Melobasis propinqua (Laporte & Gory, 1837)

Levey, Brian, 2012, 3464, Zootaxa 3464, pp. 1-107 : 53

The propinqua species-group

This group comprises seven species, two of which are divisible into subspecies. Larval hosts are unknown, however, adults are commonly collected on Fabaceae and Myrtaceae , and much more rarely on other plant families. Differences between males and females are slight. This group shares a number of characters with the formosa group, namely a reduction in the length of the spines bordering the excision of the apical sternite, the apical part of the parameres of the aedeagus having fine sensory setae only, the mid tibia of the male is straight, similar to that of the female, lacking teeth or a setae-filled depression on the ventral face, and tarsal claws lacking a well defined basal tooth but sometimes broadened at the base. M. meyricki and M. nudipectus which I place in the formosa group could with some justification be placed in the propinqua group, but they are placed in the formosa species-group because their pubescence is translucent silvery, not opaque white as seen in most members of the propinqua species-group. There are also great similarities in overall form to members of the gloriosa group. These similarities may be due to convergence, and not necessarily indicative of a close phylogenetic relationship.

In the key to the propinqua species-group I have included couplets to take out members of the gloriosa species-group since females of this group are likely to be mistaken for members of the propinqua group. Males of the gloriosa group have a large setae-filled depression on the ventral face of the mid tibia and the tibia is swollen (Fig. 49), whereas males of the propinqua group have an unmodified mid tibia, like that of the females.