Balacha Melichar 1926
Creators: name: Quintas, Victor
name: Takiya, Daniela M.
name: Cavichioli, Rodney R.
name: Mejdalani, Gabriel
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Cicadellidae
Balacha

description: Key to species of Balacha (modified from Takiya & Mejdalani 2004)
1. Pronotum black with bluish-white, greenish-white, yellow, or greenish-yellow transverse stripe (may be absent in B. melanocephala and B. similis); forewing completely black or generally black with bluish-white, greenish-white, yellow, or greenishyellow maculae and/or stripes....................................................... (black Balacha clade) ... 2
- Pronotum black with round red maculae (may be absent in B. distincta); forewing completely red or red with black maculae.................................................................................. (red Balacha clade) ... 7
2(1). Aedeagus, in lateral view, not curved on its base by almost 180º (Figs 6 and 25).................................... 3
- Aedeagus, in lateral view, curved on its base by almost 180º................................................... 4
3(2). Subgenital plate distinctly narrowed only on apical third (Fig. 3); style without preapical lobe (Fig. 4); paraphyses anchorshaped (Fig. 5); female sternite VII with posterior margin with lateral portions oblique and median area narrowly concave (Fig. 7).................................................................................... B. ancora sp. nov.
- Subgenital plate distinctly narrowed on basal third (Fig. 23); style with preapical lobe (Fig. 24); paraphyses strongly reduced, bilobed apically (Fig. 24); female sternite VII with posterior margin concave on each side of slight median lobe (Fig. 27)....................................................................................... B. nigroflava sp. nov.
4(2). Frons with lateral sutures bordered with red or brown stripes continuing ventrally to round maculae on sides of clypeus; paraphyses with rami very long, directed anteriorly after bifurcation and then posteriorly at mid length; aedeagus with ventral inflated area preapically; female sternite VII with median longitudinal fold; female internal sternite VIII sclerotized as two separate plates........................................................... B. caparao Takiya & Mejdalani, 2004
- Frons and clypeus without conspicuous lateral markings; paraphyses absent, or if present bilobed without rami; aedeagus cylindrical throughout length, without inflated area preapically; female sternite VII without longitudinal fold; female internal sternite VIII not sclerotized............................................................................. 5
5(4). Forewings with triangular greenish-white marking on claval region extending to corium, oblique stripe on basal half of corium extending from costal margin to claval sulcus, and transcommissural transverse stripe across bases of anteapical cells, bluishwhite; paraphyses bilobed; female pygofer and gonoplac apices acute........... B. decorata Cavichioli & Sakakibara, 1988
- Forewings completely black or generally with three or four bluish-white transverse stripes, basalmost one and that over claval apex transcommissural; paraphyses absent; female pygofer and gonoplac apices round.............................. 6
6(5). Male pygofer with macrosetae mainly along dorsal and posterior margins; subgenital plate with short macrosetae (shorter than half of basal width of plate); female sternite VII with median broadly rounded projection on posterior margin; male length varying between 7.6 and 8.0 mm and female between 9.2 and 9.5 mm .................... B. melanocephala (Signoret, 1854)
- Male pygofer with macrosetae distributed uniformly throughout disc; subgenital plate with long macrosetae (longer than half of basal width of plate); female sternite VII with slight median broad concavity on posterior margin; male length varying between 6.0 and 7.6 mm and female between 7.1 and 8.5 mm ......................... B. similis Cavichioli & Sakakibara, 1988
7(1). Paraphyses bifurcated, with divergent arms directed laterally in a 90º angle with stem; aedeagus without dorsal sculpturing; female unknown....................................................... B. lepida Cavichioli & Sakakibara, 1988
- Paraphyses bifurcated, but arms are not directed laterally in a 90º angle with stem; aedeagus with rows of dorsal small den- tiform processes; female pygofer, in lateral view, shorter than sternite VII; female sternite VII with median longitudinal fold originating from anterior margin; female sternite VIII sclerotized as a single plate; bases of first valvulae with anterior concavity in ventral view..................................................................................... 8
8(7). Forewing completely red or with black markings; paraphyses with very short, slightly divergent arms; aedeagus with long rows of dorsal small dentiform processes along apical one-fourth; female sternite VII with median longitudinal fold produced posteriorly and almost attaining posterior margin, latter with shallow median concavity; median length of female sternite VIII about one-fourth of sclerotized area width............................................ B. distincta (Signoret, 1854)
- Forewing without black markings; paraphyses with long arms directed anteriorly; aedeagus with short rows of dorsal small dentiform processes along small area of apical third; female sternite VII with median longitudinal fold produced posteriorly to about mid length of sternite and its posterior margin with narrow deep median concavity; median length of female sternite VIII less than one-fourth of sclerotized area width........................... B. rubripennis Cavichioli & Sakakibara, 1988
description: Published as part of 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, pp. 542-558 in Zootaxa 4878 (3) on pages 553-554, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4878.3.6, http://zenodo.org/record/4425444