Melanastera parva, Serbina & Malenovský & Queiroz & Burckhardt, 2025

Serbina, Liliya Š., Malenovský, Igor, Queiroz, Dalva L. & Burckhardt, Daniel, 2025, Jumping plant-lice of the tribe Paurocephalini (Hemiptera: Psylloidea: Liviidae) in Brazil, Zootaxa 5585 (1), pp. 1-164 : 48-49

11 Melanastera parva sp. nov.

( Figs 9A , 15C , 23K–P )

Type material. Holotype ♂: Brazil: MATO GROSSO: Sinop , S11.8713, W55.3970, 380 m, 4.iii.2014, Xylopia sp. ( L. A. Pezzini & A.D. B. Sedano) #281 ( UFPR; dry).

Paratypes. Brazil: MATO GROSSO: 6 ♂, 8 ♀, 1 skin, same as holotype but ( MMBC, NHMB, UFPR; dry, slide, 70% ethanol; NMB-PSYLL0005582, NMB-PSYLL0005665, NMB-PSYLL0005672, NMB-PSYLL0005673) ; 6 ♂, 7 ♀, same but S11.8510, W55.3694, 380 m, 4.iii.2014, Xylopia sp. (L.A. Pezzini & A.D.B. Sedano) #272 (NHMB; 70% ethanol; NMB-PSYLL0007968); 6 ♂, 11 ♀, same but S55.3975, W11.8696, 380 m, 4.iii.2014, Xylopia sp. (L.A. Pezzini & A.D.B. Sedano) #283 (NHMB, MMBC; slide, 70% ethanol; NMB-PSYLL0005583, NMB-PSYLL0008053); 4 ♂, 2 ♀, 7 immatures, 9 skins, same but S11.9328, W55.48970, 390 m, 27.viii.2012

(D.L. Queiroz) #343 (NHMB; slide, 70% ethanol; NMB-PSYLL0008040, NMB-PSYLL0008049 [LSMelpar-22- 1], NMB-PSYLL0008050 [LSMelpar-22], NMB-PSYLL0008051 [LSMelpar-22], NMB-PSYLL0008052).

Description. Adult. Coloration. Body pale yellow to orange. Antenna yellow to orange, apices of segments 6 and 8 brown, segments 9–10 entirely dark brown. Mesopraescutum with two pale orange patches along fore margin; mesoscutum with five longitudinal pale orange stripes, the median one narrower than the remainder. Forewing ( Fig. 15C ) evenly pale to bright yellow; apex of Cu 1b brown. Legs pale yellow to orange, meracanthus pale yellow.

Structure. Forewing ( Fig. 15C ) oblong-oval, widest in apical third, broadly, evenly rounded apically; C+Sc weakly curved in apical third; pterostigma long, slightly narrower in the middle than cell r 1, weakly convex; Rs weakly and evenly convex; M longer than M 1+2 and M 3+4; Cu 1a weakly and irregularly convex, ending slightly proximad of M fork; cell cu 1 short and relatively wide; surface spinules present in all cells, leaving narrow spinule-free stripes along the veins, absent from basal half of cell c+sc, forming distinct hexagons of a single row of spinules. Hindwing with 6 ungrouped costal setae. Metatibia bearing 4–5 apical spurs, arrangd as 2 + 2–3, anteriorly separated by 3–4 bristles.

Terminalia ( Fig. 23K–P ). Male. Proctiger with posterior lobe; densely covered with long setae in apical two thirds. Subgenital plate, in lateral view, irregularly ovoid; dorsal margin curved, posterior margin almost straight; with few moderately long setae. Paramere shorter than proctiger, in lateral view, narrowly lanceolate; paramere apex, in lateral view, blunt, in dorsal view, rounded, directed inwards and slightly upwards, lacking distinct sclerotised tooth; outer and inner face with relatively dense, moderately long setae; posterior margin with long setae. Proximal segment of aedeagus with apical part moderately subdivided. Distal segment of aedeagus, in lateral view, weakly sinuate in basal half, in dorsal view, very broad; ventral process situated slightly distad of the middle of segment, in lateral view, broad, slightly widening to apex which is broadly truncate except for a small point produced, with small lateral lobes; in dorsal view, ventral process broadly ovoid, broadest in apical third, much broader than diameter of apical dilation, with a short, median apical point; apical dilation relatively small, in lateral view, narrow, with subparallel margins and rounded apex, in dorsal view, elongate, with subparallel margins and rounded apex; sclerotised end tube short and weakly sinuate.—Female terminalia cuneate; densely covered with setae. Dorsal margin of proctiger, in lateral view, weakly convex distal to circumanal ring, almost straight in apical third, apex blunt; in dorsal view, apex subacute; circumanal ring, in dorsal view, vaguely cruciform. Subgenital plate, in lateral view, abruptly narrowing in apical third, pointed apically; in ventral view, apex blunt.

Fifth instar immature. Coloration. Brownish yellow; antenna with dark apical segments; cephalothoracic sclerite, wing pads, legs and caudal plate brownish yellow to pale brown.

Structure. Eye with one simple ocular seta dorsally. Antenna lacking pointed sectasetae but segments 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7 and 8 bearing simple setae, and segment 4 with one relatively large slender lanceolate seta. Forewing pad with 8–11 marginal and 3–4 dorsal pointed sectasetae; hindwing pad with 3 marginal and 2 dorsal pointed sectasetae. Metatibiotarsus short; tarsal arolium broadly fan-shaped apically, at least 1.5 times as long as claws. Abdominal tergites anterior to caudal plate with three dorsal rows of 6, 2 and 4 pointed sectasetae, respectively. Caudal plate dorsally with one row of four pointed sectasetae along anterior margin, two rows each of four pointed sectasetae submedially, and with two groups of four pointed sectasetae on each side subapically, anterior to circumanal ring; with a few long simple setae on either side ventrally. Extra pore fields forming continuous outer and inner band, consisting of small rounded patches; outer band very short, end pointing outwards. Circumanal ring large.

Host plant. Adults and a single damaged immature were collected on Xylopia sp. ( Annonaceae ), which is a likely host. The description of the immature is based on the sample DLQ#343 lacking a host identification.

Distribution. Brazil (MT).

Derivation of name. From the Latin adjective parvus = little, small, referring to the small size of the species.

Comments. Melanastera parva sp. nov. resembles M. barretoi sp. nov. and M. sericeae sp. nov. in the narrowly lanceolate paramere with blunt apex, the broad ventral process of the distal segment of the aedeagus with an apico-median point or lobe, and FP/HW> 0.8. It differs from the two species in the absence of brown dots on the forewing (versus presence) and the ventral process of the distal segment of the aedeagus with an apico-median point (versus lobe). Melanastera parva also resembles M. macaireae sp. nov. in the small body size (FL <1.5 mm), the light body colour and yellow forewing lacking brown dots, the narrowly lanceolate paramere with blunt apex; the broad ventral process of the distal segment of the aedeagus and the relatively straight dorsal margin of the female proctiger. It differs from M. macaireae as indicated in the key. Finally, M. parva resembles M. granulosi sp. nov. in the pale yellow forewing with surface spinules forming hexagons of a single row of spinules. It differs from M. granulosi in the shorter metatibia (MT/HW <0.9 versus> 1.0), the shorter female proctiger (FP/HW <0.9 versus> 1.1) and the shorter female subgenital plate (FP/SP> 1.8 versus <1.4).

Figures

FIGURE 9. Melanastera spp., head, dorsal view. A, M. parva sp. nov.; B, M. guatteriae sp. nov.; C, M. macaireae sp. nov.; D, M. tijuca sp. nov.; E, M. falcata sp. nov.; F, M. spinosa sp. nov.; G, M. amazonica sp. nov.; H, M. cacantis sp. nov.; I, M. xylopiae sp. nov.; J, M. francisi sp. nov.

FIGURE 15. Melanastera spp., forewing. A, M. variegata sp. nov., ♂; B, M. variegata sp. nov., ♀; C, M. parva sp. nov.; D, M. guatteriae sp. nov.; E, M. macaireae sp. nov.; F, M. tijuca sp. nov.; G, M. falcata sp. nov., ♂; H, M. falcata sp. nov., ♀; I, M. spinosa sp. nov.; J, M. amazonica sp. nov. Scale bars: 0.2 mm.

FIGURE 23. Melanastera mazzardoae sp. nov. A, ♂ terminalia, lateral view; B, paramere, inner face, lateral view; C, distal segment of aedeagus, lateral view; D, ♀ terminalia, lateral view.—M. variegata sp. nov. E, ♂ terminalia, lateral view; F, paramere, inner face, lateral view; G, distal segment of aedeagus, lateral view; H, distal segment of aedeagus, dorsal view; I, paramere, dorsal view; J, ♀ terminalia, lateral view.—M. parva sp. nov. K, ♂ terminalia, lateral view; L, paramere, inner face, lateral view; M, distal segment of aedeagus, lateral view; N, distal segment of aedeagus, dorsal view; O, paramere, dorsal view; P, ♀ terminalia, lateral view.—M. guatteriae sp. nov. Q, ♂ terminalia, lateral view; R, paramere, inner face, lateral view; S, distal segment of aedeagus, lateral view; T, distal segment of aedeagus, dorsal view; U, paramere, dorsal view; V, ♀ terminalia, lateral view. Scale bars: 0.1 mm.