Bananellodes rubrinervis ( Schmidt, 1924 )

Constant, Jérôme, 2015, A new species of Bananellodes Strand, 1928 from Namibia (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha: Tropiduchidae), Belgian Journal of Entomology 32, pp. 1-13 : 1-13

Bananellodes rubrinervis ( Schmidt, 1924)

Figs 3 , 6

Bananella rubrinervis SCHMIDT, 1924: 106 – SCHMIDT, 1925: 43 [Type in RMCA].

Bananellodes rubrinervis ( Schmidt, 1924) – STRAND, 1928: 73 [transferred to Bananellodes ] – METCALF, 1946: 184 [catalogued in the Dictyopharidae : Orgeriinae: Lyncidini] – SYNAVE, 1957: 37 [redescription] – FENNAH, 1958: 141, fig. 88A–D [short list of characters, head and tegmen illustrated]. – FLOW, BOURGOIN, 2015: http://hemiptera-databases.org/flow/?page= explorer&db=flow&lang=fr&card=taxon&rank=species&id=6288.

ETYMOLOGY. The species epithet derives from ruber (adj., Latin) = red and nerva (Latin) = vein, and refers to the reddish colouration of the veins of the tegmina.

TYPE MATERIAL EXAMINED. Holotype ♀ (examined on photographs): Congo Democratic Republic: [ Musée du Congo, Banana, 7.VIII.1920, Dr H. Schouteden] [ Bananella rubrinervis Schmidt ♀. Edm. Schmidt determ. 1924] [Holotypus] [ R. Det. E 1184] ( RMCA).

DIAGNOSIS. The species is easily separated from B. davidi by the characters given in the key. It is also different in colouration, being yellowish with reddish markings while B. davidi is mottled grey and brown with black markings. However, it is possible that the colour of the single known female of B. rubrinervis is faded.

The male genitalia are not known.

DISTRIBUTION. See map Fig. 6 .

Discussion

The male genitalia of a species of Bananellodes are here described for the first time and their disymmetrical conformation matches with the tribal placement of the genus (see also FENNAH, 1982).

The specimens of B. davidi sp. nov. were collected in the hard environment of the Kalahari Desert while the single known specimen of B. rubrinervis comes from Banana at the mouth of the Congo River. This new discovery in a very different biotope represents a broad ecological spectrum for the genus and, accordingly, more species are probably awaiting discovery.

Nothing is known of the feeding habits of the two species but, as the zones surrounding the Malaise trap in Namibia were actively sampled by sweeping the lower vegetation and beating the bushes without any result in terms of Bananellodes , it is likely that the species lives on or very close to the ground. Furthermore, the species is flightless and this could be an additional clue in relation with that way of life.

As recently mentioned ( CONSTANT & PHAM, 2014a, b), Malaise traps are an efficient way to collect Fulgoromorphs, even if not in large numbers, and should be more intensively used by hemipterists. They often allow the collecting of very interesting species which are not collected by other methods.

Figures

Fig. 3 A–E. Bananellodes rubrinervis (Schmidt, 1924), female holotype, total length: 5.0 mm. A, habitus, lateral view. B, labels. C, habitus, dorsal view. D, head, frontal view (photographs S. Hanot).

Fig. 6. Distribution map of the species of Bananellodes.