Ascalaphid Studies IV. A New Ascalaphid Species from Asia (Neuroptera: Ascalaphidae)

Ascalaphid Studies IV.

A New Ascalaphid Species from Asia (Neuroptera: Ascalaphidae)

Z. MÉSZÁROS¹and L. ÁBRAHÁM²

1Department of Entomology, Corvinus University of Budapest, H-1502 Budapest, P.O. Box 53, Hungary, e-mail: zoltan.meszaros@uni-corvinus.hu

2Natural History Department, Somogy County Museum, H-7400 Kaposvár, P.O. Box 70, Hungary, e-mail: levi@smmi.hu

In the present paper a description of Stylascalaphus fabiani sp. n., a new taxon from Pakistan, is given with illustrations.

Keywords: Ascalaphidspecies, Stylascalaphusspecies.

The majority of ascalaphid species fly at dusk of the day and at night therefore the ascalaphid collectors, who mainly use grass and canopy netting, rarely encounter them in abundance and can only collect few specimens. However, many of the lepidopterologists who are in search of the nocturnal fauna often come across the crepuscular and the noc- turnal ascalaphid species. For several decades, Hungarian lepidopterologists have visited Asian countries researching the nocturnal moth fauna and during their fieldwork they col- lected numerous ascalaphid species. The scientific processing of this significant collec- tion is still ongoing with the aim to give description of new taxa. The present paper gives a description of a new taxon.

Taxonomy

Stylascalaphus fabianisp. n.

Material examined:

Holotype:Pakistan, Islamabad, 1 km S Hotel Adventure Inn, 500 m, 3. 07. 1998, leg.: Gy. Fábián, B. Herczig Paratypes:1 Pakistan, Karakoram Mts., vicinity of Gilgit, Bagroth valley, 1500 m, 74º29’E, 35º53’N, 14. 06.

1998, leg.: Gy. Fábián, B. Herczig; 1 Pakistan, South Himalaya Mts., Kaghan Valley, Tathabaya, 2200 m, 73º26’E, 34º36’N, 23. 06. 1998, leg.: Gy. Fábián, B. Herczig

Deposited:Entomological Collection of Somogy County Museum, Kaposvár

DESCRIPTION

Head:Vertex black with long dense soft white hairs intermingled with black ones.

Frons shinning black with dense long soft white tufts of hairs on both sides laterally.

Genae black but narrow yellow brand next to eyes, hairless. Clypeus and labrum yellow-

Acta Phytopathologica et Entomologica Hungarica 40 (1–2), pp. 103–110 (2005)

Fig. 1. Stylascalaphus fabianisp. n. holotype male

Fig. 2. Stylascalaphus fabiani sp. n. paratype female

ish-brown. Sparse rather long white hairs on edges of clypeus laterally. Hairs on labrum only along ventral margin short rare silky ochreous curved to mouthpart. Mandibule yel- low with black apices. Maxillae and labial palpi ochreous. Palpi segments with rather long sparse white hairs but at the joins of last two segments with some stiff black setae. Occiput black and postorbital sclerite yellow, hairless. Eyes rather large divided with a suture-like inflection transversally. Antennae 29–30 mm, at least as long as the distance between base of forewing and pterostigma. Scape black with long black hairs intermingled with many white ones. Pedicel also black with narrow yellowish-brown margin distally. Flagellar seg- ments rather equal without setae. Flagellar segments board out at the joins. Two thirds of segments proximally yellowish-brown, rather brown distally. Club brownish-yellow with short black smoothing verticals; subglobular-shaped with flattened apex.

Thorax:Pronotum narrow blackish but both flexed upwards margins yellow with white hairs anteriorly and intermingled with many black ones posteriorly. Lateral projec- tion black with blackish hairs. Notum on meso and metapterothorax velvet-like black with rather long dense greyish hairs. Subtriangular-shaped hairless black spots on lateral projections of metascutum. Sides black with dense soft white hairs.

Legs dark brown. Coxa, trochanter with long white hairs. Hairs on femur white ventrally but stiff black dorsally. Tibia and tarsus stiff black hairs. Tarsal segment 1 longer than segment 2. Tibial spurs as long as segments 1 and 2 together. Planta with bristles, 2 of them a bit shorter than claws. Claws long black. Forewing: 28–29 mm long, 9–10 mm wide. Hindwing: 26–27 mm long, 8–9 mm wide (Figs 1–2). Membrane transparent.

Longitudinal and cross veins yellowish-brown. C vein with short dense smoothing black setae but setae on veins rather sparse black. Pterostigma rhomboid-shaped, light ochreous with 3 yellowish-brown cross-veins. Apical area beyond vein Sc+R with two rows of cells. 5 radial cross-veins in front of origin of Rs in forewing, 3 in hindwing. Hindwing colour similar to forewing but pterostigma with 3 cross-veins. Ambient vein on anal area with long soft brown hairs(Figs 3–4).

Abdomen:26–27 mm long. Tergite 1 split dorsally; dark brown with long soft black hairs. Abdominal acrotergite black narrow halfring-like. Tergites dark brown with longi- tudinal yellow stripe centrally. On posterior part of tergite 3 with a processus covered by short rather dense stiff black setae (Fig. 5).Setae on tergites sparse black. Sternites dark brown with somewhat yellow pattern centrally.

Genitalia:Male. Tergite 9 small, sub-rhomboid-shaped; dark brown with yellow margins and some long stiff black setae caudally and ventrally. Sternite 9 rhomboid- shaped, dark brown with yellowish margins caudally and short stiff black setae in ventral view. Ectoprocts yellow with dark brown spot, narrow bar-like, not fused dorsally, apex rounded. Stiff black setae on ectoprocts ventro-laterally and short rather dense brown along caudal margin (Figs 6–7).Gonarcus hood-like, fused with parameres. Pelta present, small. Pulvini bag-like with rather long gonosetae.

Female. Tergite 9 dark brown subtriangular shape with yellowish rounded margin caudo-ventrally in lateral view. Setae on tergite 9 usually medium long black but rather sparse and stiff caudo-ventrally. Ectoprocts yellow, not fused dorsally, slightly elongated caudo-ventrally, with medium long stiff black setae in lateral view. Ventrovalvae yellow

Mészáros, Ábrahám: Ascalaphid studies IV. 105

Fig. 4. Basal area of the forewing Fig. 3. Apical area of the forewing

Fig. 5. Male tergite 3 in lateral view

Mészáros, Ábrahám: Ascalaphid studies IV. 107

Fig. 6. Male genitalia in lateral view

Fig. 7. Male genitalia in ventral view

Fig. 8. Female genitalia in lateral view

Fig. 9. Female genitalia in ventral view

semicircular-shaped with stiff black setae. Ligulla yellow subtriangular shape in ventral view. Distivalvae rather elongated, yellow with dark brown spot laterally and stiff black setae. Interdens blackish brown oval in ventral view (Figs 8–9).

DISTRIBUTION

Pakistan

Etymology: The new species is dedicated to György Fábián, the Hungarian lepi- dopterologist.

REMARKS

According to the checklist of the Asian Ascalaphidae (Sziráki, 1998), the Stylasca- laphusgenus only contains one single species Stylascalaphus obscurus (Westwood, 1848) from East India. Ghosh (1988) did not mention it from East India. Westwood (1848) gave the description of Ascalaphus obscurusspecies upon examining a female specimen. After the disappearance of the type specimen of the species, McLachlan (1891), relying on Westwood’s short description, made an assumption that the species belonged to the Haplogeniinae subfamily. Based on this information Van der Weele (1909) presented this species after Ptyngidricerus albardanus(McLachlan, 1891) in his Ascalaphid monograph.

During the study of the collection of the Indian Museum, Needham (1901) came across one male and four female specimens from the Himalayas and gave a description of the features of the male. After examining the specimens he concluded that Ascalaphus obscurusdescribed by Westwood belongs to a new genus of the subfamily of Ascalaphidae (=Schizopthalminae) which he named Stylonotus.Oswald and Penny (1991) stated that the genus given by Needham is homonym. Later Sziráki (1998) changed the genus name to Stylascalphusbecause there had been no recent generic denomination.

While describing the male specimen of the species, Needham (1909) emphatically noted the existence of a processus that is located on the tergite 3 of the male.

Within the Ascalaphidae family, the distinction between tribes based on morphologi- cal features is indefinite. Navás (1913) classified Stylascalaphus obscurusas Acmonotini tribe based on processus of the tergite 2 or tergite 3 of the male. Later Navás (1919) fused Acmonotini and Suphalacsini tribes.

In the monograph Australian Ascalaphidae, New (1984) considers the genus from Australia (Pseudencyoposis, Venasca?, Acmonotus, Pilacmonotus, Megacmonotus, Pseudo- disparomitus) which had a processus on the tergite 2 endemic taxa. The collecting site of Fillus,the only species from South America (Paraguay) which is morphologically similar, is supposed to be unsure.

With regard to its morphological features (i.e. processus on the tergite 3) and its collecting site (Pakistan), the recently found new Stylascalaphusspecies suggests that this genus is common in the Oriental region in Asia (Fig. 10).

It might require the comparative study of the development stages to prove that the genus belongs to a higher taxon stages (tribe), meanwhile, genetic and isoenzyme studies could provide great help in tracing back the phylogenetical connections.

Mészáros, Ábrahám: Ascalaphid studies IV. 109

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to express their sincere thanks to the following: Gy. Fábián, B. Herczig for col- lecting materials.

Literature

Ghosh, S. K. (1988): Contribution to the taxonomical studies of Neuroptera (suborder Planipennia) from Eastern India II. Family Ascalaphidae. Record Zoological Survey of India 85, 163–191.

McLachlan, R. (1891): XXII. Descriptions of new species of holophthalmus Ascalaphidae. Transactions of Entomological Society of London, pp. 509–515.

Navás, L. (1913): Sinopsis de los Ascalafidos. Arxius de l’ Institut de Ciéncies 3, 1–89.

Navás, L. (1919): Algunos insectos Neuropteros de la Republica Argentina. Serie Terceira. Revista de la Real Academia de Ciencias Exactas Fisicas y Naturales de Madrid 17, 287–305.

Needham, J. G. (1909): Notes on the Neuroptera in the collection of the Indian Museum. Record Indian Museum 3, 185–210.

New, T. R. (1984): Revision of the Australian Ascalaphidae (Insecta: Neuroptera). Australian Journal of Zoology, Supplement 100, 1–86.

Oswald, J. D. and Penny, N. D. (1991): Genus-group names of the Neuroptera, Megaloptera and Raphidioptera of the World. Occasional papers of the California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco 147, 1–94.

Sziráki, Gy. (1998): An annotated checklist of the Ascalaphidae species known from Asia and from the Pacific Islands. Folia Entomologica Hungarica 59, 57–72.

Van der Weele, H. W. (1909): Ascalaphiden monographish bearbeitet. Collection Zoologique Selys Longchamps 8, 1–326.

Westwood, J. O. (1848): Order Neuroptera in The Cabinet of Oriental Entomology. Smith, London. 34, 69–70.

Fig. 10. Distribution map of Stylascalaphusspecies: S. obscurus(circle), S. fabiani(rectangle) in the Himalayas