Neomardara Hering, 1926

László, Gyula M. & Volynkin, Anton V., 2023, Review of the genus Neomardara Hering, 1926 with descriptions of two new species and updated information on the distribution of the genus (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Lymantriinae), Ecologica Montenegrina 68, pp. 103-126 : 104-105

Genus Neomardara Hering, 1926

Neomardara Hering, 1926 , Pterothysanidae , Lymantriidae , Brahmaeidae . In: Seitz, A. (ed.) Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde. Eine Systematische Bearbeitung der bis jetzt bekannten Gross-Schmetterlinge. Die Afrikanischen Spinner und Schwärmer, 14: 155. Type species: Lepasta africana Holland, 1893 by original designation.

Characterisation of the genus

The facies of the Neomardara species are rather unique within the subfamily Lymantriinae forming a compact group characterised by the following features: the moths are of medium size with a moderately long bipectinate male antenna with long rami without a filiform posterior section. The female antenna is also bipectinate but considerably shorter than that of the male with considerably shorter rami. The forewing shape is short triangular with an evenly arched termen and ornamented with conspicuous, whitish markings over the dark brownish-grey ground colour. The costal forewing area is marked with a wide, posteriorly evenly tapering, off-white subcostal stripe reaching the costa after the middle of the costal margin leaving a narrow blackish costal area in the anterior half of the wing. All species display a large, elongate-triangular, whitish postmedial spot between the veins M1 and CuA1 pointing inwards, which may be fused with the broad, arched whitish-grey subterminal stripe. The shape and position of the triangular spot is a species-level character, as is the width, shape, length and colouration of the subterminal stripe. Most species have a conspicuous wedge-shaped medial marking in the area between the veins CuA2 and A, the absence and shape of which is also a specific character. The hindwing is evenly rounded apically and terminally, the anal margin is straight and covered in dense, long hair scales. The hindwing colouration ranges from pale yellowish-white to brownish-grey varying intraspecifically; the females may have markedly darker hindwing compared to the males. The sexual dimorphism is limited, expressed mostly by the considerably larger size of the females.

The male genitalia are characterised by the very short, hump-shaped uncus, the well-developed, narrow, ribbon-like gnathos without a medial plate, and the short, trapezoidal tegumen, the shape of which is a specific character. The valva is rather short, relatively broad at base, tapered distad with rounded apex, lacking a harpe, a saccular lobe or any other processes; the sacculus is rather broad and weakly sclerotized. The transtilla is well-developed, bilobate with rounded, thumb-like posterior processes, medially fused. The juxta is moderately sclerotized, elongate, posteriorly dilated, and more or less funnel-like. All Neomardara species have an extremely long, narrow, anteriorly tapered vinculum with a rounded apex. The aedeagus is also extremely long and thin, often exceeding the whole length of the clasping apparatus between the tips of the uncus and vinculum, with a long and very thin coecum penis and a small, variably dentate carinal plate, the shape and position of which is a species-level character. The posterior half of the aedeagus is armed with a longitudinal serrate bar bearing short but acute teeth. The vesica base is connected to the carina through an anterior and posterior, narrow, variably sclerotized plate, the configuration of which is a specific character. The vesica has a short posterior, sack-like diverticulum and a short and wide, inflated spherical main chamber continued in a long and narrow, tubular vesica ejaculatorius. The configuration of the vesica-carinal plate complex is another specific character.

The female genitalia have short and rounded, moderately setose papilla analis bearing a pair of narrow additional lobes ventrally, the papilla connected by a short intersegmental membrane to the 8 th segment forming a very short ovipositor. The apophyses are long and apically pointed. The 8 th tergite is short and broad with evenly convex posterior and slightly concave anterior margins; the 8 th sternite possesses a rounded, finely scobinate medial plate posteriorly and a narrow, transverse sclerotized ridge anteriorly. The sinus vaginalis is deep, the depth of which serves as a specific character; the ostium bursae is narrow, variably notched (the depth of which is also a specific character) and densely spinulose; short, rounded peri-ostial lobes may be present. The ductus bursae is long and heavily sclerotized corresponding well with the configuration of the aedeagus, having a dense, spinulose stripe longitudinally. The cervix bursae is slightly swollen and gelatinous; the corpus bursae has a short tubular posterior and a large, curved, reniform anterior section with a rugose surface and two scobinate bends of the signum bursae running along the entire perimeter of the bursa copulatrix.

The genitalia configuration is rather similar in all species of the genus displaying only subtle distinctive characters. The species are, however easily distinguishable based on the conspicuous and constant features of the external morphology.