Balacha nigroflava, Quintas & Takiya & Cavichioli & Mejdalani, 2020

Quintas, Victor, Takiya, Daniela M., Cavichioli, Rodney R. & Mejdalani, Gabriel, 2020, Two new species of Balacha (Insecta: Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Cicadellinae) from Brazil with comments on their phylogenetic position and biogeography, Zootaxa 4878 (3), pp. 542-558 : 548-552

Balacha nigroflava sp. nov.

( Figs 18 and 21–37 )

Length. Male holotype 5.8 mm, male paratypes damaged (n = 2), female paratypes 6.7 mm (n = 2).

Head ( Figs 18 and 21 ), in dorsal view, well produced anteriorly, median length of crown approximately fourfifths of interocular width and two-fifths of transocular width; anterior margin, in dorsal view, subangulate, without carina at transition from crown to face; ocelli located behind imaginary line between anterior angles of compound eyes, each ocellus closer to adjacent anterior eye angle than to median line of crown; coronal surface without sculpturing or setae; frontogenal suture extending onto crown to near ocellus. Antennal ledge, in dorsal view, not protuberant, not carinate dorsally; in lateral view, with anterior margin almost rectilinear and vertical. Frons convex; muscle impressions distinct; epistomal suture incomplete; clypeus not protuberant, in profile continuing contour of frons superiorly and more nearly horizontal inferiorly.

Thorax ( Figs 18 and 21 ) with pronotal width less than transocular width of head; lateral margins of pronotum parallel, posterior margin emarginated; dorsolateral carina incomplete; disc with transverse striae on posterior half. Mesonotum with scutellum slightly transversely striate. Forewing coriaceous, without distinct apical membranous area; veins not elevated, distinct only on area of apical cells. Hind leg with femoral setal formula 2:1:1; length of first tarsomere greater than combined length of two more distal tarsomeres; with two parallel rows of small setae on plantar surface.

Color ( Fig. 18 ). Dorsum dark brown to black. Antennal ledge with basal portion brown. Pronotum with broad, greenish-yellow transverse stripe. Forewing with three conspicuous greenish-yellow markings: (1) transverse transcommissural stripe on basal portion of clavus, originating at claval sulcus; (2) oblique stripe on basal half of corium, adjacent to claval sulcus and connected to claval stripe; and (3) transverse transcommissural stripe extending from costal margin to claval apex. Face, thorax including legs, and abdomen mostly dark brown to black.

Male terminalia. Pygofer ( Fig. 22 ), in lateral view, well produced posteriorly; posterior margin truncate with subacute apex; disc with macrosetae distributed mostly on posterior half; without processes. Valve ( Fig. 23 ), in ventral view, subrectangular. Subgenital plate ( Fig. 23 ), in ventral view, elongate, distinctly narrowed at apical twothirds; apex rounded; with uniseriate macrosetae; plates separated from each other throughout their length; in lateral view, not extending posteriorly as far as pygofer apex. Style ( Fig. 24 ), in dorsal view, short but extending posteriorly farther than apex of connective; with preapical lobe; apical portion digitiform and with few small setae on outer margin. Connective ( Fig. 24 ), in dorsal view, T-shaped; stalk shorter than arms, with median keel. Paraphyses ( Fig. 24 ) strongly reduced, bilobed apically. Aedeagus ( Figs 25 and 26 ) symmetrical; shaft, in lateral view, cylindrical, slender, not curved at base through 180º; pair of slender apical processes articulated with shaft by membranous area.

Female terminalia. Sternite VII ( Fig. 27 ), in ventral view, not strongly produced posteriorly; anterior margin approximately straight; posterior margin concave on each side of slight median lobe. Sternite VIII without welldefined sclerites. Pygofer ( Fig. 28 ), in lateral view, moderately produced posteriorly, subtriangular; apex narrowly rounded; macrosetae distributed mostly on posterior half of disc and extending anteriorly along ventral margin. First valvifer ( Figs 29 and 30 ), in lateral view, subtriangular with dorsal margin concave. First valvula ( Figs 29 and 30 ), in lateral view, with apex acute; dorsal sculptured area extending from basal portion of blade to apex, formed by scale-like processes, mostly arranged in oblique lines; ventral sculptured area restricted to apical portion of blade, formed by scale-like processes; ventral interlocking device ( Figs 29 and 30 ) longer than half blade length. Second valvula ( Figs 31–36 ), in lateral view, slightly expanded on basal half and then tapering gradually towards obtuse apex; blade bearing approximately 16 teeth along dorsal margin, most teeth ( Figs 33 and 34 ) subtriangular, armed with irregular denticles; teeth at basal portion ( Fig. 32 ) small and irregular; ducts extending towards teeth and apex; preapical prominence ( Fig. 36 ) inconspicuous. Gonoplac ( Fig. 37 ), in lateral view, distinctly expanded on distal portion of basal half and then narrowing gradually towards rounded apex.

Material examined. Southern Brazil, Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul states. Male holotype: “Ponta Grossa, PR [Paraná], Brasil \ P. E. [Parque Estadual] Vila Velha \ 18.IX.2011 P. Grossi leg.” ( DZUP). Paratypes: one female ( DZUP) and one male ( MNRJ): same data as the holotype; one female: “ Brasil, RS [Rio Grande do Sul], Passo Fundo \ 28º13’40.23’’ S \ 52º24’19.97’’ W \ 18.ix.2013 Malaise \ S. Lampert leg.” ( MNRJ). The two MNRJ specimens were destroyed by the fire at the Quinta da Boa Vista Palace .

Etymology. The new species name, nigroflava , refers to the mostly black dorsum with large greenish-yellow markings on pronotum and forewings ( Fig. 18 ).

Remarks. The color pattern of B. nigroflava sp. nov. ( Fig. 18 ) is similar to that of B. decorata . The new taxon can be distinguished from B. decorata , as well as from the remaining species of the genus, by the basal greenish-yellow markings on corium and clavus of forewings (the latter are distinctly larger in B. decorata ) and by the aedeagus not curved at base through 180º ( Fig. 25 ). In the phylogeny, B. nigroflava was recovered as the sister species of B. decorata based on the male pygofer with acute apex (character 28, state 1, Fig. 22 ). The new species is supported by two character state changes ( Fig. 38 ): (1) aedeagus not curved at base through 180º (c. 44, s. 0, Fig. 25 ) and (2) apical aedeagal pair of processes articulated with shaft by membranous area (c. 54, s. 2).

Figures

FIGURE 38. Preferred topology for the phylogenetic analysis of Balacha based on morphological data and obtained under implied weights (k = 1.599 to 7.412). OG: outgroup.Ancestral area distributions, as recovered by S-DIVA (based on eight equally most parsimonious trees under equal weights), and known distribution of species are given by colored circles. Each color represents an area shown in the accompanying maps (Figs 39 and 40). Sharpshooter images from Wilson et al. (2009), except those of B. lepida, B. rubripennis, and the two new species.

FIGURES 17–20. Body, dorsal view: (17) Balacha ancora sp. nov., male (length 4.8 mm); (18) Balacha nigroflava sp. nov., male (l. 5.8 mm); (19) Balacha rubripennis Cavichioli & Sakakibara, 1988, male (l. 9.4 mm). (20) Balacha ancora sp. nov. on a leaf of Actinocephalus polyanthus (Bong.) Sano (Eriocaulaceae) at Parque Nacional da Serra do Cipó, Minas Gerais State (1,279 m a.s.l.); photo: André Almeida Alves, October 10, 2019.

FIGURES 21–26. Balacha nigroflava sp. nov., male. (21) Head, pronotum, and mesonotum, dorsal view. (22–26) Terminalia: (22) pygofer, lateral view; (23) valve and subgenital plate (only the insertion points of most macrosetae were illustrated), ventral view; (24) style, connective, and paraphyses, dorsal view; (25) aedeagus, lateral view; (26) aedeagus, ejaculatory bulb, and anal tube, ventral view.

FIGURES 27–37. Balacha nigroflava sp. nov., female. (27) Sternite VII, ventral view. (28) Pygofer, lateral view (gonangulum also illustrated). (29–30) First ovipositor valvula and valvifer: (29) general lateral view; (30) valvifer and basal portion of valvula at a higher magnification, lateral view. (31–36) Second ovipositor valvula: (31) general lateral view; (32) teeth at basal portion (two blades shown); (33) tooth at median portion; (34) tooth at apical portion; (35) denticles at apical portion; (36) preapical prominence. (37) Second valvifer and gonoplac, lateral view. DEN: denticle; DSA: dorsal sculptured area; DUC: duct; GON: gonangulum; PPR: preapical prominence; RAM: ramus; TOO: tooth; VID: ventral interlocking device; VL1: first valvifer; VL2: second valvifer; VSA: ventral sculptured area.