Vescelia dulcis He, 2019

Tian, Di, Shen, Chu-Ze, Chen, Lin, Chen, Guang-Yu, Zhang, Tao, Li, Kai & He, Zhu-Qing, 2019, An integrative taxonomy of Vescelia pieli pieli species complex based on morphology, genes and songs from China (Orthoptera: Grylloidea: Phalangopsidae: Phaloriinae), Zootaxa 4695 (1), pp. 67-75 : 70-71

2.1 Vescelia dulcis He sp. nov.

( Fig. 3C , Fig. 4C , Fig. 5C )

Holotype: male, CHINA, Hainan, Wuzhishan , 23-iii-2019, coll. HE Zhu-Qing.

Paratypes: 1 male & 2 females, same data as Holotype . 2 males, 1 female, 1 nymph, CHINA, Hainan, Wuzhishan , 7-viii-2018, coll. HE Zhu-Qing. 1 female & 1 nymph, CHINA, Hainan, Ledong, Jianfengling , 9-viii-2018, coll. He Zhu-Qing. 1 male, CHINA, Hainan, Qiongzhong, Limushan , 5-viii-2018, coll. He Zhu-Qing. 3 nymphs, CHINA, Hainan, Baoting, Xian'an , 22-iii-2019, coll. He Zhu-Qing. 2 nymphs, CHINA, Hainan, Sanya, Baolong , 21-iii-2019, coll. He Zhu-Qing.

Male. Very similar to V. pieli pieli or V. pieli monotonia ( Fig. 3 ). Head: small, frontal rostrum forward convex and pubescent, three ocelli arranged as a triangle, maxillary palpi with 1st and 2nd joints short as moniliform, but 3rd–5th joints long. Pronotum: transverse and pubescent, anterior margin straight, posterior margin nearly straight (middle arched and lateral parts angled), forewing with seven oblique veins, mirror large with two dividing veins, the upper one wave-shape and lower one curved, apical field as long as 2/3 mirror in vertical length, lateral field wide and inwards folded, hind wings almost as long as forewing; legs long, tympanum on both sides of tibiae with inner one slightly larger, 4 pairs of dorsal spurs on hind tibiae, three inner apical spurs long (upper one longest) and three outer spurs short (middle one longest), length of the first tarsal segment little longer than the second and the third tarsal segment. Abdomen: small and totally covered by forewing, cerci long and straight. Genitalia: Guiding rod short, not exceeding the tip of epiphallic lateral lobes, ectoparemere elongated and obtuse at inner side of apex. ( Fig. 4C ).

Female. Similar to male, veins on dorsal field of forewing parallel with cross vein, hindwing longer than forewing, ovipositor straight, as long as hindwing, teeth on ventral side of apical part.

Coloration. Body brown, head brown with six black lines on dorsal side. The inner pairs of lines bifurcated from the middle to the apical. 1st and 2nd joints of antenna white with black spots, other segments brown. Pronotum and wings brown, legs yellow with black and white alternated, cerci yellow ( Fig. 3C ).

Etymology. dulcis is in reference to the crickets’ beautiful songs. Because it is perceived as pleasant compared with that of V. pieli pieli , (See differences in songs below.)

Measurements (in mm). Male: body length (to forewing) 17.06–19.35, pronotum length 2.84–3.12, forewing length 13.87–14.39, hind femur length 12.78–14.62.

Female: body length (to forewing) 17.21–17.51, pronotum length 2.97–3.01, forewing length 13.81–13.99, hind femur length 13.85–14.46, ovipositor length 6.92–7.07.

Songs. The calling songs of V. pieli pieli and V. dulcis are similar (see details in Table 2), but there is a single pulse at first with longer interval and following same narrower interval pulses. While in V. pieli pieli , intervals between pulses are nearly same ( Fig. 5B&C ).

Figures

FIGURE 3. Vescelia spp., live individuals and Holotype of V. pieli pieli. A: V. pieli monotonia (from Wuyishan, Fujian); B: V. pieli pieli (from Changjian, Hainan); C: V. dulcis (from Wuzhishan, Hainan); D: V. pieli pieli (Holotype).

FIGURE 4. Male genetalia of Vescelia spp. A: V. pieli monotonia (from Wuyishan, Fujian); B: V. pieli pieli (from Changjian, Hainan); C: V. dulcis (from Wuzhishan, Hainan). 1: dorsal view; 2: ventral view.

FIGURE 5. Calling songs of Vescelia spp. A: V. pieli monotonia (from Wuyishan, Fujian); B: V. pieli pieli (from Changjian, Hainan); C: V. dulcis (from Wuzhishan, Hainan). scale bar=0.2s.