Polydictya thompsoni, Constant & Pham, 1843

Constant, Jérôme & Pham, Hong Thai, 1843, Polydictya lanternflies of the Indochinese region: Six new species and identification key (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha: Fulgoridae), Belgian Journal of Entomology 86, pp. 1-42 : 1-42

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.13271047
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/3D574902-FF86-2945-FDDF-FF4FFEF1FCF9
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Polydictya thompsoni
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Polydictya thompsoni View in CoL sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:B3E960EF-EF0B-4E94-BB39-8E6271212297

Figs 4 View Fig , 13–14 View Fig View Fig

DIAGNOSIS. The species can be separated from all other Polydictya species by the following combination of characters: (1) tegmina with paler and darker areas forming cloudy effect ( Fig. 13 A View Fig ); (2) posterior wings with bright red basal area extending to half-length and distal part and broad band along anal margin opaque brown ( Fig. 13A View Fig ); (3) frons with dorsal margin not projecting anterodorsally ( Fig. 13 B, D View Fig ), yellow-brown ( Fig. 13 D View Fig ); (4) protibiae slightly laminate, brown basally then black with pale yellowish ring in middle ( Fig. 13 A, C View Fig ); (5) abdomen red dorsally and brown ventrally ( Fig. 13 A, C View Fig ); (6) genital segments yellow-brown.

The closest species are P. laotiana sp. nov. ( Laos – Fig. 8 View Fig ), P. nigrifrons sp. nov. ( Vietnam – Fig. 12 View Fig ), and P. pantherina Gerstaecker, 1895 ( Sri Lanka – Fig. 19 View Fig ). The species can be separated from P. laotiana sp. nov. by character (2): in P. laotiana sp. nov. the brown area of the posterior wings is translucent (opaque in P. thompsoni sp. nov.); from P. nigrifrons sp. nov. by its yellow-brown frons (largely black in P. nigrifons sp. nov.) and broad pale yellow ring on pro- and mesotibiae (pro- and mesotibiae mostly black with obsolete paler ring in P. nigrifrons sp. nov.). and from P. pantherina by the broad brown band along the anal margin of posterior wings (in P. pantherina the red basal area extends to the anal margin).

ETYMOLOGY. The species epithet is a patronym dedicated to Mr Paul Thompson who discovered and photographed the new species.

TYPE MATERIAL. THAILAND: Holotype ♀ ( Fig. 13 View Fig ): [Coll. I.R.Sc.N.B., Thailand, Kaeng Krachan N.P., 12.xi.2017, leg. P. Thompson, I.G.: 33.636] ( RBINS).

THAILAND: Paratype ♀: same collection data as holotype ( RBINS) .

DESCRIPTION.

Measurements and ratios: LT: ♀ (n = 2): 26.9 mm; LTg/BTg = 2.9; BV/LV = 4.3; LF/BF = 0.76.

Head: ( Fig. 13 B, D, F View Fig ) pale yellow-brown with frons and clypeus slightly darker in middle, anteclypeus with central yellow marking; vertex curved and deeply grooved transversely with lowest point behind middle of anterior margin, with all 4 margins carinate and with irregular small transverse carina in middle; frons not visible from above, convex, smooth, subquadrate with impressed, slightly wrinkled longitudinal groove along lateral margin, starting in front of eye; clypeus slightly narrower and shorter than frons; labium elongate, brown, surpassing metacoxae; antennae brown with scape cylindrical, elongate; pedicel bulbous.

Thorax: ( Fig. 13 B, D, F View Fig ) pronotum pale yellow-brown with lateroventral lobes brown, two pairs of white waxy spots on anteromedian portion and one pair of white waxy spots behind each eye; mesonotum brown with basal bilobed black marking in middle, subtriangular black marking at basilateral angles and small pale yellow spot at basal angles of scutellum; pronotum weakly rugulose with weak transverse groove on disc limited at each side by small impressed point covered in white wax, median carina obsolete, slightly visible in middle; mesonotum smooth with disc weakly wrinkled, median carina obsolete, very weakly visible basally and weak peridiscal carinae; scutellum weakly impressed on disc and transversely wrinkled; tegulae yellow-brown; metanotum brown.

29 Tegmina: ( Fig. 13 A, C, E View Fig ) pale yellow-brown with 4 black markings on costal cell and narrow basal transverse ocre band; cells pale yellow-brown with groups of black cells and some cells pale yellow-brown with black centre, the whole forming a cloudy effect; veins pale yellow-brown; costal and sutural margins subparallel, apex obliquely rounded.

Posterior wings: ( Fig. 13 A, C View Fig ) brown on distal half and along sutural margin; basal half bright red; red basal area and brown portion separated by sinuate pale yellowish band; veins concolorous with background except on pale yellowish portion with veins reddish; broader than tegmina.

Legs: ( Fig. 13 A, C View Fig ) elongate and slender with pro- and mesotibiae dorsoventrally flattened but not foliaceaous. Pro- and mesocoxae and trochanters black; pro- and mesofemora brown, slightly darker towards base and apex ventrally; pro- and mesotibiae with, from base to apex, short pale yellowish area, broad black-brown ring sometimes containing unclear paler ring, pale yellowish ring and black ring, each ring slightly shorter than preceding one from base to apex; pro- and mesotarsi black. Metacoxae, trochanters and femora brown, femora with distal

30 narrow pale yellowish ring; metatibiae and tarsi brown, paler than femora, tibiae with narrow basal pale yellowish ring. Metatibiotarsal formula: (5–6) 7/7/6.

Abdomen: ( Fig. 13 A, C View Fig ) bright red dorsally with anal tube yellowish brown in female; lateral pleura bright red on dorsal half and brownish on ventral half; brownish black ventrally with last segments yellow-brown.

DISTRIBUTION. Thailand, Phetchaburi Province ( Fig. 4 View Fig ).

BIOLOGY. The specimens found in Kaeng Krachan National Park were sitting on the trunk of an unidentified species of tree ( Fig. 14 View Fig ). At rest, they are very well camouflaged and difficult to spot. Trophobiosis with an ant of the genus Camponotus Mayr, 1861 was observed and documented for one specimen ( Fig. 14 B View Fig ). The ant was sitting still behind the lanternfly in the typical position taken during trophobiosis by ants and cockroaches with the anterior part of the body elevated ( CONSTANT, 2015b; CONSTANT et al., 2016; CONSTANT & BARTLETT, 2019), waiting to collect the honeydew drop that the lanternfly regularly projects while sapfeeding.