Melanastera trianae, Serbina & Malenovský & Queiroz & Burckhardt, 2025

Serbina, Liliya Š., Malenovský, Igor, Queiroz, Dalva L. & Burckhardt, Daniel, 2025, Jumping plant-lice of the tribe Paurocephalini (Hemiptera: Psylloidea: Liviidae) in Brazil, Zootaxa 5585 (1), pp. 1-164 : 110-111

56 Melanastera trianae sp. nov.

( Figs 13E , 20A , 34S–X )

Type material. Holotype ♂: Brazil: MINAS GERAIS: Paula Cândido, S20.80806, W42.98389, 780 m, 22.viii.2013, Miconia trianae , coffee plantation with Inga (D.L. Queiroz) #564 (UFPR; dry).

Paratypes. Brazil: MINAS GERAIS: 9 ♂, 18 ♀, 9 immatures, 8 skins, same as holotype but ( MMBC, NHMB, UFPR; dry, slide, 70% ethanol; NMB-PSYLL0008201, NMB-PSYLL0008202, NMB-PSYLL0008151, NMB-PSYLL0008096, NMB-PSYLL0008320 [LSMeltria-20], NMB-PSYLL0008125, NMB-PSYLL0008124, NMB-PSYLL0008126, NMB-PSYLL0008123, NMB-PSYLL0008128, NMB-PSYLL0008127) ; 1 ♀, 9 immatures, 8 skins, same but (D. L. Queiroz) #565 ( MMBC, NHMB, UFPR; dry; NMB-PSYLL0008097) .

Description. Adult. Coloration. Yellow; head and thorax with brown dots. Antenna light brown, segment 3 yellow, apices of segments 4–8 and entire segments 9–10 brown. Mesopraescutum with two orange patches at the fore margin; mesoscutum with four broad orange longitudinal stripes, often margined by brown dots, and medial row of dots. Forewing ( Fig. 20A ) yellow with irregular, moderately dense brown dots; base and apex of pterostigma and apices of Rs, M 1+2, M 3+4, Cu 1a and Cu 1b dark brown. Femora with dark brown patches.

Structure. Forewing ( Fig. 20A ) oblong-oval, broadest in the middle, broadly, evenly rounded apically; wing apex situated at apex of M 1+2; C+Sc almost straight; pterostigma slightly narrower in the middle than r 1 cell, weakly widening to apical third; Rs almost straight, weakly curved to fore margin apically; Cu 1a irregularly curved, ending at M fork; surface spinules present in all cells, leaving narrow spinule-free stripes along the veins, forming hexagons of a single row of spinules, spinules absent from basal half of c+sc. Hindwing with 6–7 ungrouped or 4 + 3 grouped costal setae. Metatibia bearing 9–11 grouped apical spurs, arranged as (4–5) + (5–6) exteriorly, anteriorly separated by 1–2 bristles.

Terminalia ( Fig. 34S–X ). Male. Proctiger weakly curved posteriorly; densely covered with moderately long setae in apical two thirds. Subgenital plate subglobular; dorsal margin strongly curved; posterior margin almost straight; with moderately long setae. Paramere, in lateral view, irregularly lanceolate; apex, in lateral view, directed slightly anteriad, blunt apically, in dorsal view, apex truncate, directed upwards, slightly inwards and anteriad, lacking distinct sclerotised tooth; outer and inner faces with dense, moderately long setae; posterior margin also with moderately long setae. Proximal segment of aedeagus with apical part broad, strongly subdivided. Distal segment of aedeagus thick in basal half, with sinuate dorsal margin; ventral process situated in the middle, in lateral view, ovoid, with large apical extension directed ventrad, in dorsal view, much broader than apical dilation, with regularly curved margins, broadest medially; apical dilation narrow, in lateral view, subparallel-sided, hardly widening towards rounded apex, dorsal margin weakly indented subapically, in dorsal view, apical dilation broadest medially, with narrowly rounded apex; sclerotised end tube moderately long and almost straight.—Female terminalia cuneate; densely covered with setae. Dorsal margin of proctiger, in lateral view, weakly sinuate, apex pointed; in dorsal view, apex blunt; circumanal ring, in dorsal view, distinctly cruciform. Subgenital plate, in lateral view, abruptly narrowing in the middle, apex pointed; in ventral view, apex blunt.

Fifth instar immature. Coloration. Yellow; cephalothoracic sclerite, antenna, wing pads, legs and caudal plate brown.

Structure. Eye with one moderately long, simple ocular seta dorsally.Antennal segments with following numbers of pointed sectasetae: 1(0), 2(1), 3(0), 4(2), 5(0), 6(2), 7(1), 8(1), 9(0), 10(0). Forewing pad with 5–6 marginal and 2 dorsal pointed sectasetae; hindwing pad with 2–3 marginal and one dorsal pointed sectasetae. Metatibiotarsus bearing five pointed lanceolate setae on outer side; tarsal arolium broadly fan-shaped apically, slightly longer than claws. Abdomen with 1–2 lateral pointed sectasetae anterior to caudal plate. Caudal plate with anterior margin close to anterior margin of extra pore fields; with four pointed sectasetae on either side laterally, one pointed sectaseta submedially on either inner side of extra pore fields, and three pointed sectasetae on either side subapically, anterior to circumanal ring. Extra pore fields forming continuous outer and inner bands, consisting of small and large oval patches; outer band long medially, end pointing outwards. Circumanal ring small.

Host plant. Miconia trianae Cogn. ( Melastomataceae ).

Distribution. Brazil (MG).

Derivation of name. Named after its host, M. trianae .

Comments. Melanastera trianae sp. nov. differs from the other species of the smithi -group in the almost straight (versus weakly curved in apical third) vein C+Sc.

Figures

FIGURE 13. Melanastera spp., head, dorsal view. A, M. atlantica sp. nov.; B, M. stanopekari sp. nov; C, M. sellowianae sp. nov.; D, M. simillima sp. nov.; E, M. trianae sp. nov.; F, M. cinerascentis sp. nov.; G, M. minutiflorae sp. nov.; H, M. cannabinae sp. nov.; I, M. prasinae sp. nov.; J, M. smithi (Burckhardt, Morais & Picanço); K, M. granulosi sp. nov.; L, M. sebiferae sp. nov.

FIGURE 20. Melanastera spp., forewing. A, M. trianae sp. nov.; B, M. cinerascentis sp. nov.; C, M. minutiflorae sp. nov.; D, M. cannabinae sp. nov.; E, M. prasinae sp. nov.; F, M. smithi (Burckhardt, Morais & Picanço); G, M. granulosi sp. nov.; H, M. sebiferae sp. nov. Scale bars: 0.2 mm.

FIGURE 34. Melanastera stanopekari sp. nov. A, ♂ terminalia, lateral view; B, paramere, inner face, lateral view; C, paramere, dorsal view; D, distal segment of aedeagus, lateral view; E, distal segment of aedeagus, dorsal view; F, ♀ terminalia, lateral view.—M. sellowianae sp. nov. G, ♂ terminalia, lateral view; H, paramere, inner face, lateral view; I, distal segment of aedeagus, lateral view; J, distal segment of aedeagus, dorsal view; K, paramere, dorsal view; L, ♀ terminalia, lateral view.—M. simillima sp. nov. M, ♂ terminalia, lateral view; N, paramere, inner face, lateral view; O, distal segment of aedeagus, lateral view; P, distal segment of aedeagus, dorsal view; Q, paramere, dorsal view; R, ♀ terminalia, lateral view.—M. trianae sp. nov. S, ♂ terminalia, lateral view; T, paramere, inner face, lateral view; U, distal segment of aedeagus, lateral view; V, distal segment of aedeagus, dorsal view; W, paramere, dorsal view; X, ♀ terminalia, lateral view.