Chionomus puellus ( Van Duzee, 1897 ) Weglarz & Bartlett, 2020

Weglarz, Kathryn M. & Bartlett, Charles R, 2020, A revision of the planthopper genus Chionomus Fennah (Hemiptera: Fulgoroidea: Delphacidae), Zootaxa 4811 (1), pp. 1-63 : 31-33

Chionomus puellus ( Van Duzee, 1897) , new combination

( Figures 14 , 18h & k , 29 )

Liburnia puella Van Duzee, 1894: 191 . [nom. nud.].

Liburnia puella Van Duzee, 1897: 151 .

Delphax puella (Van Duzee) , comb. by Kirkaldy, 1907: 161.

M[egamelus] puella (Van Duzee) , comb. by Crawford, 1914: 622.

Megamelus puellis (Van Duzee) , comb. and emendation by Crawford, 1914: 626.

Delphacodes puella (Van Duzee) , comb. by Muir, 1917: 337; also Muir & Giffard, 1924: 32.

Delphacodes aculeata Beamer, 1948b 106, new synonymy.

Type Locality. USA, Mississippi [specific locality not reported].

Diagnosis. Body brown to dark brown, ivory to white markings. Vertex quadrate, foveae concolorous with body. Carinae of frons distinct, noticeably contrasting with foveae, stramineous to cream in color. Antennae shading from light brown to yellow. Pronotum dark anteriorly, thick white to cream colored band along posterior edge, paranota dark with white band. Mesonotum dark brown, shining; wings with dark mark at apex of clavus. Armature of diaphragm bifurcate, lobes diverging; apical edge of parameres sinuate. Aedeagus tubular, with scattered teeth on distal 2/3rds; segment X with two strong ventrally directed, diverging processes.

Description. Color. Macropter. Body dark, brunneous, shining, with white or ivory markings. Carinae of head (including genal carinae) distinct, stramineous to off-white in color, usually with a small amount of brown at apex of carinae; median carinae of vertex obscure. Antennae light brown proximally, shading distally to yellow. Pronotum dark brown to brown anteriorly, posterior edge and ventral edge of paranota white to ivory. Mesonotum dark, medi- an and lateral carinae obscure. Legs light stramineous, third tarsal segment infuscate. Forewings hyaline, sometimes with faint fuscous markings, dark spot just before apex of clavus. Abdomen brown, caudal edge of each segment lightened to yellow or white, lateral projections of sternites yellow. Pygofer and segment X brown, lightened at posterior margins. Brachypter. Similar to above, tegmina lightly infuscate, white stripe along apex, darkened spot near apex of clavus. Structure. Body. Length (in mm) macropter 1.63±0.13 (n=17); female (♀) macropter 1.98±0.18 (n=13), ♂ brachypter 1.50±0.07 (n=6); ♀ brachypter 1.81±0.23 (n=4); width ♂ 0.70±0.08 (n=18); ♀ 0.76±0.05 (n=11). Head. Vertex length 0.18±0.04 (n=23); vertex width 0.16±0.02 (n=25); frons length 0.50±0.05 (n=25); frons width 0.20±0.02 (n=25). Macropter. Carinae of vertex distinct, stem of Y-shaped carina not evident. In lateral view ( Figure 14b ), fastigium rounded; projecting in front of the eye about 1/6th eye length. Carinae of frons and clypeus distinct ( Figure 14c ), frons subparallel, widest at ventral margin of compound eyes. Antennal segments subequal in length, segment II wider than segment I; 2nd segment setaceous, bearing sensory pits arranged 4, 3, 2, 1, evenly spaced around segment. Sensory pits surrounded by small brown setae. Brachypter. Similar to above but with stem of Y-shaped carinae faint but evident.

Thorax. Macropter. Carinae of mesonotum obscure, median carina ending anterior to scutellum, lateral carinae faint, diverging posteriorly to reach hind margin. Legs with one row of setae on dorsal margin and two rows setae on ventral margin of femora. Calcar bearing 21–23 small teeth. Brachypter. Similar to above but carinae of mesonotum evident, median carina ending anterior of scutellum, lateral carinae diverging reaching posterior margin; tegmina apically rounded, reaching to apex of pygofer.

Abdomen. Macropter. Compressed dorsoventrally, tapering caudad to truncate apex; abdominal spiracles surrounded by several long fine setae. Brachypter. Same as above.

Genitalia. Pygofer in lateral view ( Figure 14d ) nearly half as long dorsally as ventrad, ventral margin sinuate. Pygofer in caudal view ( Figure 14e , 29a ), slightly wider than tall, rounded; margins rounded, slightly produced dorsolaterally. Opening to inner chamber trapezoidal, pointed ventrad. Armature of diaphragm lobed, bifurcate, lobed strongly diverging from base, distinctly projecting caudad. Parameres, widest in basal third, basally produced, rounded; dorsolaterally diverging, lateral margins concave, inner angles pointed; outer angles produced, rounded, dorsal margin distinctly S-shaped. Aedeagus circular in cross-section, curved ventrad, widest near base, slightly tapering for entirety of length. Aedeagus with scattered teeth reaching from gonopore to ventral margin in apical 2/3rds; gonopore dorsally directed, apical. Segment X quadrate; bearing two strongly produced processes, projected ventrad, mildly curved, diverging. Segment XI produced, about 2/3rds length of segment X.

Plant associations. Abelia sp. ( abelia , Caprifoliaceae ), Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertn. (European alder, Betulaceae ), Amaranthus retroflexus L. (redroot amaranth, Amaranthaceae ), Asclepias syriaca L. (common milkweed, Apocynaceae ), Deschampsia flexuosa (L.) Trin. (wavy hairgrass, Poaceae ), Medicago sp. (alfalfa, Fabaceae ), Persicaria hydropiperoides Michx. (swamp smartweed, Polygonaceae ), Quercus stellata Wangenh. (post oak, Fagaceae ), Salix nigra Marshall (black willow, Salicaceae ), Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench (sorghum, Poaceae ), Vitis spp. (grape, Vitaceae ) (label information); Galinsoga parviflora Cav. (Asteraceae) and Panicum capillare L. (witchgrass, Poaceae ) ( Wilson et al. 1994).

Distribution. USA:AR, CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, IL, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MS, MO, NE, NH, NJ, NY, NC, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VT, VA, WV, WI; Mexico (Veracruz), Belize. Also reported USA: AL, CA, IA, IN, OR, WA; CAN: ON, NS, QC; Bermuda, Cuba; Jamaica; Puerto Rico; Venezuela ( Metcalf 1943, Caldwell & Martorell 1951, Wilson & Hilburn 1991, Maw et al. 2000, Benton & McCreadie 2009, Bartlett et al. 2014, Leavengood et al. 2017); reported in error Australia, Brazil and Hawaii ( Metcalf 1943, Bartlett et al. 2014).

GenBank accession number. HM017484 ( Urban et al. 2010).

Remarks. The synonymy of C. puellus and D. aculeata is based on comparison of the primary type of C. puellus and 16 paratypes of D. aculeata , including topotypic specimens. Both the type specimen of C. puellus and paratype specimens of D. aculeata from the same collection event were examined (in addition to other paratypes). Delphacodes aculeata is a junior synonym of D. puella . Delphacodes puella can be identified easily by the diverging processes of segment X, the sinuate apical margins of the parameres, and the bifurcating armature of the diaphragm. This species is closely allied with C. bellicosus and C. pacificus (see the remarks section of C. bellicosus ).

Chionomus puellus is extremely common in collections and may be one of the most commonly encountered eastern delphacid species ( Gonzon et al. 2007, Leavengood et al. 2017). As such, it is very curious that the biology is almost completely unknown. Most of the plant associations reported above from label information are likely spurious (at least those from woody plants). We associate this species with gramineous plants, especially in mesic to wet circumstances, and it is probably polyphagous.

Type material examined. Lectotype Liburnia puella [ USNM]: Macropterous ♂ under Liburnia puella 1897 , “ Miss. // ♂ // Type // LECTOTYPE / Liburnia [Handwritten]/ puella [Handwritten]/ Van D. [Handwritten]/ Oman 1946 [Orange paper]”.

Paratypes Delphacodes aculeata [ SEMC, all brachypters]: USA Florida , Jefferson Co., Lamont, 7 Mar 1947, R. H. Beamer ( SEMC, 2 ♂ 4 ♀) ; Levy Co.: Otter Creek , 9 Mar 1947, R. H. Beamer ( UDCC, 4 ♂, 1 ♀) ; same, 9 Mar 1947, L. D. Beamer (1 ♂); Yankeetown , 9 Mar 1947, R. H. Beamer (3 ♂) .

Figures

FIGURE 14. Habitus of Chionomus puellus. A. dorsal habitus; B. lateral habitus; C. frontal habitus D. male terminalia, left lateral view; E. male terminalia, caudal view.

FIGURE 18. Dorsal and lateral habitus of brachypters of select Chionomus species, A,D. Chionomus havanae, B,E. Chionomus balboae, C,F. Chionomus herkos, G,J. Chionomus pacificus, H,K. Chionomus puellus, I,L. Chionomus quadrispinosus.

FIGURE 29. Line art of Chionomus puellus terminalia, A. pygofer, caudal view, B. anal tube, left lateral view, C. anal tube, caudal view, D. aedeagus, left lateral view, E. left paramere, widest view.