Chlorita elvirae, Poggi, 2025

Poggi, Francesco, 2025, A new species of Chlorita (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Typhlocybinae) from southern Italy, with redescription of C. antoniana Dlabola, 1959, Zootaxa 5666 (3), pp. 428-436 : 432-434

Chlorita elvirae sp. nov.

http://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:96A77B25-6650-4E82-94B2-37EF0A04B2BF

MATERIAL EXAMINED

Holotype: • ♂, Italy, Calabria, prov. Reggio Calabria, Santa Domenica di Terreti, 630 m amsl, 38.125250, 15.741477, from Artemisia campestris L. subsp. variabilis (Ten.) Greuter, 16.XI.2018, F. Poggi & E. Castiglione leg. (MSNG). Type locality in Fig. 3B .

Paratypes: • 2 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀, Italy, Calabria, prov. Reggio Calabria, Santa Domenica di Terreti, 630 m amsl, 38.125250, 15.741477, from Artemisia campestris L. subsp. variabilis (Ten.) Greuter, 16.XI.2018, F. Poggi & E. Castiglione leg. (MSNG).

• 1♀, ibidem, 16.XI.2018, F. Poggi & E. Castiglione leg. (CEC).

• 4 ♂♂, 8 ♀♀, ibidem, 16.XI.2018, F. Poggi & E. Castiglione leg. ( CFP).

• 12 ♂♂, 19 ♀♀, ibidem, 12. VI.2019, F. Poggi & E. Castiglione leg. ( CFP).

• 44 ♂♂, 43 ♀♀, ibidem, 16.X.2019, F. Poggi leg. ( CFP).

• 3 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀, ibidem, 16.X.2019, F. Poggi leg. (CEC).

• 8 ♂♂, 15 ♀♀, ibidem, 8.X.2020, F. Poggi leg. ( CFP).

• 1 ♂, ibidem, 565 m, 12. VI.2019, 38.132056, 15.752825, F. Poggi leg. ( CFP).

• 3 ♂♂, Italy, Calabria, prov. Reggio Calabria, Santa Cristina d'Aspromonte, Torrente Lago bank, 350 m amsl, 38.2487045, 15.9577579, from Artemisia campestris L. subsp. variabilis (Ten.) Greuter, 18.X.2019, F. Poggi leg. ( CFP).

• 1 ♂, ibidem, 5.X.2020, F. Poggi leg. ( CFP).

• 10 ♂♂, 15 ♀♀, Italy, Calabria, prov. Reggio Calabria, com. Montebello Jonico, Lamia, 951 m amsl, 38.037095, 15.764319, from Artemisia campestris L. subsp. variabilis (Ten.) Greuter, 7.X.2020, F. Poggi leg. ( CFP).

• 4 ♂♂, 4 ♀♀, Calabria, prov. Reggio Calabria, Condofuri, Fiumara di Condofuri, 225 m amsl, 37.9931815, 15.8703868, from Artemisia campestris L. subsp. variabilis (Ten.) Greuter, 26. V.2023, F. Poggi leg. ( CFP).

• 2 ♂♂, 8 ♀♀, Italy, Calabria, prov. Reggio Calabria, Bagaladi, Fiumara di Melito, 369 m amsl, 38.0148842, 15.8165274, from Artemisia campestris L. subsp. variabilis (Ten.) Greuter, 26. V.2023, F. Poggi leg. ( CFP).

DIAGNOSIS

A Chlorita Fieber, 1872 , with the typical habitus of the genus, distinguished from all congeneric species by the following combination of characters: aedeagus with a quadrangular laminar expansion extended around gonopore, bearing two pairs of spiniform processes and one pair of pointed triangular processes; proximal portion of anal hooks (the one before the curvature) approximately 1.7 times as long as distal one.

DESCRIPTION

Body length. 2.18–2.43 mm in males and 2.33–2.46 mm in females.

Coloration. Overall color light green with symmetrical creamcolored markings on head, forepart of pronotum, and scutellum; mesonotal triangles slightly lighter; forewings uniformly light green, with apical cells slightly infuscated, without markings or spots; abdomen pale green, with fore margin of tergites dark; legs light green ( Figs 2A–B ).

Structure. Habitus as in Figs 2A–B . Head produced, more in female, as wide as pronotum; vertex 2 times as wide between the eyes as long medially. Pronotum 1.7 times in male and 1.6 in female as long as vertex medially. Forewings longer than abdomen, apically rounded; hindwings normally developed. Female sternite VII without distinctive characters. Apodemes of male 2 nd abdominal sternite sac-shaped, parallel, touching each other, extended to posterior margin of sternite III ( Fig. 2C ).

Male genitalia. Pygofer lobe rounded. Subgenital plates, connective and styles with typical shape within the genus, without distinctive characters. Anal hooks ( Fig. 2G ) smooth, curved upward, with proximal portion (the one before the curvature) approximately 1.7 times as long as distal one, widened in its middle; distal portion thin, sinuous, and very little sclerified. Aedeagus ( Figs 2D–E ) ventrally gibbous in lateral view, with dorsal sclerified thickened edge between shaft and preatrium; preatrium straight; shaft shorter than preatrium; wide sclerified quadrangular laminar expansion extended around gonopore, perpendicular to shaft ( Fig. 2F ), its ventral edge with paired spiniform processes curved medially and directed ventrad, its dorsal edge with paired triangular pointed processes directed laterad and paired spiniform processes directed cephalad ( Figs 2D–F ).

ETYMOLOGY

The species is named after the entomologist Elvira Castiglione (Università degli Studi Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria, Italy), who first conducted research in the type locality of the new taxon, as a sign of deep esteem and friendship, and for the notable contribution to the knowledge of the biodiversity of insects in Aspromonte she is providing.

BIOLOGICAL AND ECOLOGICAL DATA

C. elvirae lives on Artemisia campestris L. subsp. variabilis (Ten.) Greuter ( Fig. 3C ) in xerothermic habitats of the Aspromonte Massif, approximately between 200 and 1000 m amsl ( Fig. 3B ).

The adults were collected in May, June, October, and November; some nymphs of different instars were found in June, October, and November, together with the adults, so we can assume at least 3 generations per year.

In several cases the specimens were collected together with two other Hemiptera species feeding on Artemisia campestris , namely Macropsis calabra (Dlabola, 1963) ( Cicadellidae ) and Bactericera perrisii Puton, 1876 ( Triozidae ).

DISTRIBUTION

C. elvirae seems to be endemic to the Aspromonte Massif, where it has been collected in five localities at the northern, western and southern slopes; it was found together with C. antoniana only in Santa Cristina d’Aspromonte , the northernmost collection site known so far ( Fig. 3A ).

Figures

FIGURE 2. Chlorita elvirae sp.nov.: A. habitus male; B. habitus female; C. apodemes of 2nd abdominal sternite, dorsal view; D. aedeagus, lateral view; E. aedeagus, ventral view; F. gonopore, from above; G. left anal hook, lateral view.

FIGURE 3. Distribution and habitat: A. collection sites of C. antoniana and C. elvirae; B. type locality of C. elvirae (Santa Domenica di Terreti, Reggio Calabria, Italy); C. Artemisia campestris subsp. variabilis, photographed in the type locality of C. elvirae. (Photos B,C by Elvira Castiglione).