Yuripopoverus africanus gen.et sp.n.from East African copal (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha: Ricaniidae)

A new genus and species of the planthopper family Ricaniidae Yuripopoverus africanus gen. et sp. n. is described and illustrated on the basis of an inclusion in East African copal

New Aleyrodidae (Hemiptera:Sternorrhyncha: Aleyrodomorpha) from Eocene baltic amber

A new genus and species of whitefly from Eocene Baltic amber is described. Paernis gregorius gen. et sp. n. is placed in the subfamily Aleurodicinae. Other findings of Aleyrodidae including ‘Aleyrodes’ aculeatus MENGE, 1856 from Baltic amber are discussed

New genus and species of Aleyrodidae from Eocene Baltic amber (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Aleyrodomorpha)

A new genus Rovnodicus gen. n., with new species Rovnodicus wojciechowskii sp. n. is described from Eocene Rovno amber, Ukraine. It is placed in the subfamily Aleurodicinae. It is the first whitefly from this fossil source. Its morphological features and taxonomic position with respect to other Aleurodicinae from the Eocene are briefly discussed. The article outlines the influences of this finding on discussions of the origin, age and taxonomic similarities between Baltic amber from Ukraine and that from the Gulf of Gdańsk and Bitterfeld as well as on palaeoecological reconstructions of the fossil site. The name ‘Aleurochiton eozaenicus WEIGELT 1940’, mentioned as the fossil puparium of a whitefly from the Middle Eocene Geiseltal Fossillagerstätte appears to be nomen nudum

The Hemiptera Collection of Department of Natural History, Upper Silesian Museum in Bytom

A short rationale and historical background of the Upper Silesian Museum and its Department of Natural History is presented. The authors also discuss the mission of the museum as exemplified by the Natural History Department of the Upper Silesian Museum in Bytom. The collections of material of the hemipteran insects – Heteroptera, Fulgoromorpha, Cicadomorpha, and Sternorrhyncha: Psylloidea deposited in the collection of USMB is presented. The type specimens from USMB collection are listed and figured, these specimens cover representatives of the families Miridae, Cydnidae, Achilidae and Ricaniidae

New fossil from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber confirms monophyly of Liadopsyllidae (Hemiptera: Psylloidea)

Amecephala pusilla gen. et sp. nov. is described and illustrated on the basis of a well-preserved female psyllid (Liadopsyllidae) in a piece of Cretaceous Myanmar amber. The new genus differs from other members of Liadopsyllidae in details of the antennae and forewings. For the first time, the presence of a circumanal ring is documented for Mesozoic psyllids. Based on differences in the length of female terminalia, it is suggested that Liadopsyllidae may have displayed a diversified oviposition biology. As far as known, Liadopsyllidae lack a pulvillus, a putative autapomorphy supporting the monophyly of Liadopsyllidae. An identification key to genera and an annotated checklist of known Liadopsyllidae species are provided. New synonyms and combinations are proposed and the status of the subfamily Miralinae is discussed

Brood care in a 100-million-year-old scale insect

Behavior of extinct organisms can be inferred only indirectly, but occasionally rare fossils document particular behaviors directly. Brood care, a remarkable behavior promoting the survival of the next generation, has evolved independently numerous times among animals including insects. However, fossil evidence of such a complex behavior is exceptionally scarce. Here, we report an ensign scale insect (Hemiptera: Ortheziidae), Wathondara kotejai gen. et sp. nov., from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber, which preserves eggs within a wax ovisac, and several freshly hatched nymphs. The new fossil is the only Mesozoic record of an adult female scale insect. More importantly, our finding represents the earliest unequivocal direct evidence of brood care in the insect fossil record and demonstrates a remarkably conserved egg-brooding reproductive strategy within scale insects in stasis for nearly 100 million years

Genomic-Phenomic Reciprocal Illumination: Desyopone hereon gen. et sp. nov., an Exceptional Aneuretine-like Fossil Ant from Ethiopian Amber (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Ponerinae) †

Simple Summary: We describe a new species of extinct ants from Miocene-aged Ethiopian amber, based on males that resemble species of the relictual lineage Aneuretinae, but which effectively belong to the Ponerinae, as revealed by advanced 3D-imaging technology (synchrotron radiation micro-computed tomography, SR-µ-CT). We subsequently propose a revision of ant classification at the subfamily level. We also recognize that the new species belongs to a new genus based on recent phylogenomic results that have clarified the generic boundaries of Ponerini ants. Our work, therefore, represents an example of reciprocal illumination between phenomic and genomic data. Abstract: Fossils are critical for understanding the evolutionary diversification, turnover, and morphological disparification of extant lineages. While fossils cannot be sequenced, phenome-scale data may be generated using micro-computed tomography (µ-CT), thus revealing hidden structures and internal anatomy, when preserved. Here, we adduce the male caste of a new fossil ant species from Miocene Ethiopian amber that resembles members of the Aneuretinae, matching the operational definition of the subfamily. Through the use of synchrotron radiation for µ-CT, we critically test the aneuretine-identity hypothesis. Our results indicate that the new fossils do not belong to the Aneuretinae, but rather the Ponerini (Ponerinae). Informed by recent phylogenomic studies, we were able to place the fossils close to the extant genus Cryptopone based on logical character analysis, with the two uniquely sharing absence of the subpetiolar process among all ponerine genera. Consequently, we: (1) revise the male-based key to the global ant subfamilies; (2) revise the definitions of Aneuretinae, Ponerinae, Platythyreini, and Ponerini; (3) discuss the evolution of ant mandibles; and (4) describe the fossils as † Desyopone hereon gen. et sp. nov. Our study highlights the value of males for ant systematics and the tremendous potential of phenomic imaging technologies for the study of ant evolution

Fossils reshape the Sternorrhyncha evolutionary tree (Insecta, Hemiptera)

The Sternorrhyncha, which comprise about 18,700 described recent species, is a suborder of the Hemiptera, one of big five most diverse insect orders. In the modern fauna, these tiny phytophages comprise insects of great ecological and economic importance, like aphids (Aphidomorpha), scale insects (Coccidomorpha), whiteflies (Aleyrodomorpha) and psyllids (Psylloidea). Their evolutionary history can be traced back to the Late Carboniferous, but the early stages of their evolution and diversification is poorly understood, with two known extinct groups—Pincombeomorpha and Naibiomorpha variously placed in classifications and relationships hypotheses. Most of the recent Sternorrhyncha groups radiated rapidly during the Cretaceous. Here we report the new finding of very specialised sternorrhynchans found as inclusions in mid-Cretaceous amber from Kachin state (northern Myanmar), which represent another extinct lineage within this hemipteran suborder. These fossils, proposed to be placed in a new infraorder, are revealed to be related to whiteflies and psyllids. We present, also for the first time, the results of phylogenetic analyses covering extinct and extant lineages of the Sternorrhyncha

Morphological reassessment of the movable calcar of delphacid planthoppers (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha: Delphacidae)

This study presents the morphology of calcar in adult Delphacidae based on representatives of the genera Ugyops Guérin-Meneville, 1834, Notuchus Fennah, 1969 (Ugyopini), Asiraca Latreille, 1798 (Asiracini), Kelisia Fieber, 1866, (Kelisini), Stenocranus Fieber, 1866 (Stenocranini), Chloriona Fieber, 1866, Megadelphax Wagner, 1963, Muellerianella Wagner, 1963, Javesella Fennah, 1963, Conomelus Fieber, 1866, Euconomelus Haupt, 1929, Hyledelphax Vilbaste, 1968, Stiroma Fieber, 1866, Struebingianella Wagner, 1963 and Xanthodelphax Wagner, 1963 (Delphacini). We used SEM electron microscopy, to define seven types of calcar structure (Types 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9) based on combinations of characters including shape, number of teeth and differentiation of sensory structures in species from fifteen genera. Additionally, two other types (Types 3 and 4) were determined based on the calcar descriptions from previous studies. Similarities and differences in calcar structure and function were discussed and emerging relationships between planthopper species and their particular habitats were indicated