Neopsocopsis hirticornis (Reuter, 1893)

Liu, Lu-Xi, Yoshizawa, Kazunori, Li, Fa-Sheng & Liu, Zhi-Qi, 2012, A review of the genus Neopsocopsis (Psocodea, " Psocoptera ", Psocidae), with one new species from China, ZooKeys 203, pp. 27-46 : 33-34

Neopsocopsis hirticornis (Reuter, 1893) Figures 1B, 3

Psocus hirticornis Reuter, 1893: 42.

Neopsocopsis hirticornis (Reuter). Badonnel, 1938: 239.

Psocus bastmannianus Enderlein, 1918: 487. Synonymy: Badonnel, 1938: 239.

Neopsocus pyrenainus Badonnel, 1935: 47. Synonymy: Badonnel, 1982: 261.

Pentablaste obconica Li, 2002: 1373, syn. n.

Pentablaste clavata Li, 2002: 1368, syn. n.

Material examined.

Pentablaste obconica - Holotype ♂: China, Shanxi Prov., Wenshui Co., Guandishan Reg., 2.viii.1981 (FS Li); Pentablaste clavata - Holotype ♂: China, Hebei Prov., Pingquan Co., Guangtoushan Reg., 2.vii.1986 (FS Li).Other material examined.China: 1♂, Nei Mongol Aut. Reg., Alax Left. B., Helanshan Natural Reserve, 6.viii.2010 (YL Tian); 1♂, same locality, 13.viii.2010 (SG Liang); 2♂, Shanxi Prov., Wenshui Co., Guandishan Reg., 3.viii.1981 (CK Yang); 1♀, same locality, 3.viii.1981 (FS Li); 1♀, Hebei Prov., Pingquan Co., Guangtoushan Reg., 2.vii.1986 (FS Li); 1♂, Beijing M., Xiangshan Reg., 12.v.1962 (FS Li). Japan: 1♀, Kanagawa Pref., Yokohama C., Serigatani, 7.iv.2011 (Y Hoshino); 2♀, same locality and collector, 12.iv.2011.

Redescription.

Male. Head creamy brown, with dark brown markings; compound eyes grayish black, ocelli black with grayish black ocellar field; antennae, labrum and maxillary palpi brown. Thorax brown with dark brown spots; legs brown, with band of dark brown marking on femur, tarsi and distal part of tibia dark brown. Fore wing (Fig. 1B) hyaline with brownish tinge, pterostigma dark brown with dark brown band along proximal margin; veins brown, except for Rs fork and M-Cu1a fu sion hyaline. Venation: Rs and M fused for very short distance; distal margin of discoidal cell straight; first and second sections of Cu1a almost equal length, diverging at angle about 120°. Hind wing hyaline; veins brown.

Abdomen. Male genitalia: 8th sternum strongly sclerotized and fused to hypandrium. Clunium (Fig. 3A) with posterior margin convex medially and invaginated bilaterally. Epiproct (Fig. 3AB) swollen, unsclerotized medially, with sharp projection at middle of anterior margin. Paraproct (Fig. 3A) round and broadened distally. Hypandrium (Fig. 3C) 5-lobed, lateral lobes carinate with outer surface covering denticles; posteromedian lobe forming dorsal-curved structure, with distal margin smoothly round, basally with fan-shaped membranous regions; internal lobes well developed, with distal part crescent-like and directed dorsolaterally. Phallosome (Fig. 3D) free posteriorly, distally broadened and paired with parameres.

Female genitalia: Subgenital plate (Fig. 3E) with egg guide round distally, basally invaginated; pigment arms forming flat V-shaped regions and expanded laterally, posteriorly forked. Gonapophyses (Fig. 3F) with ventral valve distally tapering to slender tip; dorsal valve broad with pointed distal process; outer valve oval, with posterior lobe broad and well pointed. Internal plate (Fig. 3G) with brown coloration around spermathecal opening and marginally, with rod-like dark brown sclerotization anteriorly.

Measurements.

Male: Body length 2.4-2.9 mm; fore wing length 3.2-4.5 mm; hind wing length 2.5-3.3 mm. Female: Body length 3.0-3.5 mm; fore wing length 3.7-4.5 mm; hind wing length 3.0-3.6 mm.

Distribution.

China (Beijing, Gansu, Hebei, Hubei, Hunan, Jilin, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Shanxi, Zhejiang: new distributional record); Finland; France; Germany; Hungary; Italy; Japan (new distributional record); Macedonia; Mongolia; Romania; Russia; Serbia; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland.

Discussion.

Pentablaste clavata was described by Li (2002) based on one male and one female from Hebei, with the characters of the fore wing Sc ending at R and the crossvein Rs-M. Pentablaste obconica is the type species of Li’s genus Pentablaste , which is the most widely distributed species of China. Neopsocopsis hirticornis is the type species of Neopsocopsis , distributed mainly in Europe. After reexamining all the specimens, we found they all have similar genitalia, but the crossvein Rs-M is not a stable character to distinguish Pentablaste clavata from the others. Thus we consider Pentablaste obconica and Pentablaste clavata be new junior synonyms of Neopsocopsis hirticornis . Females of Neopsocopsis hirticornis are mostly brachypterous ( Vishnyakova 1986; Lienhard 1998), but a few macropterous females have also been recorded ( Günther 1980, 1991; Hedström 1989). Females collected in Japan (new distributional record) are all brachypterous, but those from China are all macropterous. Therefore, there might be some genetic differences between Chinese and other populations of Neopsocopsis hirticornis but, in the absence of more distinct differences, we treat them as a single species. This species is similar to Neopsocopsis sakishimensis Yoshizawa, 2010 from Japan, however Neopsocopsis hirticornis can be distinguished by the larger body size and by the genitalic characters.