A review of the jumping plant-lice (Hemiptera: Psylloidea) of the Canary Islands, with descriptions of two new genera and sixteen new species

Deciphering the patterns and timing of diversification of the genus Melanastera (Hemiptera: Psylloidea: Liviidae) in the Neotropics

Even after decades of research on diversification in the Neotropics, our understanding of the evolutionary processes that shaped Neotropical clades is still incomplete. In the present study, we used different divergence times and likelihood-based methods to investigate the influence of biogeography and host plant associations on the diversification of the most species-rich psyllid genus Melanastera (Liviidae) from the Neotropics as a model group of herbivorous insects. We used molecular phylogenetic data from seven gene fragments (four mitochondrial and three nuclear). The putatively monophyletic group of Neotropical Melanastera species has an estimated crown node age of 20.2 Ma (ML, CI 20.2-30.6) or 23.2 Ma (BI, 95 % HPD 16.6-32.6), with diversification occurring mainly in the Upper Miocene, although some species groups diversified in the Pliocene or Pleistocene. Biogeographic analysis suggests that the Neotropical Melanastera originated from the Pacific region of South and Central America. We detected a shift in diversification rates that likely occurred either at the time of origin of Melanastera or during the main colonisation of the Atlantic and Amazon Forests, followed by a subsequent slowdown in speciation rates. State-dependent speciation and extinction models revealed a significant relationship between this diversification shift and the shift of Melanastera to the plant families Melastomataceae and Annonaceae, reflecting the impact of host switching on speciation rates in this group. This period also coincides with several independent dispersal events from the Atlantic and Amazon Forests to other parts of the Neotropics. Taken together, the results of the current study suggest that diversification of Melanastera was facilitated by shifts to new host families, which may have promoted the dispersal of Melanastera into new adaptive zones with subsequent processes of local speciation.

Jumping plant lice (Hemiptera, Psylloidea) of Bulgaria - an annotated checklist

Background

Knowledge of the fauna of jumping plant lice or psyllids in Bulgaria is rather scattered. So far, 113 species of psyllids have been recorded from Bulgaria in 51 publications. The aim of this study is to provide an up-to-date checklist of the Psylloidea species from Bulgaria, based on extensive fieldwork by the authors and examination of specimens mainly from the Zoological Collection of Sofia University (BFUS) and the Moravian Museum in Brno (MMBC). In addition, a thorough review of all relevant literature was undertaken to consolidate the existing records.

New information

Twenty-five species of jumping plant lice are recorded here from Bulgaria for the first time. Of these, two species represent new records for Europe: Dyspersakantshavelii (Gegechkori, 1977) and Heterotriozakochiae (Gegechkori, 1975); and three additional species represent new records for the Balkan Peninsula: Arytainillaspartiicola (Šulc, 1912), Craspedoleptaaraneosa Loginova, 1962 and Eryngiofagababugani (Loginova, 1964). A new synonymy is proposed: Colposceniaosmanica Vondráček, 1953 = Colposceniakiritshenkoi Loginova, 1960, syn. nov. A lectotype is designated for C.osmanica to stabilise the nomenclature. Original drawings or photographs of diagnostic characters on male and female terminalia are provided for C.osmanica, D.kantshavelii, Heterotriozaeurotiae (Loginova, 1960) and H.kochiae. Distributional maps summarising all known records from Bulgaria are provided for each species. Where available, photographs of live or mounted specimens and information on host plants are also provided, including new host plant records for 10 species. The previously published records of Aphalarasauteri Burckhardt, 1983, Bactericeraacutipennis (Zetterstedt, 1828), B.reuteri (Šulc, 1913), Dyspersaapicalis (Foerster, 1848), D.viridula (Zetterstedt, 1828), Eryngiofagamesomela (Flor, 1861) and Triozadispar Löw, 1878 from Bulgaria are considered doubtful and these species are deleted from the list of the Bulgarian fauna, which now comprises 130 species from 33 genera and six families of jumping plant lice. This diversity is compared with the known data on Psylloidea in other countries of the Balkan Peninsula and Turkey and the Bulgarian psyllid fauna is discussed from the perspective of biogeography.

Jumping plant-lice of the tribe Paurocephalini (Hemiptera: Psylloidea: Liviidae) in Brazil

The predominantly tropical tribe Paurocephalini of jumping plant-lice currently consists of seven genera and 94 described species worldwide, of which the genera Klyveria Burckhardt et al. and Melanastera Serbina et al. have been recorded from Brazil with two and one species, respectively. Here we review the taxonomy of the Brazilian species based on material collected from extensive fieldwork carried out in 15 states over the last decade. One species of Klyveria and 59 species of Melanastera are newly described, bringing the number of extant Klyveria spp. to three (both in Brazil and worldwide) and that of extant Melanastera spp. to 69 (60 in Brazil, 67 in the Neotropical region and one each in the Afrotropical and Oriental regions). The new species are described and illustrated, and identification keys for the Brazilian species are provided for adults and last instar immatures. The most diagnostically important structures are the distal segment of the aedeagus and the paramere, the forewing (shape, venation, surface spinules and colour pattern) and the female terminalia in the adults, and the chaetotaxy, tarsal arolium and shape of the additional pore fields on the caudal plate in the last instar immatures. The species descriptions are complemented by mitochondrial DNA barcodes (COI and cytB) and information on host plants. Klyveria spp. are restricted to Luehea (Malvaceae), while in Brazil 28 Melanastera spp. develop or are likely to develop on Melastomataceae, 18 spp. on Annonaceae, four spp. each on Asteraceae and Myristicaceae, and one species on Cannabaceae. Only three of the 63 species of Paurocephalini reported here from Brazil, are also known from other countries: two from Paraguay and one from Trinidad. Probably many more species of Melanastera are yet to be discovered and described. Priority in fieldwork should be given to areas that are at high risk of destruction or degradation by human activities, such as the Amazon rainforest, the Atlantic Forest and the Cerrado.

A Review of the Psyllid Genus Epipsylla (Hemiptera, Psyllidae) from the Chinese Mainland with Phylogenetic Considerations and the Description of a New Species

Epipsylla Kuwayama, 1908, constitutes an Old World genus of psyllids with 15 described species. Based on characters of immatures, Epipsylla was recently assigned to Ciriacreminae (Psyllidae). The genus is morphologically well circumscribed but species are currently difficult to identify as many descriptions lack detail and precision. Eight species are reported from the Chinese mainland. Here, we provide diagnoses for the adults of these species and, as far as known, the fifth-instar immatures. Figures are provided of taxonomically relevant adult characters. A new species, Epipsylla suni sp. nov., is described from Yunnan (China). We provide illustrations of its habitus and morphological features, and list the host plant. Furthermore, we sequenced the mitochondrial genome of the new species and constructed a phylogenetic tree using thirteen protein-coding genes and two rRNA genes. The results of the molecular phylogenetic analysis using the maximum likelihood method support the assignment to Ciriacreminae.

Unravelling the Molecular Identity of Bulgarian Jumping Plant Lice of the Family Aphalaridae (Hemiptera: Psylloidea)

Psyllids (Hemiptera: Psylloidea) are plant sap-sucking insects whose identification is often difficult for non-experts. Despite the rapid development of DNA barcoding techniques and their widespread use, only a limited number of sequences of psyllids are available in the public databases, and those that are available are often misidentified. Here, we provide 80 sequences of two mitochondrial genes, cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) and cytochrome b (Cytb), for 25 species of Aphalaridae, mainly from Bulgaria. The DNA barcodes for 15 of these species are published for the first time. In cases where standard primers failed to amplify the target gene fragment, we designed new primers that can be used in future studies. The distance-based thresholds for the analysed species were between 0.0015 and 0.3415 for COI and 0.0771 and 0.4721 for Cytb, indicating that the Cytb gene has a higher interspecific divergence, compared to COI, and therefore allows for more accurate species identification. The species delimitation based on DNA barcodes is largely consistent with the differences resulting from morphological and host plant data, demonstrating that the use of DNA barcodes is suitable for successful identification of most aphalarid species studied. The phylogenetic reconstruction based on maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference analyses, while showing similar results at high taxonomic levels to previously published phylogenies, provides additional information on the placement of aphalarids at the species level. The following five species represent new records for Bulgaria: Agonoscena targionii, Aphalara affinis, Colposcenia aliena, Co. bidentata, and Craspedolepta malachitica. Craspedolepta conspersa is reported for the first time from the Czech Republic, while Agonoscena cisti is reported for the first time from Albania.

The jumping plant-lice (Hemiptera, Psylloidea) in Urban Green Spaces of Bogotá (Colombia), with descriptions of two new species and redescription of Mastigimascolombianus Burckhardt, Queiroz and Drohojowska

In a survey of the arthropod fauna of 33 Urban Green Spaces (UGS) in Bogotá, Colombia, between 2017 and 2019, 21 species (3,825 specimens) of Psylloidea were collected. These represent all seven recognised families of jumping plant-lice and include seven species identified only to genus. The specimens, all adults, were collected on 30 plant species used for arborization in the UGS. Two species are described as new (Mastigimaslongicaudatus Rendón-Mera, Burckhardt & Vargas-Fonseca, sp. nov. and Leuronotaalbilinea Rendón-Mera, Burckhardt & Vargas-Fonseca, sp. nov.), one species is redescribed (Mastigimascolombianus Burckhardt, Queiroz & Drohojowska) and one species is recorded for the first time from Colombia (Calindatrinervis Olivares & Burckhardt). Among the seven species identified only to genus is an undescribed species of Melanastera, representing a genus not previously known from Colombia. Fourteen species found during the survey are probably native (66%) and seven (33%) adventive. Our findings highlight the significance of UGS for preservation of biological diversity and stress the importance of using native plants in urban landscape planning for the conservation of the native entomofauna.

Thought to Be Extinct, but Still Alive Today: The Miocene Genus Primascena Klimaszewsi, 1997 (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) in the Light of Two Extant Species from Brazil

Fossils can document the morphological diversification through time and date lineages, providing relevant characters are preserved. Primascena Klimaszewsi, 1997 was erected for P. subita Klimaszewsi, 1997 on the basis of a single, partly damaged male from Dominican amber. Originally assigned to Rhinocolidae: Paurocephalinae, the genus was subsequently transferred to Psyllidae: Aphalaroidinae. Recently, two undescribed species resembling the fossil species were discovered in Brazil (Mato Grosso do Sul), allowing a detailed morphological study of adults and immatures. Based on the morphological study, a revised diagnosis of the genus is provided, including the previously unknown female and fifth instar immatures. Primascena subita is redescribed and P. empsycha n. spec. and P. ruprechtiae n. spec. are formally described and illustrated. An identification key is provided for the species of Primascena. A cladistic morphological analysis supports the placement of the two new species in Primascena, and of this genus in the Aphalaroidinae. It is sister to all but Aphalaroida, though with little support. The two Brazilian species develop on Ruprechtia spp. (Polygonaceae: Eriogonoideae), an unusual psyllid host. Immatures of P. ruprechtiae are free-living on the lower leaf face and do not induce galls.

Origins of the central Macaronesian psyllid lineages (Hemiptera; Psylloidea) with characterization of a new island radiation on endemic Convolvulus floridus (Convolvulaceae) in the Canary Islands

A molecular survey of native and adventive psyllids in the central Macaronesian islands provides the first comprehensive phylogenetic assessment of the origins of the psyllid fauna of the Canary and Madeira archipelagos. We employ a maximum likelihood backbone constraint analysis to place the central Macaronesian taxa within the Psylloidea mitogenome phylogeny. The native psyllid fauna in these central Macaronesian islands results from an estimated 26 independent colonization events. Island host plants are predicted by host plants of continental relatives in nearly all cases and six plant genera have been colonized multiple times (Chamaecytisus, Convolvulus, Olea, Pistacia, Rhamnus, and Spartocytisus) from the continent. Post-colonization diversification varies from no further cladogenesis (18 events, represented by a single native taxon) to modest in situ diversification resulting in two to four native taxa and, surprisingly, given the diverse range of islands and habitats, only one substantial species radiation with more than four native species. Specificity to ancestral host plant genera or family is typically maintained during in situ diversification both within and among islands. Characterization of a recently discovered island radiation consisting of four species on Convolvulus floridus in the Canary Islands shows patterns and rates of diversification that reflect island topographic complexity and geological dynamism. Although modest in species diversity, this radiation is atypical in diversification on a single host plant species, but typical in the primary role of allopatry in the diversification process.

Establishing reliable DNA barcoding primers for jumping plant lice (Psylloidea, Hemiptera)

OBJECTIVES

DNA Barcoding has proven to be a reliable method for rapid insect identification. The success of this method is based on the amplification of a specific region, the 'Folmer' barcode region at the 5´ start of the cytochrome c oxidase 1 gene (cox1), with universal primers. Previous studies showed failures of standard "universal" primers to amplify this region in psyllids. The aim of the study was the design of a new alternative more reliable primer combination for taxa of the superfamily Psylloidea and its comparison with the performance of the standard "universal" Folmer-primers.

RESULTS

A newly designed degenerate forward primer LCOP-F was developed following comparison of the sequence alignment of the priming site of "universal" primer LCO1490 and the standard insect forward primer LepF1. When combined with the "universal" reverse primer, HCO2198, this new primer pairing was able to generate barcode sequence for all 36 species in 20 genera across the five families of psyllids tested in this study, and these primers were found to be more universally reliable across psyllid taxa than other primer pairs tested.