Menkeleon Stange, 1970

Tavares, Leon Gustavo de Miranda, Marquez-López, Yesenia, Machado, Renato Jose Pires, Martins, Caleb Califre & Contreras-Ramos, Atilano, 2023, Antlions of formerly recognized tribe Gnopholeontini (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae: Brachynemurini) from Peninsula of Baja California, with a new species of Tyttholeon Adams, Revista Brasileira de Entomologia (e 20230044) 67, pp. 1-17 : 7-9

Menkeleon Stange, 1970

Figs. 1C , 8–9

Menkeleon Stange, 1970: 154 [Type species: Maracandula bellula Banks , by original designation and monotypy]. – Penny, 1977: 45 [distribution]. – Penny et al., 1997: 85 [taxonomy, distribution].– Stange, 1994: 92, 112, 117 [larvae description, illustrations, larvae photograph]. – Oswald et al., 2002 [distribution].– Stange, 2004: 251 [taxonomy, types, distribution] – Machado et al., 2019: 441 [list of genera].

Distribution. MX, US.

Included species. M. bellulus ( Banks, 1905) .

Larvae known. M. bellulus .

Diagnosis. Adults. Antenna with 20-29 flagellomeres, flagellomere 1 longer than wide; vertex well developed and dorsally projected; frons without setae; ocular rim with white setae that projects over eye; greatest ocular width about half of interocular distance; labial palpi with distal palpomere not swollen; pronotum longer than wide; legs short, profemur about 1.5 times longer than procoxa, not swollen; hindleg longer than foreleg which is almost the same size as midleg; profemur without clavate setae; procoxae and all femora with elongated white bristles; two femoral sense hairs on pro and meso femur; profemoral sense hairs shorter than profemur length, and mesofemoral sense hairs approximately the same size as profemoral sense hair; tibial spurs absent; pretarsal claws short, much shorter than distal tarsomere; basitarsi elongated, hindleg basitarsus very long, longer than distal tarsomere; wings relatively broad with dense venation; wing veins with many long erect white and/or dark bristles; hypostigmatic cell without crossveins; banksian lines absent; hind wing posterior area narrow, with cells delimited by crossveins that are longer than wide; CuA bends to hind margin before MP fork; pilula axillaris small, with setae concentrated toward distal margin of knob; abdomen shorter than wings in rest; male ectoproct with a very short postventral lobe; male ectoproct internal face with a small median projection, which is basal to a strong convex fold; male genitalia with an arched gonarcus dorsal to the parameres; mediuncus present, narrow, projecting posterodorsally and curved and more sclerotized apically, with transversal grooves; parameres free, hinged; paramere plates dorsoventrally short, and broadening anteriorly; female ectoproct with digging setae; female posterior gonapophysis cylindrical, slightly swollen; lateral gonapophysis not fused; pregenital plate narrow with a median tooth, gonapophyseal plate large.

Larvae. In Stange (1994).

Remarks. A monotypic genus, Menkeleon is somewhat similar to all other genera previously included in the Gnopholeontini ( Stange, 1970, 1994). The male genitalia with an anterior broadening of the parameres, broad wings and the body with many white bristles relate it to Maracandula , but the male ectoprocts are quite similar to Tyttholeon , while the female genitalia resemble Gnopholeon . Nonetheless, the double femoral sense hairs and the bristled wing veins are seemingly diagnostic traits for Menkeleon .

Figures

Figure 1 Live specimens of species comprised in the former Gnopholeontini:A) Gnopholeon barberi (Currie, 1903), by BJ Stacey. B) Gnopholeon delicatulus (Currie, 1903), by CD Martinez. C) Menkeleon bellulus (Banks, 1905), by Sean Werle. D) Tyttholeon puerilis Adams, 1957, by BJ Stacey.

Figure 8 Menkeleon bellulus (Banks, 1905), female specimen. A) habitus, dorsal view. B) habitus, lateral view. C) head, thorax and legs, lateral view.D) head, frontal view.E) fore and hind wings. F) head and thorax, dorsal view.

Figure 9 Menkeleon bellulus (Banks, 1905), male and female terminalia.A) male terminalia, ventral view.B) male terminalia, posterior view.C) male terminalia, lateral view.D) female terminalia, ventral view. E) female terminalia, lateral view. — Abbreviations: ag: anterior gonapophysis; ds: digging setae; et: ectoproct; etl: ectoproct postventral lobe; etm: ectoproct median process; etv: ectoproct ventral process; go: gonarcus; gp: gonapophyseal plate; lg: lateral gonapophysis; md: mediuncus; pap: paramere plates; pat: paramere tooth; pg: posterior gonapophysis; pgp: pregenital plate; stIX: sternite IX; tgIX: tergite IX.