Empoasca (Empoasca) paraparvipenis Zhang and Liu 2008, n. sp.

Empoasca (Empoasca) paraparvipenis Zhang and Liu n. sp.

(Figs. 1–14)

Type material. Holotype, ♂ (NWAFU), Liuzhi, Guizhou Prov., China, 10 Aug. 2004, coll. Tong Long. Paratypes (1♂ 1♀ in BMNH, rest in NWAFU), 2♂ 4♀, same data as holotype; 4♂ 2♀, Mt. Emei, Sichuan Prov., China, 30 Oct. 1999, 1000m; 2♂, Mengyuan, Yunnan Province, China, 18 Dec. 1999, 1000m, coll. Daozheng Qin; 2 ♂ 4♀, Mengyuan, Yunnan Prov., 11 December 1999, 1000m, coll. I. Dworakowska.

Length. Male: 3.2–3.8 mm, female: 3.5–3.9 mm.

Ground colour of body yellow. Crown with light green patch on each side of coronal suture. Eyes black. Pronotum with irregular patches on anterior margin of pronotum and under eyes. Forewing and hindwing semitransparent. Abdomen orange yellow. Legs light yellow to orange.

Abdominal apodemes long, reaching the base of segment 6. Male pygofer slightly narrowing caudad, ornamented with 11–14 rigid setae on each side of pygofer lobe; ventral pygofer appendage slightly curved dorsocaudad, exceeding caudal margin of lobe. Anal appendage stout, swollen distinctly medially, apex rounded. Subgenital plate sinuate, with numerous macrosetae and fine setae somewhat irregularly; inner margin with 4–5 long stout setae subbasally and 22–25 short microsetae on apical half. Paramere with 4 teeth on dentifer, 2–4 setae subapically. Connective broad, with anterior margin deeply emarginate medially. Aedeagal shaft as long as preatrium, broad at base, gradually tapering and curved at basal 2/5; apex with pair of lateral processes directed caudoventrad in profile; shaft with another pair of processes basally, directed caudodorsad; gonopore subterminal on ventral surface.

Etymology. The species name is derived from the combination of “para–” and “parvipenis” which refers to the similarity of the new species to Empoasca (Empoasca) parvipenis Dworakowska 1994.

Distribution. Known only from the type locality in Guizhou, Yunnan and Sichuan (SW. China).

Discussion. Empoasca paraparvipenis n. sp. is similar to E. parvipenis Dworakowska, 1994. It differs from the latter in having the anal appendage broadened medially, and the aedeagal shaft having fairly long bifurcations and lacking terminal tooth–like or papillose tubereles on its ventral margin.

Host. Empoasca (Empoasca) paraparvipenis is a destructive pest of Camptotheca acuminata Decne (family Nyssaceae) which is about 20~25 metres high and occurs mainly in the Yangzi River Valley in southern China, and is economically important for Chinese medicine. The damage is manifested by extensive stippling on the surface of leaves on the host plant. The ecology and control of this species have been studied by Long Tong (2006). The third author collected the same species in Yunnan and Sichuan Provinces during a field trip with Dr. Irena Dworakowska in 1999. This material, together with the specimens from Long Tong, represent the new species described above.