Empoasca pexa Southern, 2010, n. sp.
Creators: name: Southern, Phillip Sterling
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2010
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Cicadellidae
Empoasca
Empoasca pexa

description: Empoasca pexa n. sp.
Body (male): Length: 3.95–4.22 mm; crown length: 0.23–0.28 mm; crown projection: 0.05–0.08 mm; crown projection ratio: 0.18–0.35; head length (including eyes): 0.51–0.56 mm; interoccular width: 0.40–0.50 mm; head width (including eyes): 0.97–1.06 mm; pronotum width: 0.86–0.94 mm; pronotum length: 0.46–0.53 mm; face length: 1.07–1.12 mm; hind tibia length: 1.73–1.98 mm; hind tarsus length: 0.68–0.88 mm; hand tarsomere I length: 0.43–0.53 mm; hind tarsomere I/hind rarsus ratio: 0.63–0.68.
Two marginally distinct color forms occur; one lighter reddish-orange, one darker with some of the reddish-orange replaced with brown (holotype is the lighter form).
Crown reddish-orange (brownish in some specimens) with yellow-cream markings variable but including along coronal suture, darker brown spots present; approximately as long medially as next to eye; distinctly shorter than width between eyes; coronal suture extended well beyond crown midlength. Head including eyes wider than maximum width of pronotum. Eyes brown marginally with yellow and sometimes reddish tint in central portion, or uniformly brown. Face with orange-red ellipse extending from just ventrad of dorsal margin and closed ventrally (margins of frontoclypeus reddish-orange, center of frontoclypeus yellow or cream producing a “target” pattern (similar to that of E. peba n. sp. (Fig. 3 s) but central ellipse may be broken dorsally and not extending to dorsal margin)), vertical reddish-orange line just mediad of eye, yellow-cream spot around ocellus (dorsal-most markings brown in some specimens); lora and genae yellow or cream, an orange-red spot beneath each eye (darker specimens brownish along frontal suture and with some brown on lora and genae); ocelli separated from eyes by> ocellar diameter; rostrum overlapping base of hind coxae. Pronotum reddish orange (brown in darker specimens) with yellow or cream spots along anterior margin, brown spots along anterior margin and centrally but laterad of mid-line. Forewing yellow-brown in basal 2/3 with numerous circular brown spots; apical 1/3 brownish hyaline with lighter veins; apical cell 2 petiolate; apical cell 4 strongly tapered through most of length; MCu arising from discal cell R, distinctly curved, ending near apex of anal margin; CuP distal segment subequal in length to segment of CuA between Cu stem and MP; punctations along veins absent or indistinct. Hind wing similar to that of E. fabae. Legs generally yellow with some brown or orange marking; hind tibia with brown spots at base of setae in row AV; front femur row AV with 2–3 basal setae distinctly enlarged, AM1 distinctly enlarged; middle femur with 1 dorsoapical macroseta; hind tibia row AV with 6 preapical macrosetae. Abdominal segments dark brown with yellow along posterior and lateral margins; plates yellow basally, becoming dark brown apically; genital capsule dark brown.
Pygofer in lateral view (Fig. 6 a) tapered to broadly rounded posterior margin; 15–17 stout setae in two groups, 9–10 on dorsocaudal margin near apex, 6 -7 in two lines just ventrad and cephalad of first group; 4–7 filamentous setae in rough arc across middle of lateral face of pygofer. In ventral view (Fig. 6 b) genital capsule very weakly sclerotized anteromedially, appearing almost divided. Mesal sensilla field well developed, conspicuous. Pygofer process in lateral view (Figs. 6 a, 6h) short and stout, barely reaching pygofer margin, angled upward from near base, curved caudad apically, tapered to rounded apex; bearing dense patches of long, fine setae on ventro-lateral and dorso-medial surfaces. In ventral view (Figs. 6 b, 6i), parallel margined and angled mediad from near base, curved slightly laterad apically and tapered to narrowly rounded apex. Process compressed or flattened in diagonal plane (thus appearing thick in both ventral and lateral views). Plate in lateral view (Fig. 6 a) curved gradually caudodorsad apically, not expanded apically, tapered to narrow apex; basal, depressed section subequal to or longer than distal, compressed section; in ventral view (Fig. 6 b) with strongly developed basolateral lamella, separate throughout length; A-group setae (3–4) near base of plate, longer and slightly thicker than B-group (Fig. 1 d); B-group setae (14–16) uniseriate, relatively evenly distributed to apex of plate; C-group setae (21–23) roughly and narrowly biseriate basally becoming uniseriate apically, extending to apex of plate; D-group setae (30–37) roughly biseriate, approximately as long as C-group. Style in lateral view (Figs. 6 a, 6f) long, extended caudad as far or further than pygofer; relatively straight through most of length, curved ventrolaterad apically; in ventral view (Figs. 6 b, 6g) curved strongly laterad in apical half of dentifer, dentifer narrow; teeth small, closely spaced; apex narrowly rounded; 8–9 setae on lateral surface basad of dentifer. Anal hook in lateral view (Figs. 6 a, 6j) long, extending ventrad across most of pygofer, spatulate through most of length, apically curved strongly caudad then dorsad and tapered to narrow point; bearing at curved portion a dense field of conical tubercles; in ventral view (Fig. 6 d) bowed laterad. Segment X with well sclerotized dorsal arch, apex membranous ventrally. Aedeagus in lateral view (Fig. 6 c) with thick preatrium; with distinct flattened plate-like postatrium; shaft at base strongly divergent (~50°) from line of atrial complex but thence angled caudodorsad, straight in midlength, and again angled dorsad, subparallel-margined to near rounded apex. In caudo-ventral view (Fig. 6 d), preatrium narrow, gradually expanded to moderately wide atrium, postatrium broadly rounded at apex; shaft tapered in basal half, thence subparallel margined to narrow apex. Connective (Fig. 6 e) broader than long; anterior margin concave; strongly sclerotized along mid-line but without obvious dorsal keel; apical notch broad, angulate, and deep. Dorsum of genital capsule (Fig. 6 k) with horns broad, widely separate, diverging slightly; transverse bar broken medially; bridge indistinct or absent.
First sternal complex with low dorsal apodeme weakly sclerotized and faintly bioculate medially (Fig. 6 m). Second sternal apodemes long and moderately broad (reaching 6.0, L: 0.74–0.79 mm, W: 0.43–0.46 mm), each sub-parallel-margined to broadly rounded apex, parallel, closely spaced (Fig. 6 n). Third sternal apodemes small, triangular plates directed dorsad, one on mid-line, one laterad on each side but mediad of lateral margin of second sternal apodemes (Fig. 6 n). Tergal apodemes weakly developed. Abdominal sternum VIII with posterior margin broadly, angularly concave (Fig. 6 u).
Holotype male: PERU: Pasco / Villa Rica 1400m / 10°42’21”S 75°15’43”W / 21 Oct 2002 C.H.Dietrich / vacuum, 02-28-1 // PSS RESEARCH / 09-232-2 // HOLOTYPE / Empoasca / pexa n. sp. / Southern & Dietrich (USML). Paratypes: 1 male, same collection data as holotype (INHS); 12 males: Pasco / Villa Rica 1400m / 10°42’21”S 75°15’43”W / 21 Oct 2002 C.H.Dietrich / 02-28-2 (INHS— 8 specimens, NCSU— 4 specimens).
Etymology: This specific name, pexa, is an arbitrary combination of letters treated as a feminine noun in apposition.
Diagnosis: Empoasca pexa n. sp. keys roughly in Southern’s (1982) key to Empoasca of eastern Peru to Empoasca forlinda Southern or Empoasca recursa Southern, both of which have the anal hook curved caudad. Several other species also have the anal hook curved in this direction. In none of these species, however, is the anal hook spatulate through most of its length prior to an abrupt curve in the apical 1/5th, nor does the anal hook bear teeth or tubercles, nor does the pygofer process bear dense fields of fine setae. Empoasca cirsia Cunningham and Ross, Empoasca lauta Davidson & DeLong, Empoasca pallidula DeLong, and Empoasca serrula Davidson & DeLong have teeth, serrations or tubercles on the anal hooks but none of these species has the anal hook curved caudad distally or the pygofer process with fields of long, fine setae.
description: Published as part of Southern, Phillip Sterling, 2010, Eight new species of Empoasca (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Typhlocybinae: Empoascini) from Peru and Bolivia, pp. 1-23 in Zootaxa 2524 on pages 12-14, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.196388