Vestalaria, May, 1935

Orr, Albert G. W., 2024, A review of present knowledge of larvae of the Calopterygoidea (Zygoptera) of the Oriental realm, including keys to families and known genera, Zootaxa 5497 (2), pp. 209-243 : 227

Vestalaria

The five species of the genus range from China through Indochina, Thailand and Myanmar to north-east India and are fairly closely related. The larva is known for just one species, Vestalaria venusta (Hämäläinen) ( Wang et al. 2017) . It differs most clearly from known Vestalis larvae by having relatively much longer acuminate caudal gills ( Fig. 49 ), the laterals about half the length of the remainder of the body, and in lacking the small antennomere between pedicel and scape ( Fig. 37 ), the prementum is somewhat less incised but it is unclear how reliable this character is, especially given the known variation in Vestalis ; the other caveat is that other Vestalaria species may exhibit unexpected characters.

Figures

FIGURES 42–51. 42. Archineura incarnata: caudal gills; left lateral above, median below (drawn from Yang et al. 2022). 43. Echo modesta: caudal gills; left lateral above, median below, with baso-dorsal shield arrowed (original illustration). 44. Psolodesmus mandarinus, dorsal view of caudal gills, with baso-dorsal shield of median gill arrowed (redrawn from Matsuki & Lien 1978). 45. Mnais andersoni, left lateral caudal gill with upper margin of median gill visible; baso-dorsal shield of median gill arrowed (original illustration). 46. Mnais gregoryi: caudal gills; left lateral above, median below, with baso-dorsal shield arrowed (drawn from Yang et al. 2021). 47. Caliphaea angka: caudal gills; left lateral above, median below (drawn from Yang et al. 2021). 48. Matrona basilaris: caudal gills; left lateral above, median below (drawn from Wang et al. 2017). 49. Vestalaria venusta: caudal gills; left lateral above, median below (drawn from Wang et al. 2017). 50. Vestalis amoena group: caudal gills; left lateral above, median below (redrawn from Lieftinck 1965). 51. Vestalis melania: caudal gills; left lateral above, median below (redrawn from Guadalquiver et al. 2022).

FIGURES 35–41. 35. Archineura incarnata, prementum (dorsal view, drawn from Yang et al. 2022). 36. Vestalis gracilis, prementum (dorsal view) and right antenna with supplementary antennomere between pedicel and scape (a) arrowed (redrawn from Rattanachan et al. 2022). 37. Vestalaria venusta: prementum (dorsal view) and right antenna (drawn from Wang et al. 2017). 38. Caliphaea angka: prementum (dorsal view) and right antenna (drawn from Yang et al. 2021). 39. Heliocypha biseriata, frontal view of labrum showing dorsal and ventral sections and ‘moustache’ of long, heavy setae on the latter (from Orr et al. 2024). 40. Heliocypha biseriata: details of labial palp in relation to prementum (a) dorsal view—base of movable hook dashed to reveal palpal lobe beneath and open base of premental median cleft arrowed, (b) frontal view, (c) inner view (from Orr et al. 2024). 41. Heliocypha biseriata, detail of fore tarsus with pectinate setae magnified (from Orr et al. 2024).