Hyalessa ronshana China

Wang, Xu, Hayashi, Masami & Wei, Cong, 2014, On cicadas of Hyalessa maculaticollis complex (Hemiptera, Cicadidae) of China, ZooKeys 369, pp. 25-41 : 28-31

Hyalessa ronshana China Figs 1-3

Material examined.

Holotype: ♀ (BMNH), China: Yunnan Prov., 31.VII.1922. 1♂ (NWAFU), China: Hutiaoxia, Xianggelila County, Yunnan Prov., 2.VII.2007, coll. Cong Wei; 10♂♂, 4♀♀ (NWAFU), China: Hutiaoxia, Xianggelila County, Yunnan Prov., 27.VII.2007, coll. Cong Wei; 7♂♂, 8♀♀ (NWAFU), China: Hutiaoxia, Xianggelila County, Yunnan Prov., 6.VIII.2010, coll. Meng Zhang; 1♀ (NWAFU), China: Hutiaoxia, Xianggelila County, Yunnan Prov., 6.VIII.2010, coll. Silong Xu; 1♂(NWAFU),China: Hutiaoxia, Xianggelila County, Yunnan Prov., 7.VIII.2010, coll. Meng Zhang.

Measurements of types.

(18 ♂♂, 12 ♀♀). Body length: male 31.3-37.8, female 32.6-35.7; fore wing length: male 45.6-50.3, female 46.6-53.3; fore wing width: male 15.2-17.6, female 15.4-17.5; width of head including eyes: male 11.0-12.0, female 10.4-12.0; pronotum width (including pronotal collar): male 14.0-16.0, female 14.0-16.2; mesonotum width: male 11.7-13.3, female 11.5-13.4.

Description of male.

Body almost black, with short yellow-green hairs.

Head (Fig. 2A, C) about 0.77 times as wide as pronotum; eyes fuscous, ocellus red. Postclypeus moderately swollen, black, with greenish transverse grooves on each side; lateral margin greenish. Anteclypeus black, with yellowish green medially. Rostrum long, extending to posterior trochanter.

Thorax (Fig. 2A, C). Pronotum generally black, with central longitudinal greenish yellow spot near anterior margin, smaller greenish yellow spot on disc, and central round greenish yellow spot near posterior margin; lateral margins of pronotal collar ampliate. Mesonotum black, with pair of greenish markings on anterior angles of cruciform elevation. Metanotum and lateral part of cruciform elevation yellowish green. Thoracic sternites greenish to black.

Legs (Fig. 2E). Black, fore femur with large ochraceous patch medially and smaller ochraceous patch near posterior margin in lateral view. Fore tibia and mid femur mostly black. Hind legs mostly ochraceous. Fore femur with primary spine longest and oblique to femur, secondary spine of intermediate size and subapical spine shortest, both angled slightly.

Wings (Fig. 2 A–B). Hyaline, fore wing with distinct infuscation at bases of apical cells second, third, fifth, and seventh; a marginal series of minute pale fuscous spots near apices of longitudinal veins to apical cells.

Abdomen (Fig. 2A, D). Generally black dorsally, with white pollinosity between tergite II and III. Timbal cover black, prominently globolised. Opercula greyish green, centrally overlapping, with rounded posterior margin extending to abdominal sternite II. Abdominal sternites mostly black, with greenish speckle on sternite III, VII and VIII, sparsely covered with white pollinosity.

Genitalia (Fig. 2F, G, H). Pygofer barrel-shaped in ventral view. Uncal lobes broad and well developed, separated from the other one from middle of uncus, with poste rior margin rounded and outer margin weakly convex. Basal lobe of uncus shorter, ca 1/2 length of uncal lobe. Aedeagus with apical one third strongly curved ventrally, expended subapically; sclerotized lateral processes acute, large medial (membranous) saccate hook somewhat truncate with a pair of small lateral membranous processes between sclerotized lateral processes.

Description of female.

(Figs 1, 3). Opercula smaller than those of male, broadly separated from each other. Abdominal segment IX (pygofer) greenish; ovipositor sheath not extending beyond segment IX, posterior margin of segment VII incised at middle. Other characteristics similar to male.

Distribution.

China (Yunnan).

Remarks.

Hyalessa China formerly included only the type species Hyalessa ronshana which was established on a single female collected from Yunnan Prov., China. Recently, when we investigated materials of this genus collected from different locations from China, some specimens also from Yunnan Province were found very similar to Hyalessa ronshana , but they can be distinguished from the holotype of Hyalessa ronshana by the concoloured mesonotum (blackish, without paired large spots adjacent to the anterior margin of mesonotum), the normal nodal line of fore wing (absent in the ulnar cell 3 and the medial cell), the fuscous spots at bases of apical cells second, third, fifth, and seventh of fore wing, and a marginal series of minute pale fuscous spots near apices of longitudinal veins to apical cells. However, the holotype of Hyalessa ronshana is an unusual form, representing a kind of deformation on the forewing vein, i.e., the veins are somewhat asymmetric and particularly, the long nodal line presented on the ulnar cell 3 and the medial cell. In addition, the condition of the holotype is not good in condition, e.g., the faint markings on mesonotum are not strict, and only one very faint spot appeared at the base of apical cell second of fore wing (other infuscations on the veins of fore wing seem to be diminished due to the poor condition of the specimen). This is probably due to that the holotype was rather teneral and/or it has been deposited in the collection for a long time. Herein, judging from the adjacency of the forementioned materials collected from Yunnan Prov. and the holotype of Hyalessa ronshana as well as the common characters shared by them, particularly the transverse pollinosity-like band on base of abdominal tergite III, coloration of veins (both upperside and underside), maculation on fore femur, hind tibia, opercula and pygofer, we conclude that the new materials are conspecific with the holotype of Hyalessa ronshana , and redescribe this species based on the discovery of the male for the first time. Hyalessa ronshana is similar to Hyalessa maculaticollis , but can be distinguished from the latter by the generally black pronotum and mesonotum, the rounded apex of the broad uncal lobes of male pygofer, and the shape of apical hooks of aedeagus.