Brachyunguis dendrostellerae Kadyrbekov, 2014

Barjadze, Shalva, Özdemir, Işil & Ebrahimi, Ebrahim, 2022, Two species of Brachyunguis (Hemiptera: Aphididae) new to Iran, and a key to the Iranian species of this genus, Zootaxa 5183 (1), pp. 49-57 : 50-51

Brachyunguis dendrostellerae Kadyrbekov, 2014

Figs 1–3 , Table 1

Material examined. 2 apt. on one slide, coll. no. 23701(i239) MNHN (EH), IRAN, Tehran Province, 10 km west to Tehran, 13.v.1955, on Diarthron lessertii (as Stellera lessertii on slide), leg. G. Remaudière; 2 apt. on two slides, coll. no. 23656–57 (i240) MNHN (EH), IRAN, IRAN, Tehran Province, 10 km west to Tehran, 13.v.1955, on Diarthron lessertii , leg. G. Remaudière; 14 apt. on seven slides, coll. no. 23658–64 (i488) MNHN (EH), IRAN, Tehran Province, 20 km from Tehran, Road of Shemshak, 10.vi.1955, on Diarthron lessertii , leg. G. Remaudière; 6 apt. on three slides, coll. no. 23665–67 (i526) MNHN (EH), IRAN, Alborz Province, Karaj-Mardabad, 12.vii.1955, on Diarthron lessertii , leg. G. Remaudière; 14 apt. on seven slides, coll. no. 23668, 23672–74, 23695–97 (i1054) MNHN (EH); 4 apt. on one slide, coll. no. 23698 (i1054) IZISU, IRAN, Hamedan Province, 100 km north to Hamedan, 16.viii.1955, on Diarthron lessertii , leg. G. Remaudière; 8 apt. on four slides, coll. no. 23699, 23675–77 (i1162) MNHN (EH), IRAN, Alborz Province, Shahrestanak, 20.ix.1955, on Diarthron lessertii , leg. G. Remaudière; 7 apt. on four slides, coll. no. 23678–79, 23703, 23707 (i1256) MNHN (EH); 1 al. on one slide, coll. no. 23678 IZISU, IRAN, Tehran Province, 20 km east to Teheran, Road of Shemshak, 20.x.1955, on Diarthron lessertii , leg. G. Remaudière; 2 apt. on two slides, coll. no. 23684, 23687 (i1320) MNHN (EH), IRAN, Tehran Province, 20 km east to Teheran, Road of Shemshak, 04.xi.1955, on Diarthron lessertii , leg. G. Remaudière; 2 apt. on one slide, coll. no. 23690 (i1546) MNHN (EH), IRAN, Fars Province, Takht-e Jamshid (Perspolis), 27.ix.1959, on Diarthron lessertii , leg. G. Remaudière; 11 apt. on three slides, coll. no. 23733–35 (i3247) MNHN (EH), IRAN, Markazi Province, Arak (Farahan), 01.viii.1967, on Diarthron lessertii , leg. G. Remaudière; 7 apt. on three slides, coll. no. 23691–93 (i3250) MNHN (EH), IRAN, Tehran Province, Evin in Tehran, 14.x.1967, on Diarthron lessertii , leg. G. Remaudière; 4 apt. on two slides, coll. no. 5 IRIPP, IRAN, Kerman Province, Zarand road, 06.iv.2006, on Diarthron lessertii , leg. unknown; 1 al. on one slide, coll. no. 23700 (i239) MNHN (EH), IRAN, Tehran Province, 10 km west to Tehran, 13.v.1955, on Diarthron lessertii , leg. G. Remaudière; 7 al. on six slides, coll. no. 23705, 23708–12 (i1256) MNHN (EH), IRAN, Tehran Province, 20 km east to Teheran, Road of Shemshak, 20.x.1955, on Diarthron lessertii , leg. G. Remaudière; 6 al. on three slides, coll. no. 23714–15, 23723 (i3250) MNHN (EH); 2 al. on one slide, coll. no. 23716 IZISU, IRAN, Tehran Province, Evin in Tehran, 14.x.1967, on Diarthron lessertii , leg. G. Remaudière.

Description. Apterous viviparous female (n=84) Color in life: unknown from Iranian material. According to Kadyrbekov (2014); body light–green, eyes dark reddish, SIPH, cauda, and dorsal patches of body light–brown. Pigmentation on slide: ANT I–II dusky or pale brown; ANT III pale; ANT IV pale with dusky apex or completely pale; apical part or apex of ANT V dusky or dark brown; ANT VI pale or dark brown; head pale or dark brown; URS and tarsi pale or dark brown; coxae and trochanters dusky or pale brown; femora brown except pale bases or completely dusky; tibiae with pale middle section and pale brown bases and apices or completely dusky; SIPH, subgenital plate, anal plate, cauda and stigmal plates pale or dark brown (figs 1–3).

Body oval. Frons convex (figs 1, 2). ANT 6–segmented (figs 1, 2). ANT tubercles undeveloped. ANT cuticle imbricated. Rostrum reaches to hind coxae. Rostrum 0.23–0.40× BL. URS wedge–shaped. Setae on body dorsum, antennae, and on legs with pointed apices. ABD TERG I and VII with different–sized mammariform MTu (13–41 μm of diameter). ABD TERG II–VI without or rarely only with 1–2 MTu on ABD TERG II–IV. MSL on ABD TERG I 0.53–1.67× diameter of MTu on ABD TERG I. Diameter of MTu on ABD TERG I 0.68–2× ANT III BD and 0.69–1.75× diameter of MTu on ABD TERG VII. Diameter of MTu on ABD TERG VII 0.55–1.94× ANT III BD. SIPH very short, truncated helmet–shaped or ring–shaped, without flange (figs 1, 2). SIPH apical W 0.41 – 0.90× SIPH basal W. Subgenital plate oval, sclerotic, with spinulose imbrications. Cauda triangular, rounded at apex, bearing long and curved setae and numerous strong dark spinules (figs 1, 2). Head, thorax and abdomen with pattern of reticulation. Measurements, ratios and chaetotaxy are provided in Table 1 .

Alata viviparous female (n=16) Color in life: unknown. Pigmentation on slide: ANT I–II, IV, V, VI brown; ANT III pale at basal part and remaining apical portion is brown; head and thorax brown; pigmentation of legs, SIPH, subgenital and anal plates and CAUDA as in apterae; dark intersegmental sclerites on abdomen often present; ABD TERG II–IV with dusky or pale brown marginal sclerites; ABD TERG VII with dusky or pale brown spinopleural sclerites; stigmal plates brown (fig. 3).

Body oval. Frons convex. ANT 6–segmented (fig. 3). ANT tubercles undeveloped (fig. 3). ANT cuticle imbricated. Rostrum passes to hind coxae. ABD TERG II–VI with 0–2 MTu. Marginal sclerites with 1–3 setae. SIPH very short, truncated helmet–shaped, without flange (fig. 3). Cauda triangular (fig. 3). Other characters as in apterous viviparous female. Measurements, ratios and chaetotaxy are provided in Table 1 .

Intraspecific variation. This species has very short SIPH. Length of SIPH varies between 0.015 –0.047 mm. Big specimens have larger SIPH than small ones, and the level of pigmentation also varies. Number of setae on ABD TERG VIII varies between 2 and 7.

Biology. Brachyunguis dendrostellerae lives on flowers and shoots of Diarthron arenaria and D. stachyoides (Thymelaeaceae) in south-east Kazakhstan. It is recorded in twelve localities in Iran for the first time. Diarthron lessertii is a newly recorded host plant. This species is visited by ants ( Crematogaster subdentata ) ( Kadyrbekov 2014). Alate viviparous females are described in this paper, while sexual morphs and life cycle of this species are unknown.

Distribution. Its known distribution is south–east Kazakhstan and Iran.

Figures

FIGURES 1–4. Brachyunguis dendrostellerae Kadyrbekov, 2014 and B. monstratus Kadyrbekov, 1999. Brachyunguis dendrostellerae.Apterous viviparous female.1. Habitus of less pigmented specimen (bar: 500 μm); 2. Habitus of more pigmented specimen (bar: 500 μm); Alata viviparous female. 3. Habitus (bar: 500 μm); 4. Brachyunguis monstratus. Apterous viviparous female. 4. Habitus (bar: 500 μm).