Leuctra juliettae Vinçon & Graf, 2011

Vinçon, Gilles & Graf, Wolfram, 2011, Two New Alpine Leuctra In The L. Braueri Species Group (Plecoptera, Leuctridae), Illiesia 7 (9), pp. 92-103 : 95-97

Leuctra juliettae Vinçon & Graf sp. n.

( Figs. 5-7 )

Material examined. Holotype ♂. ITALY: Lessini Mountains:> Raossi , Speccheri, 650, small river and brook, 11.09.08 . Other material. Paratypes: same date and locality: 82♂, 52♀; Venetian Prealps : SE. Trento: S. Folgaria,> Zoreri  Borcola Pass, spr., 900m, 27.10.08, 8♂, 13♀ (Vin.) . Lessini Mountains : Fugazze Pass,> Camposilvano, 1170m, 11.09.08, 9♂, 29♀ ; 15.10.06, 3♂, 4♀ (Graf); W. Fugazze Pass: <Campogrosso Pass, N. slope, 1394m, 11.09.08, 19♂, 13♀; <Campogrosso Pass, S. slope, 800m, 11.09.08, 3♂, 4♀, 1300m, 11.09.08, 10♂, 20♀;> Bellori, Val Pantena trib., 500m , 10.10.08, 1♀ (Vin.) .

Description. Medium sized species: body length: male 7.5-8.0 mm, female 7.9-9.5 mm. Macropterous, wing length: male 7.5-8.0 mm, female 8.0-9.0 mm. General colour brown. Head brown with dark lateral marks on the occiput. Antennae brown with a crown of long bristles at the tip of each antennal segment; bristles about as long as an antennal segment. Pronotum brown with dark marks and long bristles on its anterior margin near the corners. Legs brown with darker longitudinal bands, and covered with long erect setae. Base of the main wing veins carrying long erect setae.

Male ( Figs. 5-6 ). Terga I-V normal; posterior part weakly sclerotized. Tergite VI with strong, not divided antecosta and median bell-shaped membranous field. Tergite VII with two strong triangular teeth separated by a notch wider than the width of one of them; they project up and rearward from the antecosta. Tergite VIII: antecosta interrupted for more than half the segment’s width; the median membranous field is bell-shaped. Tergite IX similar, with two connected dark triangular spots, in postero-median position. Tergite X: anterior margin bilobed, posterior margin with wide rounded median notch. Epiproct strong, mushroom-shaped, with wide stalk. Cerci long and slim, with a vestigial second segment. Sternite IX: vesicle strongly reduced, without stalk. Specilla long, nearly straight, getting thinner toward their apex. Paraprocts: styles long almost reaching the specilla tips, thin and ending in an acute tip ( Fig. 6 ); the base of the paraprocts is split in two parts that are separated by a membranous field, the anterior part is connected to the base of the specillum and the posterior part is prolonged rearward by the styles; it is hardly visible on specimens where the paraproct base is partly hidden under the previous segment ( Fig. 6 ).

Female ( Fig. 7 ). Subgenital plate wide, rounded, less pigmented medially that on its edges, covered with long hairs. The two lobes are wide and short, separated by a small rounded notch. Spermatheca globular and without visible armature.

Affinities. This species is closely related to L. braueri and L. muranyii sp. n. (see previous description of L. muranyii ). The male differs by the more widely separated teeth on tergite VII, the shape of the median spot on tergite IX, the strong stalk of the epiproct. It also differs from L. muranyii in the style of the paraprocts that are much longer in L. juliettae sp. n. The two female lobes of the subgenital plate are broad and reduced in length compared with the other species of the group.

Distribution and ecology. It is strictly limited to the Lessini Mountains were it cohabits with L. muranyii sp. n. in the surroundings of Folgaria. It occurs in mountain watercourses of different size (springs, brooks and torrents), between 500 and 1400m. The flight period is in autumn (IX-X).

Etymology. L. juliettae occurs in the close surroundings of Verona and therefore we dedicate it to the emblematic Verona lovers, Romeo and Juliette.

Figures

Figs. 5-7. Leuctra juliettae sp. n.: male abdominal tip in dorsal view (5), male genitalia in ventral view (6), female subgenital plate in ventral view (7).