Takecallis assumentus, Qiao & Zhang, 2004

Qiao, Ge-Xia & Zhang, Guang-Xue, 2004, Review Of The Genus Takecallis Matsumura (Homoptera: Aphididae: Myzocallidinae) From China And Description Of One New Species, Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 52 (2), pp. 373-378 : 375-376

Takecallis assumentus , new species

( Figs. 1-7 , Table 1)

Material material. – Holotype - alate viviparous female (No. 11388- 1-1-1), Huzhu County (36.3 N, 95.8 E), Qinghai Province, China, alt. 200 m, 8 Jun.1997, coll. Xialin Chen, on Bambusa sp.; deposited in Zoological Museum, Institute of Zoology , Chinese Academy of Sciences ( ZMIOZ).

Paratypes – 3 alate viviparous females (No.11388-1-2, 11388- 1-3) with all information as holotype ( ZMIOZ); No.11388- 1-4, 2 al. vivi. females, data as holotype ( ZRC) .

Description. – Alate viviparous female – Body elliptical, yellow; antennae grayish blue in life. Cleared specimens: dorsum of body pale, with scleriotized patches and bands.

Head: Medial front slightly developed, antennal tubercles developed, slightly higher than medial front. Dorsum of head pale. Dorsal setae of body fine and pointed. Head with 1 pair of cephalic setae, 1 pair of antennal tubercular setae, 1 pair of anterior dorsal setae and 2 pairs of posterior dorsal setae. Length of cephalic setae 0.036, 0.74 times as long as widest diameter of antennal segment III. Antennae 6-segmented, segments III - IV slender and with imbrications, except outer half of segments I - II pale, other parts of segments I - II slightly brown, base of segment III pale, other part of segment III dark brown, segments IV - V dark brown, base of segment VI slightly brown, processsus treminalis pale; 1.56 times as long as body; length in proportion of segments I - VI: 9: 7: 100: 60: 52: 31 + 34. Antennal setae fine and pointed, segments I - VI each with 4 or 5, 2 or 3, 30-43, 10-12, 5-8, 2+0, respectively, apex of processus terminalis with 4 setae; setae on segment III in length 0.42 times as long as widest diameter of the segment. Antennal segment III with 6-10 elliptical and ciliated secondary rhinaria, on basal 1/3 of the segment. Rostrum reaching fore coxae, ultimate rostral segment thick wedge-shaped, shorter and stout; length 0.67 times as long as its basal width, 0.43 times as long as second hind tarsal segment, with 3 pairs of setae, accessory setae absent.

Thorax: Marginal areas of pronotum with 1 pair of dark brown fine longitudinal stripes. Pronotum with 2 pairs of spinal and 1 pair of post-marginal setae. Fore wing media veins twicebranched, subcostal veins brown, other veins and pterostigma slightly brown, other markings absent. Second tarsal segments brown and with transverse imbrications, other legs pale. Apex of tibia with 3 peg-like setae; basal 1/3 of tibia with sparsely transverse spinulose stripes. Fore coxae enlarged, distinctly larger than mid- and hind coxae. Hind femur 0.57 times as long as antennal segment III. Distal half of hind tibia distinctly thickened, widest diameter 1.89 times as long as basal diameter of the segment, but 1.33 times in fore and middle tibiae. Hind tibia 0.54 times as long as body. Setae on legs pointed, longer than dorsal setae of body; length of setae on hind tibiae 1.38 times as long as middle diameter of the segment. First tarsal segments each with 5 ventral setae and 2 dorsal setae.

Abdomen: Dorsum of abdomen pale, abdominal tergites I - VII each with 1 pair of spinal tubercles, each with 1 subapical seta; and with brown sub-circular spino-pleural patches on spinal tubercles, sometimes spinal tubercles on tergite I pale; tergite VIII with 1 spinal tubercle and 1 dorsal patch, spinal tubercle with 2 setae. Spinal tubercles and spinal patches on abdominal tergites III and VII distinctly displaced laterally. Abdominal tergites I - IV each with 1 pair of marginal tubercles, each with 1 seta and 1 small circular transparent sub-apical tubercle. Abdominal tergites I - VII each with 1 pair of spinal and 1 pair of marginal setae; tergite VIII with 2 spinal setae, all dorsal setae on dorsal tubercles. Length of marginal setae on tergite I 0.024, dorsal setae on tergite VIII 0.041, 0.49 times and 0.84 times, as long as widest diameter of antennal segment III respectively. Siphunculi brown at distal part, otherwise pale, truncate, length 0.81 times as long as its basal width, 0.46 times as long as cauda. Cauda and anal plate pale. Cauda knob-shaped, 0.79 times as long as basal width, with 12-14 setae. Anal plate bi-lobed, with 14-18 setae. Genital plate transversely oval, with 2 anterior setae, and 9 or 10 posterior setae.

Etymology. – “ Assumentus ” (Latin) is “patch”. This species is named for its dorsal patches on abdomen.

Distribution. – China (Qinghai).

Biology. – This species is associated with the plants of genus Bambusa , and infest the upper sides of the leaves. These aphids cause yellowing in the leaves.

Remarks. – This new species closely resemble T. affinis Ghosh by the color of antennal segments III - VI and longitudinal dark stripe on thoracic dorsum, but differs from it as shown in the key. The species is near T. arundinariae (Essig) and T. takahashii Hsu , but differs from T. arundinariae (Essig) in: dark stripes only on each side of pronotum ( arundinariae : on total thoracic dorsum),

0. 20 mm abdominal tergites II (sometimes I) - VII with two rows of separated spinal and circular black spots ( arundinariae : with two rows of separated spinal and “8-shaped” black spots), cauda and anal plate pale ( arundinariae : dusky); differs from T. takahashii Hsu in: pronotum with dark stripe on each side ( takahashii : without any dark stripes on thorax dorsum); antennal segment III dark brown except base of the segment ( takahashii : middle part of antennal segment III pale); spinal tubercles on abdominal tergite VII dark brown ( takahashii : pale); spinal tubercles and spinal patches on tergites III and VII distinctly displaced ( takahashii : distinctly displaced on tergite V).

Figures

Figs.1-7. Takecallis assumentus, new species. Alate viviparous females: 1. antennal segments I - III 2. secondary rhinarium 3. ultimate rostral segment 4. dorsal view of abdomen 5. siphunculus 6. cauda; 7 genital plate. Scale bar: figs.1-3, 5-7=0.1 mm; fig.4= 0.2 mm.