Catestiasula Giglio-Tos, 1915

Schwarz, Christian J. & Shcherbakov, Evgeny, 2017, Revision of Hestiasulini Giglio-Tos, 1915 stat. rev. (Insecta: Mantodea: Hymenopodidae) of Borneo, with description of new taxa and comments on the taxonomy of the tribe, Zootaxa 4291 (2), pp. 243-274 : 248

Genus Catestiasula Giglio-Tos, 1915 stat. rev.

Cathestiasula Giglio-Tos, 1919

Type species: Pachymantis nitida Brunner de Wattenwyl, 1893

Diagnosis. Small Oxypilinae with dilated fore femora and slightly infumate, iridescent wings in both sexes. Scutellum with two paramedian carinae. Vertex always with a median tubercle. Pronotum without paramedian spines. Postero-ventral edge of fore femur between postero-ventral spines very slightly serrulate. Hind femora ventrally with small proximal lobe. Left edges of dorsal and ventral laminae of left phallomere fused, apical process reduced.

Catestiasula can be distinguished from Hestiasula and Ephestiasula by its iridescent wings lacking false cross veins and dark markings in the discoidal field, the fusion of the left margins of the dorsal and ventral laminae of the left phallomere, and the complete reduction of the apical process. It is distinguished from Astyliasula gen. nov. and Pseudohestiasula gen. nov. by smaller body size, the presence of styli, the smooth dorsal surface of the subgenital plate, the membraneous gap along the left edge of the ventral phallomere, the flat dorsal lamina, and the reduced apical process of left phallomere.

Redescription. Head triangular , slightly wider than long. Vertex with a small process, juxta-ocular tubercles protruding, conical. Eyes large, exophthalmic, ocelli large. Scutellum about two times as wide as high, with two wide paramedian carinae and thickened lateral margins, ending dorsally in a rounded tubercle. Antennae filiform.

Pronotum short, rhomboidal, lateral margin with a triangular tooth, metazona about as long as prozona. Fore coxae longer than pronotum, with adjacent apical lobes, anterior side blackish. Fore femora with extremely dilated, foliaceous dorsal margin, dilated part wider than ventral part, with 4 discoidal, 4 postero-ventral, and 14–15 anteroventral spines. One antero-ventral and 1 postero-ventral genicular spine, postero-ventral spine being much larger than antero-ventral one. Claw groove near base. Postero-ventral margin of fore femur between postero-ventral spines very slightly serrulate, with small pit between proximal first and second postero-ventral spines to accommodate distal-most postero-ventral spine of fore tibia. Postero-ventral spines emerge from the cuticle flush with surrounding region. Fore tibiae with 12–15 postero-ventral and 11–13 antero-ventral spines, dorsal margin slightly convex. First tarsomere longer than remaining segments combined.

Mid- and hindlegs with a ventral carina, hind femora additionally with a small proximal lobe. Hind metatarsus about as long as remaining segments combined.

Wings longer than abdomen in both sexes, slightly infumate, with opaque veins and narrow, opaque costal field. Stigma indistinct.

Abdomen simple, without lobes. Supra-anal plate parabolic, with slightly incised apex. Cerci short, pilose, last segment conical. Subgenital plate ( Fig. 22 ) trapezoidal, simple, styli present.

Genitalia ( Figs 22 , 45–47 ) simplified. Dorsal and ventral laminae of left phallomere fused along left margin, apical process completely reduced. Distal process short, conical. Phalloid apophysis bilobed, right lobe strongly serrulate, left lobe less so.

Remarks. It is interesting to note that Catestiasula has small proximal lobes on the meta femora, which are present also in H. brunneriana , H. ceylonica , H. gyldenstolpei , Ephestiasula obscura ( Lombardo 1995) , and E. woodmasoni ( Mukherjee et al. 2010) , but are absent in E. amoena . The meta-femoral lobe may have been repeatedly lost among Hestiasulini. It is also present in Ceratomantis . The oothecae of Catestiasula remain unknown.

Figures

FIGURES 21 – 22. Subgenital plate and genitalia of 21. H. brunneriana from India (ES) and 22. C. moultoni from Sabah (ES). Arrows indicate weakly sclerotized membrane at base of sclerotized left margin of ventral phallomere (scale bar: 1 mm).

FIGURES 43 – 50. Genitalia of various Hestiasulini. 43. A. phyllopus from Sabah (CS). 44. A. basinigra from Myanmar (SMNK). 45. C. nitida from Myanmar (SMNK). 46. C. nitida from Sumatra (SMNK). 47. C. sp. from Kerala (SMNK). 48. Ephestiasula amoena from Nepal (ES). 49. E. pictipes from India (CS). 50. H. gyldenstolpei from Thailand (ES) (scale bar: 1 mm).