Baliga Navás, 1912

Lin, Yu-Hsiu Hugh, Ko, Chiun-Cheng & Tseng, Hui-Yun, 2024, Taxonomic revision of the antlion tribe Myrmeleontini (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae) of Taiwan, European Journal of Taxonomy 969, pp. 1-61 : 5-6

Genus Baliga Navás, 1912

Baliga Navás, 1912a: 110 .

Type species: Myrmeleon asakurae Okamoto, 1910: 297 . Original designation.

Balaga Navás, 1912a:111 . Type species: Myrmeleon micans McLachlan, 1875: 176 . Original designation.

Baga Navás, 1930a: 37 . Type species: Balaga montana Navás, 1930a: 37 . Monotypy.

Diagnosis

Medium to large-sized antlions. Wings relatively broad, without markings, hyaline; hindwing longer than forewing. Forewing presectoral area with 5–10 crossveins; RP arising almost opposite to CuA fork, often with an extra row of cells under the hypostigmatic cell. Hindwing presectoral area with 4–7 crossveins; RP arising almost opposite to MP fork, at origin runs equidistant to RA and MA. Anterior Banksian line absent, posterior Banksian line distinct on both wings. Femoral sense hair present on fore and mid legs, absent on hind leg. Female ectoproct simple; posterior gonapophyses long, slender; anterior gonapophyses long, shorter than posterior gonapophyses, well separated. Male ectoproct simple, often with ventral projection; gonarcus arched, with lateral arms producing posteriorly; mediuncus three-pronged in caudal view, with two projections in lateral view; parameres strongly sclerotized, oblique, separated.

Remarks

The relationship between the genera Baliga and Hagenomyia is still unclear. Baliga has been assigned as a synonym of Hagenomyia in several works, including Esben-Petersen (1913), Markl (1954) and Wang et al. (2018), while Stange (2004), Hayashi et al. (2020) and Oswald (2024) considered an opposing opinion. Here, we agree with the latter view. By comparing the Taiwanese and the Japanese species in Hayashi et al. (2020), Baliga is an independent genus that can be determined by a series of characters, including female anterior gonapophyses almost as long as posterior gonapophyses, the shape of the male genitalia, especially the three-pronged mediuncus, as well as the long, slender mandible and the few abdominal digging setae of the larvae. Most species inhabit moist forest environment ( Stange et al. 2003; Hayashi et al. 2020; Lin et al. 2021).