Drabescus kempi Prut

Viraktamath, C. A., Webb, M. D. & Yeshwanth, H. M., 2022, Review of the leafhopper genus Drabescus Stål (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Deltocephalinae) in the Indian subcontinent with description of one new species, Zootaxa 5128 (2), pp. 225-247 : 235-236

Drabescus kempi Prut hi

Figs 1G–J, 2H, 3DE, 5D, 8A–I.

Drabescus kempi Prut hi 1930: 36–37, text fig. 50, pl. III figs 4, 4a. Zhang & Webb 1996, fig. 517.

Head and thorax orange brown. Clypellus medially more brownish, scape and pedicel of antennae and antennal ledge brown. Anterior margin of crown ivory margined both dorsally and ventrally with dark brown, ivory band extending onto eyes. Eyes dark greyish brown, ocelli yellowish white. Pronotum with pale yellow sparsely scattered spots, lateral margins ivory in line with band of eye. Exposed mesonotum dark orange brown, with a stripe on either side of median line yellow, entire mesoscutellum yellow. Forewing darker than thorax with venation darker, distal half of costal margin, apical margin and appendix rich brown, the same colour extending onto apical region of apical cells. Pleurites and sternites of thorax paler, somewhat brownish ochraceous, femora and tibia darker, hind tibial setae darker with darker bases, apex of hind tibia and second tarsomere dark brown.

Crown depressed across eyes, slightly more than 4× as wide between eyes as medially long, transition from crown to face with sharp marginal rim. Face including eyes wider than long. Pronotum about 2.4× as wide as long. Forewing cells strongly transversely wrinkled between veins except apical cells and appendix, claval veins connected by a cross vein and outer claval vein connected with claval suture by a cross vein.

Male genitalia. Pygofer with posteroventral margin concave with 4–5 dentate projections at midlength ventrally, with apex ventrally directed in lateral view and without spine-like process; pygofer longer than height, dorsal margin almost straight, with narrow long macrosetae on apical lobe posteriorly. Segment X well-sclerotized dorsally. Valve transverse, strap-like. Subgenital plates triangular, about 3× as long as broad at base, apex narrowed distally and produced into slightly sclerotized process, in lateral view exceeding apex of pygofer, with narrow long marginal macrosetae. Style with poorly developed subapical lobe making it almost linear distally, apophysis rather thick and transversely striate. Connective with stem subequal to arms. Aedeagus with well-developed dorsal apodeme almost half as long as shaft and a short preatrium; shaft in ventral view broad at base gradually narrowed in basal half but compressed in distal half, apex rounded, with one pair of basal processes laterally, each process broad at base then narrowed to an acute point distally and divergent in ventral view, about 0.75 as long as shaft; gonopore subapical on ventral surface.

Measurements. Male 8.6 mm long, 3.0 mm wide across eyes and 2.9 mm wide across posterolateral angles of pronotum. Female 10.2 mm long, 3.6 mm wide across eyes and 3.2 mm wide across posterolateral angles of pronotum.

Material examined. INDIA: Tamil Nadu: HOLOTYPE ♀, Tope, foot of Palani hills, S. India,1922, S. Kemp, 722/H7 ( ZSI); 1 ♂, Dindigal Dist.: Devathanapatti Range, Kumbakarai Falls, 21.iii.2016, R. Babu & Pty, Stn. 1, Lot No. 7, Ex E, 10 o 10.848’ N, 077 o 31.785’E, 1212 ft, Light trap. Western Ghats Survey TM, March 2016, SRC, ZSI, Chennai ( ZSIC); Karnataka: 1♀, Nagarhole, 2.ii.1983, Shashidhar ( UASB).

Remarks. This species was described from a single specimen (holotype) with the following data: “No. 722/H7, Z.S.I (Ind. Mus.), Calcutta. Type-locality. Tope, foot of Palani hills; 1922 (S. Kemp). One female”. The holotype female abdomen is slightly mutilated. The coloration and form along with proximity of locality of collections show that the male examined is well associated with the female holotype. A female from Karnataka was compared with the holotype female in ZSI, Kolkata and was also figured by Zhang & Webb (1996, fig. 517), but has different male genitalia and female sternite VII compared to that of D. limbaticeps . The male genitalia of D. kempi is very similar to those of D. austroindicus (see under Remarks of that species).