Pseudophacopteron electum Capener, 1973

Malenovský, Igor, Burckhardt, Daniel & Tamesse, Joseph L., 2007, Jumping plant-lice of the family Phacopteronidae (Hemiptera: Psylloidea) from Cameroon, Journal of Natural History 41 (29 - 32), pp. 1875-1927 : 1906-1908

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.1080/00222930701515488
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/039A87A6-FFD5-FF93-FE39-C64FFDDDFA50
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Pseudophacopteron electum Capener
status

Treatment

Pseudophacopteron electum Capener View in CoL

( Figures 4D View Figure 4 , 5G View Figure 5 , 6E View Figure 6 , 7E View Figure 7 , 8E View Figure 8 , 9F View Figure 9 , 10E View Figure 10 , 12B View Figure 12 , 13E View Figure 13 , 17 View Figure 17 , 21D View Figure 21 ) Pseudophacopteron electum Capener 1973, p 43 ; holotype ♀, South Africa, Pretoria North, 12 September 1972 (A. L. Capener) ( NCIP, dry-mounted, not examined). Included on the basis of one doubtfully identified specimen from Cameroon (see the comments) .

Description

A description of adults, eggs, and larvae is given also by Capener (1973).

Adult. Colour: body ochreous or orange brown, often extensively marked with dark brown to black. Vertex with an off-white midline, laterally and along the midline brown orange to dark brown. Genae, frons, and clypeus ochreous or orange brown to dark brown. Antenna off-white, segments 4–8 slightly infuscate apically, segments 9–10 entirely black, apical setae white. Pronotum brown orange to dark brown or black, with midline and tubercles behind eyes pale. Mesopraescutum with two large orange to dark brown triangular markings anteriorly or almost entirely dark brown to black. Mesoscutum with four orange to dark brown bands, dark markings often coalescent. Lateral sclerites of thorax dark brown to black. Legs off-white to ochreous, metacoxa and metafemur often almost entirely dark brown, fore and mid femora with dark brown markings near apex and base, metatibia dark brown basally, hind tarsus infuscate. Fore wing membrane transparent, clear, except for a dark brown infuscation along full length of vein Cu1b ( Figure 6E View Figure 6 ). Fore wing veins offwhite to ochreous, except for C+Sc, Cu1b, basal half or two-thirds of R, basal half of M, the M+Cu fork, a spot medially on R+M+Cu1, and two spots on apical vein, which are all dark brown to black. Hind wing clear, transparent, C+Sc dark brown. Abdominal tergites entirely dark brown to black, or dark brown with orange dorsum. Sternites brown to dark brown. Male terminalia with subgenital plate dark brown, apical half of proctiger and parameres off-white to ochreous. Female terminalia ochreous with subgenital plate basally and proctiger apical process dark brown, or entirely dark brown to black.

Morphology: head, in dorsal view, slightly wider than mesonotum, subglobular. Vertex with microsculpture, matt, about twice as wide as long along midline, rounded down in front. Coronal suture reduced throughout. Median ridge on vertex raised, distinct. Vertex on either side of the median ridge convex, distinctly bulging. Lateral ocelli situated on small tubercles slightly above plane of vertex. Occiput in dorsal view narrowly triangular. Preoccipital sclerite narrow, eyes not stalked, in frontal view subglobular. Genae slightly swollen. Tubercle below torulus pointed, forming an acute angle. Frons narrow, parallelsided. Clypeus broadly pyriform. Antenna robust, weakly serrate; segments 4–9 short, widening apically ( Figure 4D View Figure 4 ); a single subapical rhinarium on each of segments 4–9; rhinaria eliptic with a wreath of cuticular spines; terminal setae subequal, the longer seta about twice as long as segments 9 and 10 together ( Figure 5G View Figure 5 ). Fore wing moderately elongate, widening towards apex; apex unevenly rounded. Vein Rs relatively long. Surface spinules present in cells r1, apical part of r2, m2, and cu2 ( Figure 7E View Figure 7 ). Costal break in apical sixth or seventh of C+Sc. Hind legs long and slender. Meracanthus short, acute, pointed. Metafemur constricted medially. Metatibia bearing an open crown of 10–13 unsclerotized apical spurs and additional two rows of five to six similar spurs laterally. Metabasitarsus bearing two black sclerotized spurs. Dorsal margin of abdomen, in profile, serrate; posterior margin of tergites 3 and especially 4 and 5 medially swollen into a prominent tubercular process. Male terminalia as in Figure 8E View Figure 8 . Proctiger relatively long, slightly narrowing to apex. Subgenital plate, in profile, as long as high, dorsal margin straight. Paramere, in profile, relatively long, parallel-sided, obliquely truncate apically; in posterior view, inner margin parallel-sided with outer margin; inner surface covered in fine setae and ca five stouter setae subapically, apex forming a small sclerotized tooth situated anteriorly ( Figure 9F View Figure 9 ). Basal segment of aedeagus stout; apical segment with head gradually widening from base to apex, which is broadly rounded ( Figure 10E View Figure 10 ); sclerotized end tube of ductus ejaculatorius relatively short, sinuate. Female terminalia as in Figure 12B View Figure 12 . Proctiger relatively short, with dorsal margin weakly sinuate, almost straight, apical process short; circumanal ring with two rows of pores, pores of outer row contiguous. Subgenital plate, in profile, short, dorsal margin more or less straight, ventral margin convex; apex truncate; in ventral view, broadly triangular, apex sinuate, with a small indentation ( Figure 13E View Figure 13 ). Dorsal and ventral valvulae with a few (two or three) distinct lateral teeth at apex. Measurements and ratios in Tables I–III.

Fifth instar larva ( Figure 17 View Figure 17 ). Pale yellow, tergal sclerites on abdomen black. Body broad, compact, ovoid, strongly convex ventrally, flat dorsally. Stout lanceolate setae, blunt or narrowly truncate at apex, present on abdomen margin in number (1–2) + (2–3) + (4–5) + (6–7) + (9–13), and in three groups of four to seven setae close to margin, in the outer quarter of disc of segments composing caudal plate. Margins of cephalothorax behind eyes and fore wing pad with a few minute, hardly visible simple setae. A minute simple seta present in ocular region. Eyes with ca 50 distinct ommatidia. Antenna oriented obliquely backwards, bent over the upper body surface, gradually narrowing to apex, lacking distinct divisions, with two rhinaria. Tarsal arolium large relative to claws, with a broad pad and indistinct petiole ( Figure 21D View Figure 21 ). Abdomen dorsally on each side with five free sclerites and an incompletely fused caudal plate consisting of three distinct sclerites; apex of caudal plate broadly rounded. Anus in ventral position. Outer circumanal ring wide, fore and hind margin close together, composed of a single row of pores, slightly sinuate laterally. Measurements and ratios in Table IV.

Host plant

Ekebergia benguelensis , E. capensis (Meliaceae) .

Biology

A detailed description of the biology is provided by Capener (1973). P. electum induces galls on the leaves. The eggs are laid usually on the upper leaf surface along the median vein. The young larva migrates to the lower leaf surface where it establishes itself, gradually sinking into the leaf as a pit gall forms around it. First it is fully exposed dorsally, later it becomes almost entirely enclosed by gall tissue. Then the gall assumes a pimple-like shape with a small round aperture at the apex into which the larva thrusts its exuviae as a plug. As the larva reaches maturity the aperture at the peak of the gall cracks open crosswise and parts of the wall curl outwards. The larva emerges backwards and rests on the top where the eclosion of the adult takes place. The upper surface of infested leaves becomes blotched with purplish brown and there is a slight convexity over the site of the gall which remains green. Natural enemies of P. electum seem to be mainly mites and chrysopid larvae which attack the young larval stages not yet entirely enclosed in galls.

Distribution

Angola, Cameroon, Kenya, South Africa.

Material examined Angola: 1 „, Chianga , 22 August 1970, Ekebergia benguelensis (van Harten) ; 1♀, same data ;

1 „, same data but 31 August 1970; 2 „, 2♀, same data but 16 September 1970; 2 „, 2♀, same data but 4 July 1970. Cameroon: 1 „, North-West Province, Bamenda , 5000 feet, 23–31 January 1957 ( V. F. Eastop). Kenya: 2 „, 5♀, South end Ngong Hills, ca 6500 feet, 26 July 1974, beaten from Ekebergia capensis (D. Hollis) . South Africa: 9 „, 10♀, nine larvae paratypes, Pretoria North, 12 September 1972, on Ekebergia capensis (A. L. Capener) . Dry- and slide-mounted ( BMNH, NCIP) .

Comments

The single specimen known from Cameroon is a male which is slide-mounted (BMNH). The specimen resembles specimens from Angola, Kenya, and South Africa with respect to size and details of antenna and fore wing. The terminalia of P. electum , in particular the paramere and the distal portion of the aedeagus, are very characteristic in a strict lateral view. As the abdomen in the specimen from Cameroon is twisted the terminalia are preserved in a rear view. In Angola, in addition to P. electum , two more species were collected on Ekebergia . One of them is distinctly larger, has more slender antennal segments and a distinct, dark fore wing pattern. The second species resembles P. electum in size, in the colourless fore wing and the robust antennal segments, but differs in the pointed female subgenital plate and the larva bearing marginal lanceolate setae on head and wing pads. The male of the latter species is unknown.