Melobasis pusilla, Carter, 1928

Levey, Brian, 2012, 3464, Zootaxa 3464, pp. 1-107 : 23-24

M. pusilla Carter

( Figs. 88, 89, 142, 161)

Melobasis pusilla Carter 1928: 272 ; 1929: 285; Obenberger 1930: 434; Carter: 1939: 300; Bellamy 2002: 162; 2008: 1331. Type locality: Queensland, Bowen.

Type specimens examined. Holotype ♀ ( SAMA), '2 2007, Bowen Queensland A. Simson , Holotype. Allotype ♀ (abdomen missing) ( SAMA),' 2 614 Bowen Queensland A. Simson , Allotype, Melobasis pusilla Carter Id by H.J. Carter.

Other specimens examined. Queensland: Edungalba, Slatey Creek .

Specimens examined from BPBM, EEAC, NMWC.

Diagnosis. General diagnosis: length 4.5–6.0 mm. Head golden-green to green in ♂, green to blue-green in ♀; pronotum, elytra and underside golden-green in ♂, blue-green in ♀.

Head: very densely punctured in ♂, densely punctured in ♀, with small round to slightly polygonal, moderately strong to strong punctures; with sparse, short, inconspicuous setae; upper part of vertex strongly microreticulate, lower part weakly microreticulate; clypeal excision shallow U-shaped, with a complete narrow weakly microreticulate, unpunctured border; clypeal peaks obtusely angled; vertex almost flat to slightly convex, slightly more than half width of the head across eyes when viewed from above; eyes strongly convex in ♂, moderately convex in ♀.

Antenna: segments serrate from segment 4–10, the segments becoming progressively smaller and less elongate; the expanded part of segment 4 triangular, that of segment 5–10 more or less quadrate, segment 10 being about as wide as long; segment 11 roughly ovate, slightly shorter than segment 10.

Pronotum: 1.36–1.50 as wide at base as long in the midline; anterior margin strongly bisinuate, with a well developed broad median lobe; posterior margin strongly biarcuate; widest at or slightly before the mid-length; lateral margins slightly curvilinearly diverging from posterior angles to widest point, then slightly more strongly, curvilinearly converging to the anterior angles; as wide at base as elytra at base; lateral carina curved, about twothirds complete; punctation dense to very dense except for the midline which may be narrowly unpunctured for part or all of its length; punctures small, strong, slightly transverse near midline becoming more or less round or ovate laterally; strongly microreticulate.

Scutellum: slightly transverse, ovate to shield-shaped, about one-ninth width of elytra at base; weakly to moderately strongly microreticulate.

Elytra: 2.06 times as long as wide at base; basal margin moderately strongly biarcuate; moderately strongly widening over the humeral callosities, thence almost parallel sided to slightly before the mid-length, before narrowing to the broadly rounded apices; lateral margins from mid-length and apices with fine acute serrations, those at the apices being slightly smaller; sutural margin moderately strongly raised in apical two-thirds; without punctured striae or costae; punctation of the subsutural depression consisting of tiny round widely spaced punctures, which become progressively larger, denser and more transversely lunate as one approaches the lateral margin, becoming contiguous and forming transverse series in the lateral half; strongly microreticulate.

Proepisternum: very densely punctured, with moderately large, very shallow, ovate punctures; bottom of the punctures strongly microreticulate; pubescence very sparse, short and inconspicuous.

Prosternum: without a bead at the anterior margin, the anterior margin at the same level as the area behind; prosternal process parallel sided, very densely punctured with small, strong round punctures and clothed with moderately dense long pubescence in ♂, ♀ with slightly less dense punctation and shorter pubescence; with a line of partly coalescent punctures close to the unpunctured lateral margin.

Mesoepisternum: microreticulate with a few shallow setae-bearing punctures.

Apical sternite: with the lunate punctures close to lateral margin coalescent, their rims forming ridges more or less parallel to the lateral margin, the most lateral line of coalescent punctures forming a slightly serrate ridge parallel to the lateral margin; ♂ excision fairly shallow, wider than deep, the distal margin of the flange straight, the spines very short, parallel, shorter than the depth of the flange; ♀ excision wider than in ♂.

Tarsal claws: slightly cleft with a very broad basal tooth.

Aedeagus ( Fig. 161).

Ovipositor: about 1.25 times as long as wide.

Bionomics. Adults collected in December on Brigalow shoots [ Acacia harpophylla F.Muell. ex Benth. (Fabaceae) ]; Acacia bidwillii Benth. ( Hawkeswood, 2011) Larval host Acacia mearnsii De Wild. ( Hawkeswood, 2011) .