David Ouvrard

Psyllid Host-Plants (Hemiptera: Psylloidea): Resolving a Semantic Problem

Abstract Evolutionary and biological patterns can be obscured by inadequate or ill-defined terminology. An example is the generally very specific relationship between the sap-feeding hemipteran group, psyllids, and their breeding plants, commonly called host-plants. The literature is clogged with references to so called ‘hosts’, which are often merely plants on which psyllids were found accidentally, and no immature development was detected. Recently the term host has also been applied by some authors to any plant on which immature or adults feed. Here we propose a terminology to clarify associated plant definitions, and we suggest restricting the use of the term host-plant to plants on which a psyllid species completes its immature to adult life cycle. For the other plant associations we suggest the terms overwintering or shelter plant (plants on which adult psyllids overwinter and on which they may feed), food plant (plants on which adult psyllids feed, but do not breed and do not spend an extended period of time) and casual plant (plants on which adult psyllids land but do not feed).

Non-jumping plant-lice in Cretaceous amber (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Psylloidea)

Abstract. Liadopsylla apedetica sp.n. Ouvrard, Burckhardt & Azar and L. hesperiasp.n. Ouvrard & Burckhardt are described from Lebanon and New Jersey amber, respectively, constituting the first descriptions of Psylloidea preserved in Cretaceous amber. Liadopsylla hesperia is the first representative of Liadopsyllidae found in the New World. Liadopsylla apedetica is remarkably well preserved, showing conical, mobile metacoxae. This suggests that Liadopsyllidae did not jump the way extant psyllids do. It is proposed that enlarged metacoxae fused with the complex metathoracic furcae constitute a synapomorphy of extant Psylloidea. This trait was first observed in fossils from the Eocene. As such, the inability to jump in a few extant members of Psylloidea is a secondary loss that probably occurred several times independently. The families Liadopsyllidae and Malmopsyllidae are also redefined; within Liadopsyllidae, the genus Mesopsylla is synonymized with Liadopsylla. The origin and palaeobiogeography of the Liadopsyllidae are briefly discussed.

Evolutionary patterns in biogeography and host plant association: ‘taxonomic conservatism’ in Lophopidae (Hemiptera, Fulgoromorpha)

Abstract The association between the Lophopidae (Hemiptera, Fulgoromorpha) and their host plants was studied within a phylogenetic framework. Host plant use was optimized on Lophopidae phylogeny and the most parsimonious hypothesis is presented. This hypothesis describes the evolution of host plant use by the Lophopidae, and postulates the ancestral plant family used. This scenario is discussed within the biogeographical evolutionary context of the fulgoromorphan families, and is corroborated by information from both insect and host plant fossils. The association of the Lophopidae and their host plants is made by comparing the angiosperms and Lophopidae phylogenies, demonstrating at this level of comparison that the insects show ‘taxonomic conservatism’ for their host plants.

The taxonomy, biogeography and host plant relationships of jumping plant-lice (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) associated with creosote bushes (Larrea spp., Zygophyllaceae)

Abstract The Neotropical genus Panisopelma (Psyllidae: Aphalaroidinae) is revised and its internal phylogeny analysed. The constituent species, including five new ones, are described and illustrated. Keys are provided for the adults and the last instar larvae. Eight species are associated with creosote bushes (Larrea, Zygophyllaceae): five with L. nitida and three with L. divaricata. There is evidence that another three species, the larvae of which are unknown, also develop on L. divaricata. Seven species are restricted to Argentina, one to Bolivia and three to Chile. The cladistic analysis based on male, female and larval morphological characters yielded a single most‐parsimonious tree. The species associated with L. nitida form a monophyletic clade, those on L. divaricata, by contrast, are paraphyletic. One clade with three species is restricted to Argentina, but three clades each contain a species from Argentina and Chile. Although a close association exists between Panisopelma and Larrea, there is no evidence for cospeciation, but rather an initial shift from an unknown host to L. divaricata and a second shift from L. divaricata to L. nitida. In three species pairs of Panisopelma, the distribution patterns suggest geographical vicariance between Argentina and Chile.

Afrotropical members of the jumping plant-louse genus Diclidophlebia (Hemiptera : Psylloidea)

African members of the pantropical genus Diclidophlebia Crawford (Paurocephalinae) are revised. Sixteen species are recognised including three known species, seven new species and six species that are not formally described owing to insufficient material. Adult and last larval instars are diagnosed and illustrated and keys are provided for identification. Five species are associated with Sterculiaceae (Malvales) and one each with Tiliaceae (Malvales), Irvingiaceae/Simaroubaceae (Rutales), Chrysobalanaceae (Rosales) and Euphorbiaceae (Euphorbiales). Host plants of other species are unknown. Possibly monophyletic groups include four species restricted to the Guineo-Congolian region and five species in the Sudano-Zambezian region. Additional keywords: Afrotropical, Chrysobalanaceae, commercial timber, Diclidophlebia, Euphorbiaceae, Hemiptera, host-plant relationships, Irvingiaceae, new taxa, pest species, Simaroubaceae, Sterculiaceae, Tiliaceae.

Annotated list of the species-group taxa described in combination with Chermes Linnaeus 1758 (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha)

ABSTRACT The genus-group name Chermes Linnaeus 1758 has been suppressed, but an accounting of the various nominal species described in combination with it has not been presented until now. Nominal species of Chermes are found in 13 families of three major lineages of Sternorrhyncha (Aphidomorpha, Coccoidea, Psylloidea). Eleven available names remain unplaceable (incertae sedis nomina dubia) and to date do not appear in the various Sternorrhyncha catalogues. In order to clarify their status, we here present an annotated list of the 137 nominal species-group names originally described in combination with Chermes. We provide the original bibliographic citation and an assessment of the current status of each name.

Resolving the psyllid tree of life: phylogenomic analyses of the superfamily Psylloidea (Hemiptera): Resolving the psyllid tree of life

Understanding evolutionary relationships in the superfamily Psylloidea is challenging due to the lack of clear morphological synapomorphies for many groups. Some families and many of the genera, including the two largest, Cacopsylla Ossiannilsson and Trioza Foerster, have long been acknowledged as nonmonophyletic and the circumscription of natural groups has remained fluid. We present the best phylogenetic hypothesis to date for Psylloidea and provide a working systematic framework to better reflect evolutionary relationships. A shotgun sequencing approach using mixed pool DNAs for more than 400 species resulted in recovery from de novo assemblies of near‐complete mitogenomes (≥10 kb) for 359 species, and partial genomes (5–10 kb) for an additional 40 species. The resulting phylogeny improves and clarifies the family classification and resolves some of the longstanding uncertainties in relationships within and between genera. A whole‐nuclear‐genome scan approach (yielding data from an estimated 373 nuclear genes) using the anchored hybrid enrichment method for a representative subset of taxa confirms the placement of major groupings and overall tree topology recovered with the mitochondrial data. The data generated represent a major increase in molecular resources for this superfamily. In addition, we highlight areas of remaining uncertainty that require further sampling and/or additional sources of data. The phylogeny provides new insights for both evolutionary and applied research, and a backbone constraint tree allows the placement of taxa of particular interest or concern (e.g. pest taxa) with only small fragments of sequence available (e.g. DNA barcodes).

Singing in the Namoroka Caves, First Record In Situ for a Cave Dwelling Insect: Typhlobrixia namorokensis (Hemiptera, Fulgoromorpha, Cixiidae)

This is the first substrate-borne communication record of the troglobitic planthopper Typhlobrixia namorokensis in the caves of the Ambovonomby network, Namoroka Tsingy, Madagascar. A supplementary morphological description of the male genitalia is provided and, for the first time, female genitalia of T. namorokensis are characterized. Molecular data were obtained for T. namorokensis; molecular analysis also reveals the presence of another (yet unidentified) cavernicolous cixiid in the Antsifotra caves network. The evolutionary origin of T. namorokensis is discussed. Its adaptation to caves and its behaviour allows its identification as a true troglobiont. Its vibrational signal structure is compared to the calls of other cave-dwelling cixiids.

An annotated checklist of the jumping plant-lice (Insecta: Hemiptera: Psylloidea) from the Mercantour National Park, with seven new records for France and one new synonymy.

ABSTRACT A total of 68 psyllid species are listed from the Mercantour National Park in Southeast France, where a targeted collecting campaign was conducted between 2009 and 2012, as part of the project “ATBI+M” Mercantour. The insects were collected using Malaise traps, flight intercept traps and sweep nets to sample in the vegetation. Additional information on distribution, biology and host-plants is provided for each species. Seven species are recorded for the first time from France: Craspedolepta artemisiae (Foerster, 1848), Craspedolepta nebulosa (Zetterstedt, 1828), Cacopsylla propinqua (Schaefer, 1949), Cyamophila prohaskai (Priesner, 1927), Eryngiofaga cf. refuga (Loginova, 1966), Bactericera parastriola Conci, Ossiannilsson & Tamanini, 1988 and Trioza flixiana Burckhardt & Lauterer, 2002. Trioza (Trioza) rapisardai Conci & Tamanini, 1984 is a new subjective synonym of Trioza brachyceraea Hodkinson & White, 1979, which was previously known only from the male holotype. The abundance, distribution and introduction status of some species are discussed.

Links between host-plant type and site of feeding as revealed by the evolution of Palaearctic Eriococcidae (Sternorrhyncha: Coccoidea)

Abstract This work is an assessment of the biogeographical, taxonomic, biological and phylogenetic knowledge of the poorly defined family Eriococcidae. The study of its geographical diversity shows the richness of the Palearctic fauna on which the present analysis focuses. The numerous systems dealing with the taxonomy of Eriococcidae are detailed, and the specific taxonomical status of the genus Eriococcus, which contains 155 out of the 175 known Palearctic species is reevaluated. The phylogeny of the palaearctic members of the scale insect family Eriococcidae is reconstructed, using 9 genera and 52 species. Three more scale insect species belonging to 3 families were used as outgroups. The cladistic analysis of 130 morphological characters of the adults resulted in 10 most parsimonious trees, placing Eriococcus buxi as the sister-group of all other sampled Eriococcidae. The genera Acanthococcus, Rhizococcus, Greenisca and Anophococcus appear as para- or polyphyletic, but the weakness of most of the clades does not allow to denounce strictly the monophyly of these genera. However, some clades are supported with high confidence, like (Kaweckia + Neokaweckia), (Anophococcus parvispinus(Anophococcus inermis+Greenisca placida) and (Gossyparia spuria+Acanthococcus aceris). Concerning host-plant relationships, the phylogeny supports an evolutionary scenario whereby the ancestor of the family Eriococcidae fed originally on woody plants, and more typically on leaves. The switch observed from Poaceae to other herbaceous plants is correlated to the switch from leaves as preferred site of nutrition to branches and stems. The supported scenario shows another switch, back from other herbs to Poaceae, associated to the choice of leaves as nutrition site.