Melobasis amoena, Levey, 2012

Levey, Brian, 2012, 3464, Zootaxa 3464, pp. 1-107 : 27-28

M. amoena sp. n.

(Figs. 96, 97, 179, 196, 197, 198)

Type locality: W. Australia, 54 km. S. of Menzies .

Type specimens. Holotype ♂ ( WAMA), 54 Km S. of Menzies / W.A. 29 jan.1992 / T.M.S. Hanlon / on Acacia leaves// . Paratypes: 2 ♀ same data as Holotype ( TMSHC, CLBC) ; 5♂, 6♀ ( ASC) , 50.5 km SSE of Menzies , WA, - 30 08 16.50, 121 09 09.00, 6.ii.2007, on thin-leaved Acacia sp. , A. Sundholm, D. Knowles ; 1♂, 1♀ ( TMSHC) 54 Km S. of Menzies W.A., 17 February 2006, M. Powell, on Acacia leaves ; 1♂ ( CLBC) 1k E. Youan Mi, W.A., Acacia / 27-1-92, Golding Powell/ 15/ (18) 420.1; 1♀ ( TMSHC) Youanmi , W.A., 27 Jan. 1992, T.M.S. Hanlon, on Acacia leaves ; 3♂, 2♀ ( MPC, NMWC) Youanmi, W.A., 4 February 1989, M. Powell & M. Golding, on Acacia leaves; 1 ♀ ( TMSHC) 18 km N.W. of lake Barlee , W.A., 27 Jan. 1992, T.M.S. Hanlon, on Senna (?) leaves ; 1 ♀ Kitchener , Jan. 1939 W.A. F.E. Wilson / Melobasis ? sp. n./ F.E. Wilson Collection // ( MVMA) ;

Other specimens examined. 1 ♀ Youanmi / 27 Jan. 1992 / T.M.S. Hanlon / on Acacia leaves ( TMSHC) ; 1 ♀ I km E. Youanmi / W.A. Acacia // 27.1.92/ Golding Powell // 18420.1// 15// ( CLBC). I have excluded these specimens from the paratype series because the pronotal shape is rather different from the type series. They may be females of an undescribed species .

Diagnosis. General diagnosis: length 10.4–12.3 mm; head, pronotum and underside brownish- to blackishbronze; elytra blue-green or violet-blue with the following reddish-copper to golden-green markings: a sutural vitta in the basal quarter, sometimes joined along the basal margin to a humeral vitta of about the same length, a sinuate median fascia which almost reaches the lateral margin, a large almost obovate pre-apical macula; underside densely clothed with short silvery pubescence.

Head: densely punctured with small, fairly deep round punctures which sometimes coalesce to form short linear series orientated dorso-ventrally on the vertex; densely clothed with moderately long silvery pubescence; unpunctured areas shiny; clypeal excision shallow, U-shaped, with a complete unpunctured weakly microreticulate border; lower half of vertex sometimes with a large very shallow depression at centre; clypeal peaks slightly acutely to moderately obtusely angled; vertex almost flat, slightly less than half width of head across eyes when viewed from above; eyes weakly to moderately convex.

Antenna: serrate from segment 4–10, the segments becoming progressively slightly smaller and less elongate; the expanded part of segment 4–10 more or less triangular in ♀, in ♂ 4 is triangular and 5–10 more or less quadrate.

Pronotum: 1.50–1.54 times as wide at base as long in midline; anterior margin moderately strongly bisinuate, with a well developed broad median lobe; posterior margin bisinuate; widest in front of mid-length; lateral margins weakly curvilinearly diverging from the posterior angles to widest point then strongly curvilinearly converging to the anterior angles; slightly narrower at base than elytra at base; lateral carina slightly sinuate, about two-thirds complete; punctation very dense in central third, consisting of small round punctures, which become slightly larger and more dense towards the lateral margin; with a very narrow partial to almost complete unpunctured midline; weakly microreticulate; fairly densely clothed with short silvery pubescence in lateral half.

Scutellum: almost quadrate, about one-twelfth width of elytra at base; microreticulate.

Elytra: 2.17–2.23 times as long as wide at base; basal margin moderately strongly biarcuate; slightly widening from base over the humeral callosities, thence almost parallel sided to beyond the mid-length, before narrowing to the rounded apices; lateral margins from just beyond mid-length and apices with fairly coarse acute serrations, those at the apices being slightly smaller; sutural margin slightly raised in apical third; inner half with three or four partially developed costate intervals; the punctation between the costate intervals not arranged in regular longitudinal series; punctation on the costate intervals sparse, dense to very dense between the intervals; punctation in the outer half very dense to almost contiguous over the coloured fasciae and maculae; weakly microreticulate.

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

Prosternum: with a narrow bead at the anterior margin, the anterior margin at the same level as the area behind; prosternal process parallel sided, densely to very densely punctured with small, strong round punctures, without a groove or line of partly coalescent punctures near the unpunctured lateral margin; sparsely to densely clothed with short silvery pubescence.

Mesoepisternum: very densely punctured, with fairly small, shallow, variably shaped punctures; partly obscured by silvery pubescence.

Apical sternite: whole surface, except sometimes medially, very densely punctured with coalescent lunate punctures forming ridges more or less parallel to the lateral margin, but turning inwards towards the midline distally; ♂ excision 4 to5 times wider than deep, the distal margin of the flange straight, the spines only slightly developed ( Fig. 196); ♀ excision 2 to 6 times as wide as deep, spines absent ( Figs. 197, 198); distal margin of flange straight in both sexes.

Tarsal claws: gradually widening at base.

Aedeagus ( Fig. 179): apex of median lobe broadly rounded.

Ovipositor: about as long as wide.

Comments. This species is unlikely to be confused with any other described species except possibly M. burnsi sp. n., however the punctation of the prosternal process is much less dense and the pronotal shape is very different in M. burnsi .

Etymology. This species is named for its pleasing appearance.

Bionomics. Adults collected in January and February from Acacia (Fabaceae) leaves. Larval hosts unknown.