Paranthaclisis floridensis Miller and Stange, 2012

Stange, Lionel A. & Miller, Robert B., 2012, Description of a new species of Paranthaclisis Banks from Florida (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae), Insecta Mundi 2012 (224), pp. 1-5 : 4-5

Paranthaclisis floridensis Miller and Stange , new species

( Figures 1-8)

Holotype male, St. Andrews State Park , Bay County, Florida, 12.VI.1980, L. Stange ( FSCA).

Distribution. U.S.A. (Florida)

Diagnosis. Vertex with scars shiny black, glabrous; mesoscutellum with posterior margin shiny, dark colored; forewing costal area broad with cells above presectoral area before origin of radial sector at least one-half as high as presectoral area, costal cells with several cross veins interconnected before stigma; male intersegmental membrane between abdominal segments VI and VII with eversible sac broader than long.

Description. Holotype male: Adult: length of body 33 mm; forewing length 39 mm., hindwing length 38 mm. Coloration: vertex with scars shiny black, glabrous ( Figure 1); mesoscutellum with posterior margin shiny, dark colored. Structure: forewing costal area broader, cells above presectoral area right before origin of radial sector at least one-half as high as presectoral area ( Figures 2, 4); forewing costal cells with several crossveins interconnected before stigma; male intersegmental membrane between abdominal segments VI and VII with eversible sac broader than long ( Figures 5, 6). Larva: mandible about 3.5 times longer than width posterior to tooth, dorsal surface with many peg-like setae ( Figure 7); dorsal surface at most with double dark brown spot near middle; abdomen with distinct longitudinal rows of dark brown markings ( Figure 7); metathoracic setose tubercle with dark brown coloring; mandible with more than 20 peg-like setae extending distad to mandibular tooth.

Paratypes. St. Joseph T. H. Stone Memorial State Park , Bay County, Florida, 13.VI.1969, H. Weems (1f, FSCA). St. Joseph Peninsula , Gulf county , Florida, 1.XI.1978, L. Stange, reared (1m, l larva, FSCA) ; coast between Stuart and St. Augustine, Florida, 17.VI.1951, O. Bryant (1f, FSCA) ; Vero Beach , Florida, V.1942, J. R. Malloch (1m, USNM) .

Discussion. This new species appears closely related to P. hageni (Banks) in having the vertex scars shiny black and glabrous ( Figure 1) and the mesoscutellum with the posterior margin shiny and dark colored. Also, the male intersegmental membrane between abdominal segments VI and VII with the eversible sac broader than long ( Figures 5, 6) These two species can be separated because the forewing costal area in P. hageni is narrow with the cells above the presectoral area less than one-third as high as the presectoral area, but at least one-half as high as the presectoral area in P. floridensis ( Figures 2, 4). Also, the forewing costal cells have several crossveins interconnected before the stigma in P. floridensis , whereas the forewing costal cells in P. hageni are not interconnected.

The larva of P. floridensis is distinctive in having conspicuous longitudinal rows of dark brown markings on the abdomen ( Figure 7). Also, in P. floridensis the metathoracic setose tubercle is dark brown and the larval mandible has more than 20 peg-like setae extending distad to the basal mandibular tooth whereas in the P. hageni the abdomen is unmarked and the metathoracic setose tubercle is pale brown. Also, those two species differ from P. floridensis in having less than 10 peg-like setae present basad of the basal mandibular tooth. The other two species in the genus, P. congener (Hagen) and P. nevadensis Banks , are less closely related to P. floridensis and P. hageni . They have the vertex scars dull brown and partly setose, the posterior margin of the mesoscutum dull, and the male intersegmental membrane between abdominal segments VI and VII with the eversible sac longer than wide ( P. congener ) or absent ( P. nevadensis ). The larval mandible of P. congener is about 2.5 times longer than its width posterior to tooth, and its dorsal surface is without short peg-like setae but with some elongate setae near base. The dorsal surface of the head capsule usually has four pronounced dark brown spots whereas in the other species of Paranthaclisis the dorsal surface has at most a double dark brown spot near the middle.

Specimens of P. floridensis are known both from the Panhandle Gulf coast and from the Atlantic beaches from near St. Augustine south to Vero Beach. Discovery of additional specimens from intervening areas in Louisiana and eastern Texas may demonstrate that the Florida populations are only a geographic race of P. hageni .