Trifida bilobata Ohara, 2014

Poggi, Francesco, Sanna, Francesco, Casiraghi, Alice, Šćiban, Marko & Kunz, Gernot, 2024, First record from Europe of the Asian bamboo-feeding leafhopper Trifida bilobata Ohara, 2014 (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Typhlocybinae), Zootaxa 5433 (1), pp. 144-150 : 145-149

Trifida bilobata Ohara, 2014

Distribution. Europe ( Spain, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, and Serbia); Japan.

Material examined. 3 ♂♂, 8 ♀♀, 1 nymph, Italy, Lombardia, prov. Lecco, Maresso , 263 m, 45.689722, 9.359167, from Phyllostachys aurea , 9.X.2022 and 30.X.2022, F.Poggi leg. ( CFP) .

7 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀, 1nymph, Italy, Lombardia,prov. Brescia, Rovato , 225 m, 45.592444, 10.004306, from Phyllostachys sp. , 7.X.2022, F. Sanna leg. ( CFP) .

8 ♂♂, 8 ♀♀, 2 nymph, Italy, Veneto, prov. Verona, Bovolone , 23 m, 45.275236, 11.142317, from Phyllostachys sp. , 8.X.2022, F. Sanna leg. ( CFP) .

1 ♂, 6 ♀♀, Italy, Sicily, prov. Palermo, Palermo Botanical Garden , 12 m, 38.112988, 13.374043, from Bambusoideae indet., 15.VI.2023, F. Sanna leg. ( CFS) .

1 ♂, 1 ♀, Switzerland, Canton Ticino, Casoro , 276 m, 45.953242, 8.904661, from Bambusoideae indet., 14.VI.2017, G. Kunz leg. ( CGK) .

2 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀, Austria, Styria, Graz , 439 m, 47.049246, 15.489062, from Bambusoideae indet., 29.IX.2021, G. Kunz leg. ( CGK) .

4 ♂♂, 10 ♀♀, 2 nymphs, Spain, Valencian Community, prov. Valencia, Valencia Botanical Garden, 15 m, 39.477323, -0.385914, from Bambusa multiplex , Bambusa ventricosa , Fargesia nitida , Phyllostachys sulphurea , Pleioblastus argenteostriatus , and Pleioblastus linearis . 22.X.2023 and 2.XII.2023, A. Casiraghi leg. ( CFP).

3 ♂♂, 1 nymph, Serbia, Belgrade, 78 m, 44.826940, 20.452037, from Phyllostachys sp. , 22.X.2023, M. Šćiban leg. ( CMS) .

1 ♂, 3 ♀♀, Serbia, Novi Sad, 77 m, 45.232679, 19.825476, from Phyllostachys sp. , 19.XI.2023, M. Šćiban leg. ( CMS) .

Morphology. Adult ( Figs 1A–D ) body length 2.6–2.9 mm in males and 2.9–3.2 mm in females; body almost uniformly colored, pale to vivid yellow in males and creamy white to pale yellow in females; forewings semitransparent, with black spot near apex of clavus and edge of 3 rd apical cell darkened ( Fig.1K ); head triangular, blunt apically, as wide as pronotum, vertex produced anteriorly, slightly longer in female; male abdominal sternal apodemes extending beyond the posterior margin of 4 th sternite; female 7 th abdominal sternite quadrilateral, with posterior margin produced.

Male genitalia; Pygofer strongly concave caudally, with dorsocaudal part finger-like ( Fig. 2E ); subgenital plate triangular, with angulate lateral margin, bearing few marginal setae ( Fig. 2D ); style elongate, with distinct preapical lobe, widened apically, with apical margin concave near middle ( Figs 1E , 2C ); connective fused with the aedeagus, with arm expanded and long ( Fig. 2B ); aedeagus ( Figs 1F–J , 2A–B ) with shaft bifurcated basally, giving rise to two gonoducts and two gonopores, with a dorsal apodeme elongate, extending caudally, strongly curved cephalad in apical 1/3 and slightly forked at apex, narrowed at apical 1/ 3 in ventral view; shaft broad, gradually curved dorsad, slightly narrowed near middle and rounded apically in lateral view, bearing two apical processes slender, extending inward and cephalad; gonopore apical on caudal surface; anal tube long, with large bilobate processes basally ( Fig. 2F ), caudal part of process darkened, slender and tapering, extending ventrally.

Host plants and life cycle. T. bilobata is a bamboo-feeding leafhopper. In Japan (Kyushu), it was collected from Phyllostachys edulis (Carrière) J.Houz , Phyllostachys reticulata (Rupr.) K.Koch , and Pleioblastus sp. of Bambusoideae (Ohara, personal communication). In Europe, it was collected from Phyllostachys aurea Carrière in northern Italy, from Phyllostachys sp. in northern Italy and Serbia, from Bambusa multiplex (Lour.) Raeusch. , Bambusa ventricosa McClure , Fargesia nitida (Mitford) Keng , Phyllostachys sulphurea (Carrière) Rivière & C.Rivière , Pleioblastus argenteostriatus (Regel) Nakai , and Pleioblastus linearis (Hack.) Nakai in Spain, and from Bambusoideae indet. in Austria, Switzerland and Sicily.

There are no published data on the life cycle of this species. We found adults of both sexes in June, October, November, and December and 5 th instar nymphs in October and December, together with the adults. Based on these data and since the species of Typhlocybinae typically overwinter as eggs or as adult females, we can infer that there might be at least two generations per year.

Figures

FIGURE 1. (Photos by G. Kunz) Trifida bilobata (specimens from Switzerland, Canton Ticino). A–B. male; C–D. female; E–J. panoramic stack of male genitalia (E. style; F–J. aedeagus, multiple views as per arrows; for size scale see Fig. 2); K. right forewing of male.

FIGURE 2. (Drawings by F. Poggi) Trifida bilobata (male from Italy, Veneto). A. aedeagus and connective, lateral view; B. aedeagus and connective, ventral view; C. left style, dorsal view; D. left subgenital plate, ventral view; E. pygofer, left lateral view; F. left anal tube process, lateral view.