Insects - Southern Africa (identified for the 1st time on iNat or difficult to identify)'s 일지

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Viewing in PDF format is recommended and includes a list of species, synonyms, and distribution data for all African species

Meenoplidae is a small and scarcely encountered family of old world planthoppers. Over one hundred species have been described worldwide, with at least 50 described species in 5 genera from continental Africa. Adult Meenoplids are small insects which generally hold their wings vertically over their bodies and with one or both of the claval veins heavily granulated.

Anigrus (photo by Felix Riegel CC-BY-NC).

Bibliography

Fennah R. G. 1958 Fulgoroidea from West Africa. Bulletin de l'Institut Français Afrique Noire. (Ser. A) 20: 460-538.

Linnavuori R. E. 1973 Hemiptera of the Sudan, with remarks on some species of the adjacent countries. 2. Homoptera Auchenorrhyncha: Cicadidae, Cercopidae, Machaerotidae, Membracidae and Fulgoroidea. (Zoological contribution from the Finnish expeditions to the Sudan No. 33). Notulae Entomologicae 53(3): 65-137.
https://helda.helsinki.fi/items/495ebf1e-37aa-43dd-afd0-8a0fe0d0a29b

Metcalf Z. P. 1945 Part 6. Meenoplidae. In: Metcalf Z. P. 1954 General Catalogue of the Homoptera. Fascicule IV, North Carolina State College, Raleigh (United States of America). p. 219-238.
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/49407429#page/225/mode/1up

Synave, H. 1957a Les Meenoplidae de Madagascar (Hemiptera-Homoptera). Naturaliste Malgache Tananarive 9: 141-145.
http://madadoc.irenala.edu.mg/documents/8904_les%20meenoplidae.pdf

Synave H. 1957b1. Meenoplidae (Homoptera, Fulgoroidea). Exploration du Parc National Albert. Mission G. F. de Witte (1933-35) 90(2): 7-30. http://www.apncb.be/archives/publications/exploration-national-park-albert/exploration-national-park-albert-first-series/mission-g.-f.-de-witte-1933-1935/1957-fascicule-90-issidae-meenoplidae-membracidae

Synave H. 1957c 2 Meenoplidae. Exploration du Parc National Upemba. Mission G. F. de Witte (1946-49) 43: 79-81. http://www.apncb.be/archives/publications/exploration-parc-national-de-lupemba/mission-g-f-de-witte/1957-fascicule-43-issidae-homoptera-fulgoroidea-meenoplidae-homoptera/fascicule43-synave-1957meenoplidae-cercopidae79-135.pdf

Synave H. 1961 Meenoplidae (Homoptera Fulgoroidea). Exploration du Parc National de la Garamba. Mission H. de Saeger (1949-1952) 20: 1-37. www.apncb.be/archives/publications/exploration-parc-national-de-la-garamba/mission-h-de-saeger-1954-1968/1961-fascicule-20-meenoplidae-fulgoridae-sphecidae.

Synave H. 1969 - Some African Fulgoroidea in the United States National Museum. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 71, 174-190. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/55015#page/192/mode/1up

Synave H. 1971 Contribution à la connaissance des Fulgorides du Nigeria (Homoptera) (recoltes J. T. Medler). Bulletin de l'Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique 47: 1-34.

Synave H. 1972 Liste du materiel typique conservé dans les collections entomologiques de I'Institut royal des Sciences naturelles de Belgique. Homoptera 4-10 Meenoplidae, Kinnaridae, Dictyopharidae, Fulgoridae, Achilidae, Tropiduchidae et Nogodinidae. Bulletin de l'Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique 48: 1-28
https://biblio.naturalsciences.be/rbins-publications/bulletins-de-linstitut-royal-des-sciences-naturelles-de-belgique-entomologie/48-1972

Van Stalle J. 1982 Scientific results of the Belgian Mount-Cameroon expedition (February-April 1981). III. Fam. Cixiidae, Derbidae, Meenoplidae, Dictyopharidae, Achilidae, Lophopidae and Tettigometridae (Homoptera Fulgoroidea). Bulletin du Musée Royal d'Histoire Naturelle de Belgique. Bruxelles 54(6): 1-18.
https://biblio.naturalsciences.be/rbins-publications/bulletins-de-linstitut-royal-des-sciences-naturelles-de-belgique-entomologie/54-1982-1/

Wilson M. R. 1988 Afronisia, a new african genus of meenoplidae (Homoptera: Fulgoroidea). Great Basin Naturalist 324-334. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/7909160#page/339/mode/1up

Photo credits

Felix Riegel
https://www.inaturalist.org/people/felix_riegel

Johan Heyns
https://www.inaturalist.org/people/johanheyns

The genus Paragonocnemis s. str. contains reddish-brownish species, all African, close to Gonocnemis and Paragonocnemis (Microgonocnemis), but which differ at least by the presence of transverse carinae on the pronotum. Only 3 species are known to occur in Southern Africa, these are figured in Schwaller 2014: P. angolensis, P. rufus, P. seydeli.
Diagnosis: Anterior femora in both sexes with distinct tooth. Pronotal disc with pattern of distinct, transverse and longitudinal keels.

Key to species of Paragonocnemis s. str in:

Ardoin, P. 1964. Essai de révision des Amarygmini africain (Huitième partie). Bulletin de l’Institut Fondamental d’Afrique Noire (Dakar), sér. A., n° 2, - 26: 809-811. (not available online)

Paragonocnemis s. str. seydeli ARDOIN, 1964
Original description of Paragonocnemis (Paragonocnemis) seydeli in:
ARDOIN, P. 1964d: Essai de révision des Amarygmini africain (Huitième partie). Bulletin de
l’Institut Fondamental d’Afrique Noire (Dakar), sér. A., n° 2, - 26: 824-826.

The similar species P. rufus has a different elytral pattern with more and thinner costae.

Distribution: Congo (Katanga); Kenya; Zambia; Zimbabwe; Botswana; Angola; South Africa (Limpopo; Natal).

Biology: Probably associated with fungi in abandoned termite nests, but beetles leave the nests and are attracted to light.

Illustration (fig. 29) and distribution records in:
Schwaller, W. 2014. Gonocnemis Thomson and related genera (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Amarygmini) in Southern Africa. Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde A, Neue Serie 7: 219–234.
https://www.zobodat.at/pdf/Stuttgarter-Beitraege-Naturkunde_NS_7_A_0219-0234.pdf

iNat observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/159599216

Original description in:
Pic, M. M. 1928. Nouveaux Coléoptères exotiques. Bulletin du Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, vol 34, issue 4, pages 257-258.
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/52050602#page/276/mode/1up
Translated from Latin & French:
Long, almost opaque, pubescent gray, reddish-brown, antennae in the middle and at the tip dark, the last article pyriform, paler at the tip.
Oblong, almost opaque, pubescent gray, rufous; antennae piceous, with red base and last article lighter at the top. Eyes close together. Antennae quite long, not very thick, with partly obconical articles, last article pyriform, acuminate and lighter at the apex. Prothorax quite short and not very broad, anteriorly and posteriorly a little narrowed, slightly angulate towards the middle, roughly punctuated, above decorated with 3 carinae and 4 wide impressions. Elytra wider than the prothorax, a little elongated, attenuated at the end, widely furrowed and marked with mediocre subsquare points, intervals elevated in slightly protruding costae, especially the presutural ones. Legs robust.
Length: 8mm

Distribution: Ethiopia, Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Yemen, Angola, Malawi, Botswana,
Mozambique, South Africa.

Biology: Probably associated with fungi in abandoned termite nests. The dead termitaria of harvester termites (Macrotermes) with their decaying fungus gardens represent an important biotope for an entire specialized fauna to have evolved to exploit it. Tenebrionidae are the principal components of the fauna and include also a great diversity of specialized Amarygmini such as Gonocnemis and Paragonocnemis.

Illustration and distribution records in:
Schwaller, W. 2014. Gonocnemis Thomson and related genera (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Amarygmini) in Southern Africa. Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde A, Neue Serie 7: 219–234.
https://www.zobodat.at/pdf/Stuttgarter-Beitraege-Naturkunde_NS_7_A_0219-0234.pdf

iNat observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/57472319
.

This is probably the only bronze coloured Nataloplonyx recorded from KZN.

Original description in:
Péringuey, L. 1904. Sixth contribution to the South African coleopterous fauna. Description of new species of Coleoptera in the collection of the South African Museum. Annals of the South African Museum, 3 (6): 167-300.
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/1510606#page/295/mode/1up

Dark bronze, with the elytra brighter than the prothorax; antennae piceous; head deeply and somewhat roughly punctate especially on the vertex between the eyes which are divided by a space equal to one-third of their width, antennal crests strong, almost longitudinal; prothorax parallel, but obliquely narrowed near the apical angle, slightly impressed on each side of the base which is not grooved, covered with deep, closely set punctures, which are round on the sides but plainly elongated on the greatest part of the disk and divided there by smooth intervals; scutellum sub-cordate and having a few punctures; elytra only slightly wider at the base than the base of the prothorax, and with the shoulders rounded, nearly straight for one-third of the length, ampliated thence to two-thirds of the length, and from there acuminate towards the apex, deeply punctate-striate with the intervals plane and also deeply punctate, but the punctures are much smaller than those on the striae; legs finely punctate.
In this species the elytra are more ampliated laterally past the median part, and are therefore less parallel than in the other South African species.
Length 9.4 mm.; width 4 mm.

Type locality: Natal

Distribution: South Africa (Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal), Mozambique

iNat observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/141375624

Obedas proboscideus is a small, unusual planthopper with coriaceous wings and a uniquely shaped head. The genus was originally described from East Africa; observations of this species near Pretoria either represent a range expansion or a second, undescribed member of the genus. It appears to be very rare.

Obedas is closely related to the genera Durium and  Bananellodes. All three of these genera have the tegmina coriaceous with 4 main longitudinal veins and minimal crossveins, and with the claval suture present; Obedas can be distinguished by the form of the head in combination with the fourth vein bifurcating before the apex of the clavus.

Original description: Jacobi A. 1910 - 12 Hemiptera. 7 Homoptera. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der schwedischen Zoologischen Expedition nach dem Kilimandjaro, dem Meru und den umgebenden Massaissteppen Deutsch-Ostafrikas 1905-1906. Schwedische Akademie der Wissenschaften 1910: 97-136.
https://flow.hemiptera-databases.org/flow/?page=explorer&db=flow&lang=en&card=publication&id=793

Original description of genus and species translated from German:
Body compressed dorsoventrally. Head long, wedge-shaped, edges of vertex raised, cutting; frons with three continuous keels, clypeus at the base with weak lateral carinae. Pronotum posteriorly cut out at a flat angle, with strip-shaped lateral carinae, separated from the shoulder lobes by two weak carinae. Mesonotum with three distinct carinae. Front and middle legs slightly widened, hind legs with three spines. Tegmina leathery, the apical part shortened, with simple, strongly raised longitudinal veins and clear clavus suture. Wings semi-vestigial, narrow, without anal lobes.

Light brown. The upper side is washed out with brown spots, the underside, especially the legs, is speckled with black and brown. Veins of the tegmina spotted black in places, often one to three irregular dark transverse bands. Wings hyaline. Vertex 2.5 times as long as wide between the edges, equal to the tip moderately narrowed, the surface very deepened; in profile the head is gently curved; frons and clypeus significantly wider than at the upturned base with a flat surface: eyes shortened at the back; Ocelli missing; clypeus with sharp central carina, labrum humped. Pronotum elliptical in the middle, elongated, depressed next to the central carina. Lateral carinae of the mesonotum are united at the very front, the surface enclosed by them is almost flat. Tegmina slightly arched, almost the same width, the costal edge slightly indented in the middle, the stalk of the clavus veins extends to the tip of the clavus. Total length 5-6 mm. Kilimandjaro: Kibonoto, cultural zone; Meru, rainforest, 3,000 m., Sept., Nov., Jan.

Supplementary description and key in Synave H. 1957 - Issidae (Homoptera-Fulgoroidea). Exploration du Parc National Upemba. Mission G. F. de Witte (1946-49) 43: 1-78.
https://cd.chm-cbd.net/archives_rdc/archives/publications/exploration-parc-national-de-lupemba/mission-g-f-de-witte/1957-fascicule-43-issidae-homoptera-fulgoroidea-meenoplidae-homoptera/fascicule43-synave-1957_complet.pdf

Observations on iNaturalist:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=any&taxon_id=1464539

Head dark red, frons dark red-brown. Thorax and scutellum metallic steel blue, densely rough chagrinized all over, shiny and above with a few tomented brown lines. Abdomen shiny aeneous, pilosity yellowish white shimmering. Legs shiny pitch black. Wings brown with milky white spots.

Original description & illustration of wing in:
Hendel, G. F. 1914. Die Arten der Platystominen. (Mit 4 Tafeln). Abhandlungen des Kaiserlich- und Königlichen Zoologisch-Botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien – 8_1: 1 - 410, page 374 https://www.zobodat.at/pdf/AZBG_8_1_0001-0410.pdf

Type locality: Malawi

This species is also illustrated in MAD3
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/13-Photographs-of-living-Afrotropical-Platystomatidae-8-Peltacanthina-P-mythodes_fig3_356493903

iNat observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/198877878

Diagnosis: Lateral margin of pronotum indistinct, at most indicated by a faint, impressed line; elytra white, with low, flattened tubercles.

Original description in:
Haag-Rutenberg, G.J. 1875. Beiträge zur näheren Kenntniss einiger Gruppen aus der Familie der Tenebrioniden. Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift 19(7): 1-56
https://www.digitale-sammlungen.de/view/bsb11323431?page=485

Elongated, black, shiny. Elytra yellow or yellow-white. Head and thorax shiny, unpunctuated. Elytra elongate, depressed above, serially tuberculate. Legs elongated, with long spines and claws, black-brown.

Illustrated in:
Lamb T, Marais E, Bond JE (2017) A second locality for the Namib darkling beetle Onymacris brainei (Tenebrionidae, Coleoptera) and first report on its molecular phylogenetic placement. ZooKeys 687: 63-72. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.687.13660
https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/13660/zoom/fig/11/

Distribution in Namibia: South of the Kunene River, along the coast.
(Key to Onymacris spp and distribution maps in: Penrith, ML. 1984. New taxa of Onymacris Allard, and relationships within the genus (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). https://journals.co.za/doi/pdf/10.10520/AJA00411752_156)

iNat observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/196506278

Condylostylus is a mostly tropical genus found in the Americas, Africa, and the Oriental Region. The group is most diverse in the Neotropics, but there are many species found in the Afrotropical Region, with most in South Africa or Madagascar, sometimes both. The C. pateraeformis group is easily recognizable with practice and is the most common Condylostylus (and Sciapodinae) found in South Africa.

The C. pateraeformis group is diagnosed in males by the modified wing venation and markings. Vein M1+2 is rather sinuate, bending into cell dm, and the forked vein M1 is almost straight as it goes towards the wing apex, only bending slightly (Fig. 1E, Grichanov 2020). Additionally, males of this species group have long cerci (Fig. 1F) and often have flattened fore tarsi or tibiae (Fig. 1D).

Most of the species require genitalia to confirm, but C. pateraeformis s. str. is easy to diagnose by the strong bend in M1+2 before the fork (compare Fig. 1E to Fig. 2).

iNaturalist observations: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?taxon_id=1526471

Key to species in: Grichanov, Igor Ya. (2020): New species of Condylostylus Bigot (Diptera: Dolichopodidae) from Comoros Madagascar, Tanzania and South Africa, with key to Afrotropical species. Zootaxa 4830 (1): 62-74, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4830.1.2

Additional details in: Grichanov, I.Y. (1998). New data on Sciapodinae (Diptera: Dolichopodidae) with a revised catalogue and keys to Afrotropical species of the subfamily. Bullein de l'Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Beligque (Entomologie) 68: 79-130.

Fig. 1:

Condylostylus gavryushini

Fig. 2:

Condylostylus pateraeformis

Numicia is a large genus of Tropiduchid planthoppers, which can often be easily recognized in Africa by the row of transverse veins in the costal cell of the forewing, with the apical cells distinctly larger than than the costal cells, and with the head relatively long, often longer than wide and produced beyond the eyes a moderate amount. Many species have hyaline wings with a well defined dark maculation pattern.

Numicia viridis is one of the two most commonly encountered Numicia in South Africa, the other being Numicia insignis. It differs from that species in that it is usually uniformly green with hyaline wings with no markings, and with a shorter, more broadly rounded head. However, rarely Numicia viridis does develop maculated forewings, which may be faint or very bold and take the same pattern as in Numicia insignis. In these cases the most reliable way to differentiate species is the shape of the head (comparison here; left: viridis, right: insignis). The well-marked variants (var infuscata) further differ from insignis in the general bright green body color, broader wings, and usually a dark spot in the middle of the medial vein.

Original description in:
Muir F. A. G. 1931 - New and little-know Fulgoroidea in the British Museum (Homoptera). Annals and Magazine of Natural History. London. (Ser. 10) 7: 297-314.
https://sites.udel.edu/planthoppers/files/2018/09/Muir-F-A-G-1931a-new-in-British-Museum.pdf

Vertex short, the width at base nearly double the length in the middle, the middle of the base being nearly in line with the anterior margin of the eyes; lateral carinæ fairly elevated towards the base; in outline gradually narrowing from base to the rounded apex, which is slightly narrower than base (1 to 1.3). Light green, which becomes light stramineous in some dead specimens. In one specimen there is a faint infuscation in the first and second M apical cells. Female.-Length 4.8 mm.; tegmen 6 mm. Except in size, the female is similar to the male. Hab. Natal, Weenen (H. P. Thomasset, iii., iv. 1924); Pondoland, Port St. John (R. E. Turner, iv., v. 1923), including type. Three males and eight females.

Var. infuscata, nov: There, are four male specimens from Weenen (H. P. Thomasset, iv. 1924, including type, and iii. 1925), which have the same markings as N. insignis on the tegmina, but fainter, the specimen caught in March 1925 being faintest. As the structure of the male genitalia is similar, İ consider that they are the same species. The specimens without markings are described as typical, as both sexes are represented

Observations on iNat:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?taxon_id=1529384

Illustrations in:
Carnegie, A. J. M. 1973. Bionomics and control of the sugarcane insect Numicia viridis Muir (Homoptera: Tropiduchidae). PHD thesis University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg [UKZN]
Download link: https://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za/server/api/core/bitstreams/8dc88902-fda3-49c5-a524-652b4e519e47/content

Distribution: All records (as of 1973) from institutional collections are from KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and eSwatini.

(This journal article has benefited enormously from contributions made by @psyllidhipster - thank you very much!)

Head process short, slender and upturned. Wings hyaline with variable brown pattern at the apex (either a large brown spot from Sc+R to the apex, passing through the stigma and filling the external apical angle of the elytron; or the cross veins infuscated with dark brown, the spots strongly confluent, forming a dark band on the posterior edge, with light marginal spots in the apical cells). Total length: 8.5mm.

Original description & illustrations in:
Guérin-Méneville F. E. 1849. Famille des Cicadaires in Partie entomologiques. In: Lefebvre A. 1849. Voyage en Abyssinie exécuté pendant les années 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842 et 1843, 6. p. 243-398.
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/78978#page/108/mode/1up
Fig. 8: https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/181821#page/73/mode/1up

Illustration of wing in:
Synave, H. 1965. Dictyopharidae (Homoptera Fulgoroidea).Exploration of Garamba National Park, Mission H. de Saeger (1954-1968):
https://cd.chm-cbd.net/archives_rdc/archives/publications/exploration-parc-national-de-la-garamba/mission-h-de-saeger-1954-1968/1965-fascicule-47-dictyopharidae-homoptera-fulgoroidea/fasc47-synave1965_complet.pdf

First description translated from Latin & French:
Pale brown, with slender beak, short, thorax bi-carinulate, elytra hyaline, apex areolate, brownish, especially on the anterior margin.

Pale yellowish brown: cephalic protuberance slender, not very elongated, a little compressed on the sides, above hollowed out like a gutter; below yellow. Thorax marked with three small keels, the median one more prominent on the prothorax. Elytra much longer than the abdomen, transparent, with the apex slightly reticulated and infuscated with brown on the anterior edge. Legs slender, hind tibiae armed with 5 teeth, the last one very strong.

Description by Stål (Pseudophana caffra) in:
Stål C. 1855. Hemiptera fran Kafferlandet. Ofversigt af Kongliga Svenska Vetenskaps-Akademiens Förhandlingar. Stockholm 12.
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/15969839#page/103/mode/1up

Redescriptions in:
Stål, C. 1866. Hemiptera Africana, vol 4.
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/35350#page/371/mode/1up

Description in:
Melichar, L. 1912. Monographie der Dictyophorinen (Homoptera). Abhandlungen der K. K. Zool.-Botan. Gesellschaft in Wien. Vol 7.
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/5566456#page/145/mode/1up

Photo of specimen in the AMNH:
https://research.amnh.org/pbi/specimen/specimen/image_folder0000024/AMNH_IZC%2000300394.jpg

Distribution: South Africa, Namibia, Tanzania, Nigeria and Ethiopia.

iNat observation:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/197044713

(This journal article has benefited enormously from contributions made by @psyllidhipster - thank you very much!)