Species Yamirrina vittipennis (Muir, 1931)

Museums

Regional Maps

• Iolania vittipennis Muir, F. 1931. Descriptions and records of Fulgoroidea from Australia and the South Pacific Islands. No 1. Records of the Australian Museum 18(2): 63-83 [66].

  Type data:

   Holotype BMNH ♀ (coll.: 1904, Dodd), Queensland.

 

Generic Combinations

• Yamirrina vittipennis (Muir, 1931). —
  Löcker, B. 2020. Revision of Leades Jacobi with the description of a new genus, Yamirrina gen. nov., and notes on the absence of Iolania Kirkaldy from Australia (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Fulgoromorpha: Cixiidae: Cixiini). Journal of Insect Biodiversity 18(1): 17–49 [37]

 

Introduction

This species was placed in Iolania Kirkaldy, on the basis of the absence of hind tibial spines, by Muir (1931) who figured the lateral terminalia. He commented that the genitalia show little affinity with the Hawaiian species. Emeljanov (2000) considered Iolania to be absent from the Australian fauna but left two described Australian species in the genus. Löcker (2020) transferred both species to Australian genera with this species being placed in the new genus Yamirrina leaving Iolania as an Hawaiian endemic. Yamirrina vittipennis is restricted to the Wet Tropics of North Queensland.

 

Distribution

States

Queensland

Extra Distribution Information

Monteith (1991) stated that F.P. Dodd collected tropical insects with a passion and became known as The Butterfly Man of Kuranda. Although no specific locality within Queensland was given in the original description, it is almost certainly that specimens collected by Dodd in 1904 would have been in the wet tropics of Queensland.

Australian Endemic.

IBRA and IMCRA regions

IBRA

Qld: Wet Tropics (WT)

Distribution References

Ecological Descriptors

Adult: phloem feeder.

Extra Ecological Information

Nymph might be phloem feeder or fungivore.

 

Diagnosis

Colour. Head and pronotum light green or yellowish, slightly red in middle of frons and clypeus. Mesothorax dark brown. Tegulae and legs light stramineous, abdomen dark. Tegmina hyaline, a dark brown mark from base of clavus to apical margin between Cu and M, this extends to the hind margin in clavus, veins the same colour as cells, apical margin brown, costal margin light. Wings hyaline with brown veins, fuscous over the posterior half and along the apical margin. Morphology. Width of vertex at base subequal to length in middle, the base shallowly and roundly emarginate, the apex broadly angular, base broader than apex; the transverse carina near apex angular; the medio-longitudinal carina distinct; frons slightly longer than broad, narrowest at base, broadest on apical half, median carina distinct, no median ocellus; clypeus tricarinate, the laterals continued from frons, flat, the base roundly produced into frons. Tegmina long, narrow, Sc + R forking two-thirds from base of corium, Cu about the same level, M beyond nodal line; the M stem lies near to Cu and in one specimen touches Cu. Length, ♂ 3 mm, tegmen 4.3 mm. (Muir 1931).

This species differs from :Y. concolor in the colour contrast between head, pro- and mesonotum. In Y. concolor these three parts are almost concolorous, with the pronotum being just slightly paler. In Y. vittipennis there is a stark colour contrast between yellow head and pronotum versus a dark brown to black mesonotum. Further differences can be found in the male genitalia as illustrated by Löcker (2020)..

 

ID Keys

Löcker 2020: 35

 

Diagnosis References

Löcker, B. 2020. Revision of Leades Jacobi with the description of a new genus, Yamirrina gen. nov., and notes on the absence of Iolania Kirkaldy from Australia (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Fulgoromorpha: Cixiidae: Cixiini). Journal of Insect Biodiversity 18(1): 17–49 [38–39]

Muir, F. 1931. Descriptions and records of Fulgoroidea from Australia and the South Pacific Islands. No 1. Records of the Australian Museum 18(2): 63-83 [66]

 

General References

Emeljanov, A.F. 2000. New genera of the Family Cixiidae (Homoptera, Fulgoroidea) from Australia and neighboring Territories. [translation]. Entomological Review (English translation of Entomologicheskoe Obozrenie) 80(3): 251-270 [251]

 

History of changes

Published	As part of group	Action Date	Action Type	Compiler(s)
05-Aug-2020	CIXIIDAE Spinola, 1839	24-Jul-2020	MODIFIED	Dr Murray Fletcher
13-Oct-2010		13-Oct-2010	MODIFIED
		12-Feb-2010	(import)