Haplaxius jamaicae (Kramer)

Ferreira, Mileida, Mckamey, Stuart H. & Martinez, Reina T., 2010, New records of Haplaxius (Hemiptera: Cixiidae) in the Dominican Republic, with description of a new species, Zootaxa 2614, pp. 65-68 : 67

Haplaxius jamaicae (Kramer)

Figs. 4–6

Diagnosis. Pygofer in lateral view ( Figs. 5, 6 ) with posterior margin subtriangular, abdominal segment X with singular, triangular process distoventrally. Aedeagus with a small, serrate, apical process directed dorsally, and a long narrow process directed anteriorly. Subgenital plates ( Fig. 4 ) distally capitate but elongate. Color uniformly pale brown without distinct color pattern; forewings hyaline with veins pale brown.

New material examined. 1 ♂ ( USNM): DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, Prov. Maria Trinidad Sanchez, Cabrera, Payita, Baoba del Pinar, N19° 30.709, W69° 55.638. 8-V-2008. coll. Mileida Ferreira, Teresa Martinez y Andrea Feliz.

Notes. Both this specimen and the holotype ( USNM) agree with Kramer’s (1979) original description and illustration. The single male was collected in the same collection event as H. cabrerensis n. sp. and three unidentified Haplaxius females.

When Kramer’s (1979) revised the genus Haplaxius , he remarked that because 24 of the 29 Mexican and Neotropical species were new, that “there seems to be little reason that these represent more than a fraction of the total fauna south of the United States.” Based on the discoveries by O’Brien (2006), Ferreira et al. (in review), and the current paper, it appears the same can be said about the Antillean fauna. It is a lesson to remember, especially for those studying LY, that if Haplaxius is implicated as a vector, it does not automatically imply that the species involved is H. crudus .

We thank Kelvin Guerrero (Centro de Tecnologia Agricola [ CENTA], Instituto Dominicano de Investigaciones Agropecuarias y Forestales [ IDIAF], Santo Domingo) for assisting in the collection of this important lot of Haplaxius specimens, Sardis Medrano for cooperation with field and lab support, and Dr. Modesto Reyes, Director (CENTA- IDIAF) for making this research possible. Earlier drafts of this work benefited from the useful comments of M. Gates and T. Henry ( USDA Systematic Entomology Laboratory) and L. Deitz (North Carolina State University).

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 7. terminalia of male Haplaxius species from the Dominican Republic. 1 – 3, H. cabrerensis, n. sp., holotype. Male terminalia in left lateral, right lateral, and ventral views, respectively. 4 – 6, H. jamaicae (Kramer). Male terminalia in left lateral, right lateral, and ventral views, respectively. 7, H. crudus (Van Duzee). Habitus, dorsal view; af, “ anal flap ” of Kramer (abdominal segment X); ml, median lobe of pygofer (pyg); tri, diagnostic subtriangular projection. All images are of specimens from the Dominican Republic.