Melobasis knowlesi, Levey, 2012

Levey, Brian, 2012, 3464, Zootaxa 3464, pp. 1-107 : 43-44

M. knowlesi sp. n.

(Fig. 113)

Type locality: Western Australia, 29 km. W. of Coolgardie.

Type specimens examined. Holotype ♀ ( WAMA), 29 km. W. of Coolgardie, WA 20 Oct. 1986, D. Knowles, on Acacia leaves , HOLOTYPE Melobasis knowlesi sp. n. B. Levey det.

Paratype as follows: Western Australia: 1♀ ( MPC) same data as Holotype .

Other material examined: 1♀ ( MPC) 4 km. W. of Zanthus, WA 27 Jan. 1987, M. Powell, on Acacia leaves. I have not included this specimen in the type series because the ovipositor is more elongate and the elytral colour is slightly different to the type series, and may indicate that it belongs to another undescribed species .

Description based on the female only. Male unknown.

Diagnosis. General diagnosis: length 12.0– 12.7 mm; head and pronotum black-bronze sometimes with a slight green reflection; elytra blue-black, with the following coppery markings: a sutural vitta in the basal quarter, a humeral vitta about two-thirds the length of the sutural vitta, which extends laterally along the basal margin and along the lateral margin and the epipleura to the level of the hind coxa; a slightly sinuate transverse median fascia which extends from the outer edge of the subsutural depression almost to the lateral margin; an elongate pre-apical macula, which is as long or slightly longer than the sutural vitta; underside dark brownish- or greenish-bronze; lateral parts of underside moderately densely clothed with moderately long silvery pubescence.

Head: upper third of vertex moderately densely to densely punctured with small to fairly large round punctures; remainder of head densely punctured with ovate punctures which largely coalesce to form linear series orientated dorso-ventrally on the lower half of the vertex and the frontoclypeus; moderately densely clothed with moderately long silvery pubescence; unpunctured areas shiny; clypeal excision moderately deep, U-shaped, with an unpunctured weakly microreticulate border, only developed at centre of excision; clypeal peaks slightly acute to right angled; vertex flat, about three-fifths the width of head across eyes when viewed from above; eyes moderately strongly convex.

Antenna: serrate from segment 4–10, the segments becoming progressively smaller and slightly less elongate, the expanded part of segment 4 and sometimes 5 more or less triangular the rest slightly quadrate.

Pronotum: 1.52–1.54 times as wide at base as long in midline; anterior margin weakly bisinuate, the median lobe is scarcely produced and the margin is almost straight at the centre; basal margin bisinuate; widest at or near mid-length; lateral margins almost parallel from posterior angles to mid-length, or weakly diverging to widest point from posterior angles, thence moderately strongly curvilinearly converging to the anterior angles; slightly narrower at base than elytra at base; lateral carina slightly sinuate, about three-quarters complete; punctation moderately dense in central fifth, consisting of small round punctures, which become progressively larger and denser towards the lateral margin; with at least a partly developed unpunctured midline; moderately densely clothed with moderately long silvery pubescence in lateral half.

Scutellum: quadrate to slightly elongate; weakly microsculptured; about one-twelfth width of elytra at base.

Elytra: 2.40–2.42 times as long as wide at the base; basal margin strongly bisinuate; very slightly widening from base over the humeral callosities; thence very slightly rectilinearly widening to the mid-length, before narrowing to the very slightly attenuated rounded apices; lateral margins from just beyond mid-length and apices with moderately coarse acute serrations; sutural margin strongly raised in apical half; a slightly raised costate interval bordering the subsutural depression; subsutural depression sparsely punctured with very small round punctures; punctation lateral to the costate interval consisting of larger denser punctures which become progressively denser and larger towards the lateral margin; weakly microreticulate.

Proepisternum: very densely punctured with moderately large, shallow, ovate and round punctures, partly obscured by dense long silvery pubescence.

Prosternum: with a narrow bead at the anterior margin at almost the same level as the area behind; prosternal process strongly widening distally, sparsely punctured with small round or pin-prick punctures, with a line of larger partly coalescent punctures near the lateral margin; glabrous or with a few setae near the margin.

Mesoepisternum: densely punctured, with large, shallow, round and ovate punctures; with moderately dense long silvery pubescence.

Apical sternite: with the lunate punctures coalescent near the lateral margin, forming strong ridges parallel to the lateral margin; excision about twice as wide as deep; the lateral spines slightly developed, but not as long as depth of flange; distal margin of flange straight.

Tarsal claws: slightly widened at base, but without a basal tooth.

Ovipositor: short, about as long as wide.

Comments: This species is most similar to M. flavoaenea sp. n. and M. goerlingi sp. n. It differs from both in elytral markings and also in having a slightly narrower vertex, three-fifths the width of the head across they eyes instead of three-quarters and two-thirds respectively.

Etymology. This species is named after David Knowles the collector of the type series.

Bionomics. Adults have been collected in October from Acacia (Fabaceae) leaves. Larval hosts unknown.