Paracercopis Schmidt 1925
Creators: name: Liang, Ai-Ping
name: Zhang, Pei-Yi
name: Zhu, Xiao-Qing
name: Wang, Ye-Qing
name: Xiao, Neng-Wen
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Cercopidae
Paracercopis

description: Genus Paracercopis Schmidt
Paracercopis Schmidt, 1925: 4; Lallemand, 1949: 80; Metcalf, 1961: 550; Nast, 1972: 157. Type species: Cercopis (Callitettix) seminigra Melichar, 1902: 105, pl. v, fig. 11, by original designation.
Esakius Ôuchi, 1943: 498. Type species: Esakius sinensis Ôuchi, 1943: 498, by original designation. [Synonymized by Liang, 1993 (1992): 444.]
Generic diagnosis. Members of Paracercopis can be distinguished from other cercopid genera by the combination of the following characters: body medium-sized, relatively robust, oval (Figs 1A–D, 5A, 5D); postclypeus centrally longitudinally sulcate (Fig. 5C); hindwing with 4 closed apical cells, Cu 1a and Cu 1b on short stalk, cross vein m-cu meeting Cu 1a well after furcation Cu 1a /Cu 1b, basal half of Cu 1b strongly arched against Cu 2, fourth apical cell very long and large (Fig. 4A); hind tibiae with one lateral stout spine, and the male genitalia with the subgenital plates with basal body large and elongate, apex constricted into spinous process, basal plate present, parameres elongate with apex furcated, aedeagal shaft relatively short, broad and robust, apex without spinous processes; gonopore subapical on dorsal edge. The unique hindwing venation pattern (Cu 1a and Cu 1b on short stalk, cross vein m-cu meeting Cu 1a well after furcation Cu 1a /Cu 1b), oval body shape, genital styles with stout apical processes, and short and broad aedeagal shaft [see Liang 1993 (1992)] appear to be good autapomorphies of Paracercopis that support the monophyly of the genus.
Paracercopis has close affinity to the Oriental Paracercopoides Liang, 1994 in head morphology, hindwing venation, and structure of the male genitalia, but can be distinguished by the broadly sulcate postclypeus (very narrowly sulcate in Paracercopoides); hindwing with cross vein m-cu meeting Cu 1a well after furcation Cu 1a /Cu 1b (Fig. 4A) [m-cu meeting Cu 1a just before furcation Cu 1a /Cu 1b in the males or well before furcation Cu 1a /Cu 1b in the females in Paracercopoides (Fig. 4B)] and the basal half of Cu 1b strongly arched against Cu 2 (Fig. 4A) [nearly straight and more remote from Cu 2 in Paracercopoides (Fig. 4B)]; and the minutiae of the male genitalia. This genus is also closely related to several other Oriental genera, including Eoscarta Breddin, with the sulcate postclypeus and the hind tibiae with one lateral spur, but can be separated reliably by hindwing venation and the structure of the male genitalia.
Ultrastructure of antennal sensilla of Paracercopis seminigra. Antennae with scape cylindrical and short (Figs 2A, 2B); pedicel cylindrical and relatively elongate, with surface transversely imbricated (Figs 2A, 2B); flagellar base expanded and hidden in apical cavity of pedicel and visible in ventrolateral view, with surface sparsely transversely imbricated (Figs 2A, 2B). Three types of sensilla, namely basiconic sensillum, coeloconic sensillum and trichoid sensillum were found in the antennae. The basiconic and coeloconic sensilla are found on the expanded flagellar base and the trichoid sensilla are seen in the pedicel.
The expanded flagellar base bears a large and distinct basiconic sensillum and 8–10 coeloconic sensilla (Figs 2A– D). The basiconic sensillum is large, peg-like and is located in a large, broad, shallow pit at the apex of the expanded flagellar base (Figs 2A–D). It is broad basally and is tapered to a blunt apex pointing along the flagellar extension, with the outer cuticular surface pitted (Figs 2C, 2D). It is about 62 μm long and 17.5 μm in width subbasally.
The coeloconic sensilla are porous structures located at the upper ventrolateral area of the expanded flagelar base (Figs 2A, 2C, 2D). They are concentrated on left side of the basiconic sensillum with a diameter of 4.12–6.90 μm (Figs 2A, 2C, 2D).
Six hair-like trichoid sensilla are present in a cluster near the base of the pedicel laterally (Fig. 2A). They are 56–67 μm long and are curved toward the antennal shaft (Fig. 2A). The hair bases are inserted tightly into a small cuticular socket and protrude between 30–40° from the antenna. Very similar trichoid sensilla were seen on the antenna of some other cercopid spittlebug species, for example, Euryaulax carnifex (Fabricius) from Australia, Tomaspis inca (Guérin-Méneville) from Central America and Cercopis sanguinolenta (Scopoli) from Europe (Liang & Fletcher 2002; Liang unpublished data).
The ultrastructure of the antennal sensilla in P. seminigra is similar to that found in species from the Oriental and Australian cercopid genera Sounama Distant, Aufidus Stål, Euryaulax Kirkaldy, Petyllis Kirkaldy and Tonnoiria Lallemand (Liang & Webb 2022; Liang & Fletcher 2002).
Rostral sensilla of Paracercopis seminigra. The rostral tip of P. seminigra consists of 2 lateral lobes separated by dorsal stylet groove, each lateral lobe possessing two terminal fields of 8 basiconic sensilla (Fig. 2E–H): both inner and outer terminal fields each having two types of 4 basiconic sensilla, type I sensillum (b 1 in Figs 2F and 2G) being 3 in number, relatively long (ca. 20 μm in length, 4.3 μm in width basally and 0.9 μm in width apically), gradually tapered from base to apex and having longitudinally grooved surface; type II sensillum (b 2 in Figs 2F–G) being 1 in number, distinctly short (ca. 15 μm in length), relative broad and blunt (ca. 5.8 μm in width basally and 1.2 μm in width apically) and having smooth surface and several very fine pits on surface. The type I sensilla are possibly mechanosensory organs and the type II sensilla are possibly chemical sense organs.
Biology. In common with most spittlebug groups, currently few biological data are available for species of Paracercopis. Here some host plant associations of several Paracercopis species are reported for the first time. P. seminigra (Melichar, 1902) was found in a species of the family Criceferae in Chongqiang, southwestern China. An unidentified Paracercopis species in Yunnan, southwestern China was found in a species of Pteridophyta. The nymphs of P. chekiangensis Ôuchi, 1943 produce conspicuous masses of cuckoo-spit on shrubs of Phytolacca acinosa Roxb (Fig. 1E). Some Paracercopis species can be attracted at light (Liang unpublished data).
Distribution. Paracercopis occurs in southern and central China, from Zhejiang Province in the east through to Xizang (Tibet) in the west, in the northeastern India and northern Burma, Vietnam and Thailand (new country record).
description: Published as part of Liang, Ai-Ping, Zhang, Pei-Yi, Zhu, Xiao-Qing, Wang, Ye-Qing & Xiao, Neng-Wen, 2023, The Oriental spittlebug genus Paracercopis Schmidt (Hemiptera: Cercopoidea: Cercopidae) revisited, with description of one new species from Hubei, China, pp. 232-242 in Zootaxa 5306 (2) on pages 237-239, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5306.2.4, http://zenodo.org/record/8058774