In order to document the Membracidae of an area of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest in Paraíba, four collection methods were employed, distributed in 100 sample units during ten days in November 2014. A total of 1,182 membracids of 27 species were collected. The assemblages were marked with a high dominance, since six species accounted for 80.63% of the total number of individuals captured. Species with more than ten individuals were associated with the three environments of the forest: canopy, understory, and edge. The importance of the four sampling methods in the final membracid composition was evaluated through the Jaccard similarity index and its complement, where the values of complementarity were superior to the values of similarity, suggesting the dissimilarity of assemblages inventoried by each method. The observed richness corresponds to 90.0% and 79.4% of the richness estimated by Chao1 and Chao2. The richness estimated by Chao1 is within the upper limit of the confidence interval (95%) in the last plot of the species accumulation curve, while the richness estimated by Chao2 is above this limit. The additional sampling effort needed to collect 95% of the estimated richness is 969 individuals for Chao1 and 317 sample units for Chao2.
In this paper, two remarkable new species of Notocera Amyot & Serville from the Brazilian Caatinga are described: N. colavitei Creão-Duarte and Róthea sp. nov. and N. sakakibarai Creão-Duarte and Lourenço sp. nov. Illustrations are presented for adult habitus and taxonomically relevant characters, which are briefly discussed. In celebration of Dr. Sakaki-bara’s oustanding career, photographs of the holotype of N. camelina Sakakibara, 1977 are provided, along with reproductions of his outstanding artwork featured in the original description of this species.
Abstract: Membracidae are phytophagous insects that present different types of behavior, requiring a specific protocol for fast and efficient collection. This article evaluates the best methods for sampling these insects in Atlantic Forest areas. The protocol was applied in four areas of the Atlantic Forest in Paraíba state, Brazil, and involved a team of four people at a cost of US$180 per area. Each area contained 100 sampling units subdivided into 30 yellow sticky cards in the canopy and 30 yellow sticky cards in the lower stratum, 30 active collections and 10 light traps. In total, 2,678 specimens belonging to 91 species were sampled. The highest abundance and richness values were obtained using active collection (N = 1,517; S = 42) and cards in the canopy (N = 345; S = 53). All methods exhibited high complementarity, with more than half of the species (S = 50; 54.35%) recorded exclusively by only one of the methods applied. Similarity analysis revealed that active collection differs significantly from all other methods (R = 0.10, p = 0.0001) and that the sticky cards in the canopy differ from the collection in the lower stratum (p = 0.0001), whereas the other method pairs did not exhibit significant differences. In all areas, the active collection, the sticky cards in the canopy and the lower stratum had the best sample sufficiency, with at least 60% of the estimated values. To inventory Membracidae specimens in areas of the Atlantic Forest, a protocol that combines different collection methods is required, which in principle requires more time and expense. However, it is worth noting that it is possible to adjust this protocol according to the researcher’s need. For a faster survey that includes the largest number of species, we suggest a combination of active collection and a light trap.
A new species of treehopper is described and illustrated: Lycoderes albinoi sp. nov. (from Una, Bahia, Brazil). A previously published key to Lycoderes species is modified to include this new species. The female of Lycoderides capixaba Sakakibara, 2013 is also described for the first time.
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