Review of the leafhopper genus Drabescus Stål (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Deltocephalinae) in the Indian subcontinent with description of one new species
Author
Viraktamath, C. A.
0000-0002-7402-3841
Department of Entomology, University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bengaluru 560065, India.
chandrashekara.viraktamath@gmail.com
Author
Webb, M. D.
0000-0002-1312-6142
Department of Life Science, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW 7 5 BD, United Kingdom. & m. webb @ nhm. ac. uk; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0002 - 1312 - 6142
m.webb@nhm.ac.uk
Author
Yeshwanth, H. M.
0000-0002-7402-3841
Department of Entomology, University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bengaluru 560065, India. & hmyeshwanth @ gmail. com; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0002 - 5104 - 3401
chandrashekara.viraktamath@gmail.com
text
Zootaxa
2022
2022-04-20
5128
2
225
247
journal article
55847
10.11646/zootaxa.5128.2.4
a9b6e575-57e1-4fe3-90ee-c4a375f2958e
1175-5326
6479814
5C65C12C-7943-47C8-B08E-01B84B4B0ED0
Drabescus limbaticeps (
Stål)
Figs 1KL, 2I, 3F, 4FG, 5C, 9A–G.
Selenocephalus limbaticeps
Stål 1858: 453
.
Drabescus limbaticeps
(Stål)
:
Melichar 1903: 170
;
Distant, 1908: 307–308
.
Drabescus conspicuus
Distant, 1908: 306
;
Zhang & Webb 1996: 24
, figs. 358–362, 530.
Lectotype
designated by
Zhang & Webb 1996: 24
. Synonymised by
Zhang & Webb, 1996: 24
(incorrectly given as the senior synonym).
Crown reddish brown, with a transverse yellowish white band on transition to face fore margin bordered both dorsally and ventrally with dark brown, disc slightly paler. Eyes dark brown with lateral extension of band on fore margin extending laterally onto eyes paler. Face with portion dorsad of ventral margin of eyes and frontoclypeus reddish pale brown, median area of frontoclypeus darker; clypellus dark brown, genae, lora and antennae, yellow. Pronotum reddish brown spotted with yellowish white, anterior and lateral submargin with white border, lateral margin dark brown. Exposed mesonotum reddish brown spotted with white, basal triangles reddish brown with few white spots, lateral margins with yellowish white border with a few reddish-brown spots in posterior half of mesoscutum. Forewing hyaline with reddish brown tinge, venation dark brown spotted with white; apical cells and appendix darker. Legs ochraceous with reddish brown streaks. Thoracic pleurites and sternites yellow, mesopleurite with median dark brown large patch.
Crown slightly longer medially than next to eyes, transversely depressed, about 4× as wide between eyes as long medially, transition to face rimmed. Face with lateral frontal sutures almost straight, distance between antennal bases about 2.7× as wide as width of clypeus at apex; clypellus gradually widened apically, with a median ridge. Pronotum about 2.4× as wide as median length. Fore tibia not strongly expanded.
Male genitalia
. Pygofer about 1.5× as long as height at base in lateral view, narrowed gradually posteriorly with posterodorsal angle conically rounded, with spine-like process extending beyond pygofer apex, ventral margin slightly concave before midlength. Valve about 2.5× as long as median length, posterior margin emarginated medially. Subgenital plate elongate, triangular, about 3× as long as basal width, with apex narrowed and forming an appendix. Style with well-developed subapical lobe, apophysis widened distally with rounded apex, slightly curved laterally and transversely striated. Connective with arms as long as shaft, anterior surface. without median lobe. Aedeagus with well-developed dorsal apodeme, about half as long as shaft; shaft directed posteriorly in basal quarter then dorsally and in apical quarter directed anteriorly, with pair of short (about 0.25 length of shaft) lateral spine-like processes arising about 0.25 distance from base and diverging in dorsal view, gonopore subapical on ventral margin
Female pregenital segment
. Sternite VII about 3× as wide as median length, posterior margin notched sublaterally and medially with narrow V-shaped incision; median area dark brown, broadening posteriorly and occupying almost entire posterior margin.
Measurements
. Male
4.8–5.2 mm
long,
1.8–1.9 mm
wide across eyes and
1.5–1.6 mm
wide across posterolateral angles of pronotum. Female
8.4–8.6 mm
long,
2.9–3.1 mm
wide across eyes and
2.6–2.7 mm
wide across posterolateral angles of pronotum
Material examined.
SRI LANKA
:
LECTOTYPE
♂
of
D
.
conspicuus
, “Peradeniya
ii.1901
” (
BMNH
).
INDIA
:
Karnataka
:
Yellapur
,
1♀
,
14.xi.1977
,
C. A. Viraktamath
;
Mudigere
,
4–6.iv.1980
(
1♀
)
.
15.iv.1980
(
1♀
),
15.vi.1980
(
1♀
),
19.vi.1980
(
1♀
),
12.xi.1983
(
1♀
),
15–16.x.2001
(
1♀
),
15.iii.2007
) (
1♂
,
1♀
),
15.xi.2010
(
1♀
); Chikballapur,
1♀
,
27.ix.2005
, Shobharani; Chetthalli,
1♀
,
28.v.2012
, A.R.V. Kumar; Vittla,
1♀
,
60m
,
29.ix.2011
, Latha, C.; Kodayamale,
1♂
,
28.xi.1984
, Shashidhar; Nandi Hills,
1♀
,
1460m
,
6.vi.2011
, A. N. Reddy; Sirsi, Sugavi,
1♀
,
23.v.2005
, Radhamani; Mandalapatti,
1283m
,
1♂
,
13.iv.2011
, Yeshwanth, at light; Belagavi,
2♀
, Castle Rock,
569m
,
12–13.xi.2012
, A.R.V.Kumar.
Kerala
:
Thekkadi
,
1♀
,
20.iii.1977
,
C.A. Viraktamath
; Marayur,
1 ♀
,
24.iii.1977
,
C.A. Viraktamath
; Nilambur,
1♀
,
19.ix.2008
, Meshram; Trivendrum, Vellayani,
1♀
,
22.v.2014
,
C.A. Viraktamath
.
Tamil Nadu
:
Kolli Hills
,
1♂
,
30.xii. 1989
;
Thandigudi
,
2♂
,
11.xi.2010
,
A.N. Reddy
;
7♀
,
11.xi.2010
,
18.v.2010
, 12,
xi.2019
,
19.v.2010
(
NPC
,
UASB
,
NBAIR
)
.
Remarks
. Both
D
.
limbaticeps
and its synonym
D
.
conspicuus
were described from an unspecified number of specimens (
syntype
(s)), the former with the following data: “
Ceylon
. Coll. Dohrn”, and the latter with the following data: “
Ceylon
; Peradeniya (Green)”. A variety of
D
.
conspicuus
, with part of the face testaceous, was figured by Distant.
Zhang & Webb (1996)
designated a male as the
lectotype
of
D
.
limbaticeps
and synonymised the species with
D
.
conspicuus
but treated the latter junior name as the valid name in error.
Lu
et al
. (2019)
corrected this error in their checklist.
D. limbaticeps
has very distinctive pronotal colour pattern (see Remarks under the genus) and relatively short sub-basal processes of the aedeagus compared to other species of
Drabescus
in the subcontinent. The habitus image of
D. conspicuus
(fig. 530) figured by
Zhang & Webb (1996)
is a
paralectotype
and not a
paratype
as mentioned by them.