-sized ( Table 1 ). Head ( Figs. 15, 16 ) with fine, moderately long setae on vertex and long, conspicuous dark setae on genal processes. Genal processes lying in a plane parallel to but slightly below that of vertex; 1.2 times as long as vertex along mid-line; axes of genal processes subparallel; blunt apically. Antenna 5.0–5.3 times head width; terminal antennal setae ( Fig. 6 ) subequal in length, about half as long as segment 10. Metatibia with 7–8 apical spurs. Forewing ( Fig. 7 ) oval, widest in the middle; pterostigma very small; fore margin with conspicuous dark long setae, gradually getting shorter toward wing apex; surface spinules absent, radular spinules forming narrow stripes in the middle of cells m1, m2 and cu1 along wing margin. Abdominal sternites covered with dense, long setae.

Male terminalia. Proctiger ( Fig. 1 ) tubular, unevenly produced posteriorly, more or less straight in basal two thirds, strongly curved in apical third; covered with long setae, slightly denser apically. Parameres ( Figs. 1, 2 ) bifid, about as long as proctiger; in profile, lanceolate, irregularly narrowing to apex, slightly indented in the middle, apex narrowly rounded, curved inward; outer surface beset with relatively long setae in apical half; inner lobe about four fifth as long as outer lobe; inner lobe relatively wide at base, then gradually narrowing to acutely narrowed apex which is strongly curved inward, forming sclerotised hook, anterior margin of inner lobe with relatively long setae in basal half; inner surface of outer lobe with sclerotised ridge along posterior margin stretching from apex to apical quarter, posterior margin of sclerotised ridge, from rear view finely serrate. Proximal portion of aedeagus ( Fig. 1 ) hardly curved, massif at base, narrowing to apex. Distal portion of aedeagus ( Figs. 1, 3, 4 ) robust, slightly widening to apex, with base forming hook-like process extending caudad; apex with blunt point, with a pair of long and screwy sclerotised processes ventrally ( Figs. 3, 4 ); sclerotised end tube of ductus ejaculatorius weakly curved, short. Subgenital plate ( Fig. 1 ) with long setae in apical two thirds.

Female terminalia ( Fig. 5 ). Proctiger short, cuneate, subacute apically; bearing long setae in the middle; circumanal ring oval, with apex raising up and pointing cephalad, slightly less than half as long as proctiger, consisting of two unequal rows of pores. Subgenital plate short, cuneate, subacute apically, densely covered in long setae. Lateral valvula irregularly curved posteriorly; dorsal valvula cuneate; ventral valvula straight, pointed apically.

Measurements in Table 1 .

Immature. Unknown.

Host plant. Adults were collected on Millettia pachyloba Drake (Fabaceae) which is a likely host.

Etymology. Named after its presumed host plant Millettia pachyloba Drake.

Remarks. The new species resembles E. viridis in the colour pattern of head and thorax as well as the morphology of the terminalia. It differs in the much longer sclerotised ridge on the inner surface of the outer lobe of paramere in the male and the dorsally less excavate proctiger in the female. In the colour pattern of head and thorax it resembles also E. liui from which it differs in the thick distal portion of the aedeagus bearing a basal hook-shaped process and the more lanceolate paramere.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 7. Epipsylla millettiae sp. nov. 1. Male terminalia, in profile; 2. Inner view of paramere; 3. Top view of distal portion of aedeagus; 4. Dorsal view of distal portion of aedeagus; 5. Female terminalia, in profile; 6. Antennal segment 10 (shorter terminal seta broken); 7. Forewing. Scale bars = 0.1 mm (figs. 1 – 6); 0.5 mm (fig. 7).

FIGURES 15 – 18. Epipsylla millettiae sp. nov. 15. Male head, dorsal aspect; 16. Male head, in profile. Epipsylla hainanana Yang & Li. 17. Male head, dorsal aspect; 18. Male head, in profile. Scale bars = 0.5 mm.

Tables

TABLE 1. Measurements of Epipsylla spp. in mm (n = 5). Abbreviations: BL = total body length measured from anterior margin of head to tip of folded fore wing, HW = head width, AL = antennal length, WL = forewing length, VL = vertex length, GL = length of genal processes.

	E. millettiae		E. hainanana
	♂	♀	♂	♀
BL	3.39±0.08	3.64±0.15	3.31±0.07	3.65±0.09
HW	0.75±0.03	0.79±0.03	0.87±0.01	0.88±0.02
AL	3.77±0.12	3.97±0.13	4.52±0.05	4.60±0.10
WL	2.64±0.07	2.75±0.07	2.71±0.07	2.90±0.09
VL	0.22±0.01	0.23±0.01	0.22±0.01	0.23±0.01
GL	0.26±0.01	0.27±0.01	0.28±0.01	0.30±0.01