Aphis dagestanica Stekolshchikov, 2024, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Stekolshchikov, Andrey V.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Aphididae
Aphis
Aphis dagestanica

description: Aphis dagestanica sp. nov.
(Figs 12–39, Tables 2–3)
Type material. Holotype: apterous viviparous female, No. 11949, slide No. 21, “ Aphis dagestanica sp. nov., 28.ix.2023, Republic of Dagestan, Kizilyurtovsky District, nearby Shushanovka Vill., Caucasalia parviflora (M.Bieb.) B.Nord., on the upper surface of the leaves, leg. A.V. Stekolshchikov ”. Paratypes: 16 apterous viviparous females, 36 oviparous females and 1 male, same data as holotype.
Etymology. The specific name “ dagestanica ” is a latinized adjective in feminine grammatical gender derived from the geographical name of the territory in which the species has been collected—“ Dagestan ” (“land of the mountains”—from the Turkish word “dağ” means “mountain”, and the Persian suffix “stan” means “country, land”).
Description. Apterous viviparous female. Body broadly elliptical, 1.5–1.9 (1.7) times as long as wide. Living specimens dirty yellow with a greenish-yellow abdomen, with very weak waxy pulverulence; antennae (except for the basal half of the 3rd segment), apices of the fore femora, distal halves of the middle and hind femora, apices of the tibiae, tarsi and siphunculi dark, cauda pale. Cleared specimens with head, apices of 3rd antennal segment, 4th–6th antennal segments, apices of middle femora, distal halfs of hind femora, bases and apices of tibia, tarsi, distal halves of siphunculi, anal and subgenital plate, and cauda dark brown; 1st–3rd antennal segment (except apices of 3rd segment), two last segments of rostrum, sclerites at the base of coxae, coxae, trochanters, front and middle femora (except their base and apex of the latter), proximal halfs of hind femora (except base), middle part of tibia, proximal half of siphuculi, sclerites, bands and intersegmental muscle sclerites on thorax and I–VIII abdominal tergites and peritremes brown. Sclerotized bands present on the pro- and mesonotum and abdominal tergites VII – VIII; in small specimens sclerotized bands on the pro- and mesonotum interrupted into separate sclerites, and sometimes completely absent on mesonotum; bands on abdominal tergites VII – VIII in small specimens may decrease to the size of large sclerites located on the central line of the body; segments of thorax and abdominal segments I – VII with marginal sclerites and more or less expressed intersegmental muscle sclerites (such sclerites absent on tergite VII), abdominal tergite VI also with postsiphuncular sclerites. Surface of head, dorsal side of thorax, abdominal tergites I– VII reticulate, contour of cells on head, thorax and abdominal tergites I– VI formed by wide irregular line, and on tergite VII, by flat fused large spinules; surface of abdominal tergite VIII with long rows of small pointed spinules which partially fusing and forming scales; surface of ventral side of thorax wrinkled, with rare small pointed spinules, which sometimes located along the contour of the cells; surface of ventral side of abdomen with long rows of small pointed spinules sometimes forming strongly stretched reticulate cells. Setae on dorsal and ventral side of thorax and abdomen short and blunt; numbers of marginal setae 0–2, 0–4, 1–3, 0–4, 1–4, 2–6, 0–2 on each side of abdominal segments I– VII, respectively. Marginal tubercles always present on prothorax and abdominal segments I and VII, and almost always on abdominal segments II– IV, often on segments V – VI, and two specimens have one tubercle on metathorax; number of marginal tubercles on abdominal segments II– VI —3 – 9 (6.7); marginal tubercles hemispherical or conical, large, on prothorax very large, diameter of tubercles on segments II– VI 1.4 – 2.9 times as long as high. Head with or without traces of epicranial suture. Frontal tubercles low; median tubercle wide, occupies large part of frons and surpassing the level of antennal tubercles. Setae on head blunt. Antennae 6-segmented; 1st, 2nd and base of 3rd antennal segment slightly wrinkled, almost smooth, 3rd (except base) and 4th–6th segments with large scales. Third antennal segment without secondary rhinaria, 4th segment with 0–8 (3.5) and 5th segment with 0–2 (0.1) round secondary rhinaria; secondary rhinaria small (from 9 to 18 mμ), weakly projecting, with external diameter 3.0–8.1 times as long as high of rhinaria. Setae on antennae blunt. Rostrum reaching abdominal segments I–III. Ultimate rostral segment elongate wedge-shaped, with straight or slightly concave sides, 2.10–2.67 (2.45) times as long as its basal width. Legs normally developed; setae on coxae, trochanters and femora blunt, on tibiae and tarsi blunt or pointed. Chaetotaxy of first tarsal segments 3, 3, 2. Arms of mesosternal furca connected by wide weakly sclerotized base. Spiracles reniform. Siphunculi almost cylindrical, very slightly tapering towards apex, sometimes very slightly curved outward, with relatively small, but distinct flange. Surface of siphunculi imbricated, covered by rough scales which sometimes formed by partially fused large pointed spinulae. Subgenital plate oval, with pointed or finely pointed setae. Setae on anal plate finely pointed. Cauda elongate triangular, with a slight constriction in the middle, with rounded apex and long finely pointed setae.
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Measurements of the holotype. Body—1927×1203, antenna—1317: III—310×36 (in middle), IV—226, V— 219, VI—155+241; hind femur—479, hind tibia—841; siphunculus—361×43 (in middle); cauda—167×154 (at base) ×100 (before base). Additional measurements are given in Table 2.
Oviparous female. Body elliptical, 1.7–2.1 (1.8) times as long as wide. Coloring of living specimens same as that of apterous viviparous females. Third segment of the antennae completely brown, the 4th segment brown with a dark brown apex. Sclerotized bands on pro- and mesonotum always interrupted into separate sclerites, and on mesonotum sometimes completely absent; sclerotized bands on abdominal tergite VII absent or preserved in the form of one or two small sclerites, band on tergite VIII short, often interrupted into small separate sclerites; postsiphuncular sclerites absent. Surface of abdominal tergite VII with long rows of small pointed spinules which partially fusing and forming scales. Numbers of marginal setae 1–2, 1–3, 1–3, 1–3, 1–4, 1–6, 0–5 on each side of abdominal segments I– VII, respectively. Antennae without secondary rhinaria and only 3 specimens (8%) have one secondary rhinaria on 4th antennal segment. Arms of mesosternal furca separated or connected by wide weakly sclerotized base. Hind tibia slightly widened, more clearly in the middle part, with 11–69 (28.1) round pheromone plates located along the entire tibia, but mainly in the middle third.
Male. Apterous. Body elliptical, 1.9 times as long as wide. Color when alive unknown. Head with traces of epicranial suture. Antennae 6-segmented, but the 3rd and 4th segments partially, not completely fused with each other; 3rd antennal segment with 9–11, 4th segment with 14–16 and 5th segment with 4–5 secondary rhinaria. Cauda triangular finger-shaped, without constriction, with widely rounded apex.
Distribution. Known only from the type locality— Russia, Republic of Dagestan, Kizilyurtovsky District, nearby Shushanovka Vill.
Biology. Monoecious, holocyclic. A colony of this species consisted of apterous viviparous females, oviparous females and male was found on 28.ix.2023 on upper surface of leaves of Caucasalia parviflora (M.Bieb.) B.Nord. The colony was visited by ants.
Systematic relationships. Not a single species of aphids from the genus Aphis has so far been known from plants of the genus Caucasalia, and of all the species of the genus Aphis living on host plants belonging, like Caucasalia, to Asteraceae of the tribe Senecioneae, the new species is very close to Aphis jacobaeae Schrank, 1801. Both species are distinguished from other Aphis species living on plants of the tribe Senecioneae by the following combination of characters: presence of marginal tubercles on II–IV, and often on V–VI segments of the abdomen, presence of secondary rhinaria on the antennae of apterous viviparous females and relatively long siphunculi.
Aphis dagestanica sp. nov. differs from A. jacobaeae in its coloration—they are dirty yellow with a greenish-yellow abdomen, while A. jacobaeae is very dark green to dark brown or black. Setae on the body and appendages of Aphis dagestanica sp. nov. significantly shorter than the setae of A. jacobaeae, new species has a smaller number of setae on the anterior half on the subgenital plate, a shorter processus terminalis of the last antennal segment in relation to the base of this segment, and a larger ratio of the length of the ultimate segment of the rostrum to the length of the second segment of the hind tarsus. The differences between apterous viviparous females of Aphis dagestanica sp. nov. and those of A. jacobaeae are detailed in Table 3.
description: Published as part of Stekolshchikov, Andrey V., 2024, A contribution to the aphid fauna (Homoptera, Aphidinea) of the Republic of Dagestan (the Russian Federation), with descriptions of three new species, redescription of Macrosiphum pulcherimum Nevsky, 1928, and descriptions of previously unknown morphs of three species, pp. 1-68 in Zootaxa 5545 (1) on pages 16-25, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5545.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/14387282