Description of two new Philaenus taxa highlights their genitalia structure and habitat preferences in Italy and Greece.
Philaenus philopotamos sp. nov. and Ph. loukasi pelops ssp. nov. are described and illustrated. The aedeagus of Ph. elbursianus Tishechkin, 2013, and the genitalia and several colour morphs of Ph. italosignus Drosopoulos & Remane, 2000 are figured. Ph. philopotamos from northeastern Italy apparently belongs to the Ph. signatus group and is probably closely related to Ph. elbursianus. Its diagnostic characters lie in the structure of the male genitalia (aedeagus and styles). The species occurs along near-natural alpine rivers or brooks. The juvenile stages develop on Myricaria germanica (L.) Desv., and adults live on herbaceous vegetation, particularly on Calamagrostis pseudophragmites (Haller f.) Koeler. Its position among the west Palearctic species of the genus Philaenus Stål, 1864, ecology and host plants are discussed. The diagnostic characters of Ph. loukasi pelops lie in the aedeagus morphology. The subspecies is apparently restricted to the Peloponnesus Peninsula.
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Bückle et al. (2025) studied this question.
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