Resolving an 87-year-old taxonomical curiosity with the description of Psylla frodobagginsi sp. nov. (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Psyllidae), a second distinct Psylla species on the New Zealand endemic plant kōwhai

Abstract

A recent DNA-based assessment of the psyllid fauna of New Zealand recorded high genetic variation between populations that were expected to belong to the same psyllid species. Among these, a number of populations of the kōwhai psyllid Psylla apicalis (Ferris & Klyver, 1932), from a kōwhai species, Sophora microphylla Aiton (Fabaceae), presented high genetic variability. This gave new endorsement of an 87-year-old observation made by the entomologists Ferris and Klyver who, when describing the kōwhai psyllid, from Sophora tetraptera J.S. Muell., suggested that morphological variations could support more than one species. Accordingly, the morphological assessment conducted here, together with the genetic information now available, resulted in the description of Psylla frodobagginsi sp. nov. as a second New Zealand endemic psyllid species hosted by S. microphylla.

Insect phylogeny structures the bacterial communities in the microbiome of psyllids (Hemiptera: Psylloidea) in Aotearoa New Zealand

“…However, since closely related psyllids species also feed on closely related plants, establishing a causative link between specific bacteria and the insects’ ability to feed on certain plants can be challenging [ 35 ]. The psyllid fauna of Aotearoa New Zealand, home to more than 120 psyllid species—of which only 74 are fully described [ 36 – 38 ]—provides a unique case study to test these insect-bacteria-plant relationships. These species belong to 24 genera and six families, with the majority of endemic species falling within the genera Powellia [ 39 ], Ctenarytaina and Psylla [ 36 ].…”

Illuminating Insights into the Biodiversity of the Australian Psyllids (Hemiptera: Psylloidea) Collected Using Light Trapping

“…It also includes species of conservation significance, such as those co-threatened on threatened host plants, such as Acizzia hughesae Taylor and Moir, A. mccarthyi Taylor and Moir and Trioza barrettae Taylor and Moir [9,10]. For these reasons, only in the last decade have psyllid studies spanned from biodiversity assessments and regional checklists [11][12][13], to phylogenetic studies [14,15], to new taxonomic species descriptions [16][17][18][19][20], research on insect host-plant interactions [21] and to molecular and genomic analyses focusing on psyllids-bacteria interactions [22,23].…”