Pseudomeira solarii (Péricart, 1963)

(Figs. 14, 15, 40, 41, 58, 70, 85, 99)

Peritelus (Pseudomeira) solarii Péricart, 1963: 40 .

Pseudomeira solarii: Pierotti & Bellò, 1994: 113; Abbazzi et al., 1995: 23; Pierotti & Bellò, 1998: 106; Sparacio, 1999: 138; Colonnelli, 2003: 49; Osella et al., 2005; Pierotti, 2006: 25; Pierotti, 2009: 482; Abbazzi & Maggini, 2009: 62.

Type locality: Gibilmanna (Palermo).

Diagnosis: Middle-sized (3.3–4.5 mm), rather elongate oval. Epistoma impressed, clypeus almost flat and longitudinally impressed in middle; elytra clothed by earth-brown scales and rather thick elongate suberect setae, here and there both paler. Aedeagus widely ogival with shortly blunt apex.

Description: Middle-sized, quite robust. Elytra slightly longer than wide. Dorsal vestiture of more or less overlapping earth-brown scales and almost suberect short elongate setae; paler small markings are on both elytra and pronotum.

Rostrum, particularly that of females, transverse, sides not or weakly narrowing towards apex. Epistoma depressed with bulging edges; pterygia slightly protruding; clypeus slightly narrowing towards base, with a longitudinal depression usually continuing that on frons; frons almost twice as wide as clypeus between antennae. Eyes quite large and slightly convex. Antennae moderately thin; scape curved and progressively thickening towards apex; first 3 funicular segments with clubbed setae; segments 4–7 pearl-shaped; club thick, with the first segment widely conical and sharp apex.

Pronotum transverse, sides sinuate, disc with punctures usually hidden by the scales.

Elytra almost oval, slightly longer than wide. Striae conspicuous, interstriae feebly convex.

Legs robust; external margin of protibiae almost straight up to the blunt apex.

Aedeagus: see Figs. 58, 70.

Distribution: Northwestern Sicily (Madonie and western Nebrodi).

Material: The male holotype (SOL) bears the following labels: [transparent label with dry genitalia], "Gibilmanna, Madonie (Sicilia), (legit) Ragusa" [white, handwritten], " Type " [red, printed], " Holotypus " [red, printed], " Pseudomeira solarii, holotypus 3, J. Péricart, det." [white, partly printed], "3673 solarii nov." [white, handwritten]; "foto Bellò 2011" [yellow, handwritten]. A total of 164 specimens were examined; genitalia of 36 were studied, and molecular data were obtained from 3 males and 2 females.

Localities: Palermo: Gibilmanna (ANG, BEL, PIE, SOL); Castelbuono (BAV, BEL); Isnello (BAV, BEL); Madonie: La Liccia (BAV, BEL), Piano Battaglietta (BAV, BEL), Piano Zucchi (BAV, BEL); Messina: Caronia (BEL, PIE); Reitano (BAV, BEL, PIE); Sicilia (MSNV).

Ecology: Adults were collected in spring under Quercus sp., Genista sp., Prunus sp., Fraxinus sp., Pistacia sp., Smilax sp. We found this species at Gibilmanna together with Heteromeira neapolitana (Faust, 1890) .

Notes: This species is described based on a single specimen from Gibilmanna. Specimens from Ficuzza (Péricart, 1963; Pierotti & Bellò, 1994), Rocca Busambra and Pezzingoli di Pioppo (Pierotti & Bellò, 1994), already indicated as slightly differing from the topotypic ones, actually belong to P. erinacea sp. n. here described. Reproduction: Amphigonic.