Layahima weiweii, Zheng & Liu, 2021

Zheng, Yuchen & Liu, Xingyue, 2021, A spectacular new antlion species of the subfamily Dendroleontinae (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae) from Malaysia, Zoological Systematics 46 (4), pp. 289-299 : 291

The Layahima wuzhishana group

Included species. Layahima weiweii sp. nov., Layahima wuzhishana ( Yang, 2002) .

Diagnosis. Width of frons equal to diameter of compound eye. Pronotum as long as wide; mesonotum covered with an anterolateral pair of tufts of long black setae; mesonotum medially immaculate. Tibial spurs barely curved, longer than tarsomere 5 length. Forewing subcostal area with a series of discontinuous dark brown markings and dots; mediocubital area with some indistinct brown markings; rhegma present as two indistinct brown markings; base of cubital area with a brown spot. Hindwing generally transparent. Banksian lines absent. Male pilula axillaris absent. Male gonocoxites 9 present as a pair of elongate plates posteriorly, apex strongly sclerotized and scaly; sagittal gonocoxites 11 narrow, median part prominent. Female anterior gonocoxites 8 absent; posterior gonocoxites 8 thumb-shaped, depressed laterally; gonapophyses 8 sclerotized; digging setae on gonocoxites 9 blunt.

Distribution. China, Malaysia, Vietnam.

Remarks. This species-group is here proposed by some unique characters in Layahima , i.e., width of frons equal to diameter of compound eye, the mesonotum with an anterolateral pair of tufts consisted of long black setae, tibial spurs longer than the length of tarsomere 5 and barely curved, and the sclerotized female gonapophyses 8. In the other species of Layahima , the frons is wider than the diameter of compound eye; the mesonotal tufts of long setae are absent; the tibial spurs are shorter than the length of tarsomere 5 and curved; and the female gonapophyses 8 are not sclerotized.