On the female of Gypona reversa DeLong & Martinson, 1972, with emphasis on genital structures (Insecta: Hemiptera: Cicadellidae)

Abstract Gypona reversa DeLong & Martinson, 1972 has its ovipositor described and illustrated based on the examination of specimens from its type locality. This is the first species of Gypona Germar, 1821 to have the female genitalia detailed description published.


Introduction
The Pan-American genus Gypona Germar, 1821 (Cicadellidae: Iassinae: Gyponini) includes about 200 described species (DeLong 1980). Most of the species are only described based on the male, and when the female is known there is only reference to the sternite VII as the genital structures (Coelho et al. 2001, Azevedo-Filho andCarvalho 2003). Gypona ( G.) reversa DeLong & Martinson, 1972 was described based on male holotype (from Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brasil) and paratype (from Jalapa, Mexico) (Coelho et al. 2001). Coelho et al. (2001) redescribed the male and described for the first time the female based on specimens from Viçosa. As for the female genitalia, only the sternite VII was described. In view of recent studies that emphasize the importance of female genital structures in Cicadellidae (e.g., Rodriguez and Mejdalani 2009, Mejdalani and Silva 2010, Mejdalani and Cavichioli 2013, Domahovski et al. 2014, we herein give a detailed redescription of the female of G. reversa.

Materials and methods
The descriptive terminology adopted herein follows mainly Young (1977), except for the female terminalia (Balduf 1934, Blocker andTriplehorn 1985). For morphological study of the genitalia, abdomen was removed and soaked it in a warm solution of 10% KOH, rinsed in water and stored in glycerin (modified from Oman 1949). Photographs were taken with a digital camera EC3 attached to a stereomicroscope Leica S8AP0, and a camera DMC 2900 attached to a microscope Leica DM4000 B LED, using the image stacking software CombineZP (www.hadleyweb.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk). Terminalia were stored in a small vial with glycerin pinned below the specimen.
The specimen was collected in a fragment of Atlantic Forest inserted on the Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV) campus. UFV is located in Viçosa municipality, "Zona da Mata" of Minas Gerais State, southeastern Brazil (Rocha et al. 2007) and has an area of 1,359 hectares (Brianezi et al. 2013). The climate is Cwa (Köppen), mesothermal with hot rainy summers, cool dry winters, average annual temperature 21.8°C, and average annual rainfall 1314.2 mm (Castro et al. 1983, Brianezi et al. 2013

Redescription of female
Length 7.8 mm. General color green with black and brown spots on pronotum and wings (Figs 1, 2a). Crown transversely striated, anterior margin rounded; transocular width 4.5 times median length, inter-ocular width 3.0 times median length; eyes brown, ocelli red; transocular width about 0.9 times pronotum maximum width (Fig. 2a). Face greenish-yellow, clypeus length about 1.5 times width, apical margin slightly indented medially (Fig. 2b). Pronotum transversely striated, black spot behind each eye; maximum width about twice median length. Scutellum transversely striated (Fig. 2a). Forewings translucent, apical region smoky, black spot at the insertion point; brown spot at the apex of each claval vein, inner discal cell with two brown spots, one basal and other apical; irregular brown band from clavus apex to median portion of fifth apical cell; about 3.3 times longer than wide; appendix brown, vestigial.
Sternite VII (Fig. 3a, c) 2.4 times longer than preceding segment; median area, anterolateral angles and posterior margin, brown; lateral margin 1.2 times median length, margin convex, posterolateral corners rounded; posterior margin slightly elevated, median third with two "teeth" separated by shallow concavity, lateral third slightly concave (Coelho et al. 2001); maximum width about 2.4 median length.

Diagnosis
General color green with black and brown spots on pronotum and wings (Figs 1, 2a). Sternite VII (Fig. 3c) with lateral margin convex, posterolateral corners rounded; posterior margin slightly elevated, median third with two "teeth" separated by shallow concavity, lateral third slightly concave. Ovipositor, in ventral view, with a median lateral undulation (Fig. 3a, b), which represents the lateral undulation of valvulae II. Valvula I (Fig. 4) with apex acute, distinctly narrowed at tip; dorsal sculptured area finely strigate, subapical margin with longitudinal striae; ventral fold undeveloped. Valvula II (Figs 6, 7a) with broadest point on apical half; dorsoapical margin truncate finely serrated; median-dorsal margin distinctly granular. Valvula III (Figs 8,9) with ventral half with a b c d

Biology
Specimens were collected in a grove of Atlantic forest, feeding on Wedelia paludosa DC (Compositae).

Discussion
This is the first published description of the ovipositor valvulae of any Gypona species. Hill (1970), in his unpublished thesis, illustrated the valvula II of Gypona verticalis Stål, 1864, which is quite shorter than in G. reversa (Fig. 6a). Noronha (2000), in her unpublished monograph, briefly described the female genitalia of G. hiata DeLong and Freytag, 1967. Compared with G. hiata, the sternite VII of G. reversa has a more convex lateral margin, and posterior margin with two "teeth" separated by shallow concavity (Fig. 3a, c); pygofer is longer (Fig. 3a, d); ventral fold of valvula I is vestigial (Figs 4, 5b); apical third of valvula II is broader, and dorsally serrated, not bearing tooth (Fig. 6c, d); apical third of valvula III is broader (Fig. 8).
According to Engel and Takiya (2012), diagnostic characteristics in the female genitalia often used in other leafhopper groups were found to vary intraspecifically within genus Clinonana Osborn, 1988. Nevertheless, the authors believe that researchers should always make an effort to describe the female genitalia in as much detail as possible, so hopefully in the future it might become a source of useful taxonomic characteristics.