Redescription of Pseudopheraheveli Kramer (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae) with the first description of the female

Abstract Pseudopheraheveli Kramer is redescribed from Monteverde, Costa Rica. The female is described for the first time. Fifteen images of the species are provided, including genitalia.


Introduction
Sharpshooters are members of the cosmopolitan Cicadellinae, the third largest leafhopper subfamily, with over 2,500 valid species among 357 genera. Sixty-three of these genera, and 468 species, belong to the New World tribe Proconiini (Young 1968;Marucci et al. 2002;Godoy 2005;Rakitov and Godoy 2005;McKamey 2007), which includes the genus Pseudophera Melichar.
Species of the genus Pseudophera are among the largest leafhoppers, ranging in length from 16 to 20.5 mm. Young (1968) revised the genus and listed six valid species, including one new species and a new synonym. He reported the distribution of the genus as Mexico (one species), Central America (four species), and one species each in Colombia, Ecuador, and Suriname. Subsequently, Kramer (1976) described P. heveli from Costa Rica, Nielson and Godoy (1995) described P. chelicerata and P. jimenezi from Costa Rica, and Emmrich (1999) described P. paraensis from Brazil and P. zelayaensis from Nicaragua, bringing the total number of species to eleven. As Young (1968) noted, Pseudophera is "distinguished by its large size and by its earlike, thick, rounded lobe on the epimeron of the metathorax" (Figs 2,5). McKamey (2007) listed all species in the genus and Wilson et al. (2009) provided habitus images of 10 of them (not P. zelayaensis), including a female of P. heveli in the California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California, also from Monteverde, Puntarenas Province, Costa Rica. The new specimens, all from the type locality, represent both genders but were collected three years apart.

Materials and methods
In providing distribution data, quotation marks separate labels and a vertical line separates lines on a label. All examined specimens are deposited in the United States National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC (USNM).
A Leica MZ12 stereomicroscope was used to examine structures. The body length was measured using a digital micrometer. A manual 5 mm micrometer was used to determine ratios between other, shorter distances.
The abdomen was detached, macerated in a warmed 10% KOH solution for 24 hours at room temperature, bathed in water, then acetic acid to stop the reaction. After dissection, structures were stored in a glass microvial containing glycerin and pinned beneath the specimen.
Images were taken with a Canon 5Dsr camera with an adjustable 65mm lens. Photos were taken using Capture One Pro version 10.1.2, 64 Bit, Build 10.1.2.23 imaging software, aided by CamLift version 2.9.7.1. The specimen was lit using two adjustable Dynalite MH2050 RoadMax flash heads, each attached to a Manfrotto 244 arm. The light was diffused using a simple, lampshade-style cone of translucent paper between the specimen and light sources. After individual "slices" were photographed, they were compiled into a single, composite image using Zerene Stacker -USDA SI-SEL Lab Bk imaging system, version 1.04, Build T201706041920. Stacked images were enhanced and edited in Adobe Photoshop CSS Extended version 12.0. The scale bar (in Fig. 1) was generated through Photoshop directly from the metadata of the photo. Kramer, 1976 Figs 1-13 Diagnosis. Pronotum with dorsal processes, short and directed dorsally.
Female terminalia. Sternite VII (Fig. 4) transverse, without median emargination of projections; internal sclerotized sternite VIII absent; valvula I ( Fig. 14) long, apex acute, lacking spines; valvula II (Figs 12-13) in lateral view serratiform, with 36 teeth, each tooth microserrate on its own dorsal margin; valvula III ( Fig. 15) long, broad, apex rounded, basally narrower than distally, lacking spines.  Notes. Three species described since Young's (1968) revision reveal that there is more variation in the shape of the posterior margin of the female sternum than indicated in his generic description. Young (1968) described the female sternum VII of Pseudophera as "broadly emarginate medially and with a slight convexity within the emargination," based on that of P. divergens (Schmidt) and presumably also his new species P. truncata, of which he had nine females to examine. Similarly, Emmrich's (1999) illustrations of the female sternum VII indicate that P. tibialis Schmidt, P. contraria (Walker), P. heterogena Schmidt, and P. paraensis also have the deep, broad emargination. In contrast, the females of P. heveli (Fig. 4), P. chelicerata and P. jimenezi have the posterior margin of sternum VII transverse, without an emargination or a medial convexity.