Macrolema pulchra, Reid & Beatson, 2010

Reid, C. A. M. & Beatson, M., 2010, 2486, Zootaxa 2486, pp. 1-60 : 22-23

Macrolema pulchra sp. nov.

( Figs 11, 27, 34, 53, 74, 88, 106, 121, 134)

Material examined

Types: Holotype: male/ Mt Fisher , Millaa Millaa , N Qld, 10.xi.1979, A & M Walford-Huggins / [ ANIC]; Paratypes (12): 3 males, 1 female, same date as holotype [ ANIC]; 2 males, 1 female: /17:26:58S 145:28:27E, Atherton Tableland Qld , Mt Hypipamee Nat. Pk , 18–28.xi.1998, Yee , Edwards , Calder, Halliday & Sutrisno / [ ANIC]; male: / 17mi S Atherton, Q, 3000ft, 19.iii.1964, I. F. B. Common & M. S. Upton / [ ANIC]; male, female: / Ringrose [= Crater] Nat Pk, via Atherton N Qld, 9.xii.1966, B. Cantrell / [ UQB]; male: / The Crater, near Herberton, N Qld, 12.xii.1974 / collr A & M Walford-Huggins / not in SAM / [ ANIC]; female: / Windsor Tableland, NE Mt Carbine , N Qld, 27.xii.1976, A & M Walford-Huggins / [ ANIC] .

Description

Length: males 8–9mm, females 9.5–10.5mm; body shallowly convex in profile, length c.3x height. Body and appendages brownish-red (parts of venter may be relatively paler), except (i) antennomeres 1–7, irregularly shaped macula in basal half of each elytron, common circular spot occupying most of apical half of elytra, and apices femora, outer edges and apices of tibiae, tarsi, dark brown with metallic blue or bluishpurple or purple (usually elytral spots) reflection; (ii) remainder of elytra yellow; (ii) apices mandibles, antennomeres 8–11, dark brown or purplish-brown.

Head ( Figs 11, 27, 34): head puncturation variable, relatively densely punctured on frontoclypeus and base of vertex, more finely and sparsely punctured on remainder of head; minutely setose above antennae; depressed between eyes, with or without groove on midline of vertex; eyes separated by c.3x eye widths (male) or c.3.5x eye widths (female); gena c.0.3x eye length (both sexes); antennae c.5.5x socket diameters apart; antennae c. 0.85–0.9x body length (male), or c. 0.75x body length (female); antennomeres 1, 3–11 elongate, 2 quadrate: 2 shortest (c.0.5x first), <1=3, <4=5, <6=8=9=10=11, <7 (male), or <1=3=4, <8=9=10=11, <6, <5, <7 (female); labrum not densely setose, with 2–3 pairs of prominent setae; apical maxillary palpomere elongate, almost cylindrical in both sexes, apex narrower in female, preapical palpomere shorter than apical.

Thorax ( Figs 11, 53): pronotum closely and strongly punctured at sides, base and midline, more diffusely elsewhere, shining, with distinct micropunctures between macropunctures; minutely setose at sides; pronotal width 1.4x length, lateral margins strongly convex but not lobed at middle; lateral depression of pronotal disc absent, shallow or small and deep; anterior margination incomplete, absent from middle half; hypomeron punctate; prosternal process narrow and strongly arched from base to truncate apex; scutellum punctured at base, elongate-triangular with blunt apex; elytron without depressions on basal half of disc, or trace of one behind humeri; elytral punctures large and deep in basal half, evanescent towards apex; elytra striate, with striae 1–7 and 9 regular and 8 partially obliterated by deep elytral depression, without or with minute interstrial punctures; irregular depressions absent or small along basal half of elytron adjacent to epipleuron; upper margin epipleuron reaching base of elytron, but not continued on basal edge; mesoventrite median process strongly arched to truncate apex; metaventrite shining and sparsely and minutely punctured, anterior with complete margination and without median depression, edge pitted lateral to middle; metepisternum microreticulate, weakly punctured; 1 short spur on protibia, 2 on remainder.

Abdomen ( Figs 74, 88, 106, 121): ventrites I and II entirely fused; male ventrites shining, not microreticulate, closely and finely punctured on apical half of I–II, most of III–V, setae on I–V largely short and recumbent, in distinct transverse bands; female ventrites as male, but punctures denser, present throughout all ventrites, with slight wrinkling at sides; ventrite I laterally keeled along basal 1/2–2/3, other ventrites without keels; apex ventrite V rounded in both sexes; sternite VIII of male Y-shaped; apex of penis slightly mucronate in dorsal view, apical angle c.90°, pointed and slightly curved in lateral view; female sternite VIII with short transverse basal apodeme; gonocoxite distinctly setose; spermatheca hook-shaped with blunt apex, duct tightly coiled.

Notes

Named pulchra (Latin: beautiful), for what we consider the prettiest species of the genus.

11 specimens of Macrolema pulchra have been collected at 3 localities (note that 17 miles south of Atherton, The Crater, Mt Hypipamee and Ringrose all refer to the same place!) in the tropical rainforests of north Queensland, from Mount Fisher to Windsor Tableland, 140km north ( Fig. 134), at high elevation (950– 1350m). Windsor Tableland is an isolated montane forest, but although the single specimen is slightly differently coloured (the posterior elytral patch is truncate at the base instead of pointed and the pronotal disc is darkened) it agrees with the other material in puncturation, pubescence, shape and size and we therefore consider it to belong to the same species. Macrolema pulchra has been collected in November, December and March. Two specimens are covered in lepidopteran scales and were probably collected in light traps.