Speleon pilliga Miller and Stange, 2012

Miller, Robert B. & Stange, Lionel A., 2012, The cave mouth antlions of Australia (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae), Insecta Mundi 2012 (250), pp. 1-65 : 20-21

Speleon pilliga Miller and Stange , new species

( Figures 18, 19, 20, 21)

Holotype female, Pilliga Nature Reserve, 34 km. north Coonabarabran , New South Wales, September 23, 2005, R. Miller & L. Stange (reared) ( ANIC).

Diagnosis. Adult: tibial spurs present; tibial spurs about one half length of basitarsus; female anterior gonapophysis well developed.

Description. Holotype female: length from head to tip of abdomen about 19 mm; length of forewing 25 mm; length of hindwing 24 mm. Coloration: body coloration dark brown; head pale brown with darkened interantennal space, vertex with anterior brown stripe, posterior double dark brown spot medially, large shiny dark brown area laterally; antenna mostly dark brown with pale brown apices, scape pale brown with two dark brown rings, club nearly all black; pronotum with dark median stripe, dark submedial band on posterior one half, nearly complete dark brown stripe laterally; pteronotum mostly dark brown with small pale brown spot submedially on prescutum, short pale brown stripe submedially in front of mesoscutellum; abdomen dark brown with pale along mid line, sterna with more pale brown; forecoxa mostly pale brown with dark areas on lateral face; forefemur and foretibia mostly black, pale brown at anterior face of femur before large basal dark brown spot; foretibia mostly pale brown except dark brown apically; midfemur and most of midtibia dark brown; hindfemur mostly pale brown with dark apex, tibia mostly pale brown with some subbasal and apical dark brown markings; pretarsal claws reddish brown; forewing extensively with dark markings especially along subcostal area and posterior margin ( Figure 19), hindwing with fewer markings but with a prominent rhegmal mark and dark at hypostigma, veins and crossveins alternating dark brown and pale brown; Miller’s organ ( Figure 21) on sternite I dark. Chaetotaxy: vertex with short brown, appressed setae along anterior and posterior scar areas; area between antennae and below; pronotum with long, erect black setae mostly laterally; nota with few inconspicuous setae except for mesoprescutal lobe laterally; forecoxa with several long, white setae posteriorly, longer than coxal diameter; forefemur with several dark brown setae at posterior onehalf; femoral sense hair short, inconspicuous, shorter than femur diameter; foretibia with black setae along most of length, no decumbent setae; midfemur with few bristles, a few white ones near base; mesotibia with many long black setae; hindfemur and hindtibia with many fairly short (about equal to diameter of femur) black setae; tarsi with short setae on ventral surface, shorter than tarsal diameter; setae on wing crossveins fairly long, mostly longer than subcostal width; abdomen with many short setae; posterior gonapophysis with several elongate black setae longer than gonapophysis. Structure: head with vertex moderately elevated above eyes; interocular distance about l.5 longer than greatest ocular distance; interantennal distance somewhat longer than width of scape; antenna with about 36 flagellomeres, basal flagellomere longer than wide, rest of flagellomeres broader than long; club moderately well developed with about 7 flagellomeres, about three times longer than preclub flagellomeres; distal palpomere of labium weakly swollen, oval palpimaculum about in middle; pronotum longer than wide; scutellum relatively flat; forecoxa about twice as long as greatest diameter; legs elongate, forefemur about three times longer than forecoxa; forelegs about equal in length to midleg; hindleg longer; tibial spurs about one-half length of basitarsus; basitarsus about three times longer than greatest diameter, about as long as distal tarsomere; pretarsal claws short, about one-third as long as basitarsus; Miller’s organ well developed on metathorax and sternite I; forewing a little longer and broader than hindwing; forewing costal area broad, about 2.5 times higher than subcostal area at radial sector, costal area highest near middle of wing, decreasing in height toward hypostigmatic cell; forewing with four, partly interconnected presectoral crossveins; hindwing with one presectoral crossvein, posterior area at highest point slightly lower than greatest presectoral area height, with eight crossveins between CuA and hind margin; abdomen about one-third length of hindwing; female terminalia with posterior gonapophysis about twice as long as middle diameter, directed medially; female anterior gonapophysis weakly developed.

Male: unknown.

Discussion. This species is most closely related to S. cavernicolus differing in having longer tibial spurs and more abundant wings markings.

Etymology. This species is named for the type locality. It is treated as a noun in apposition.