Melanastera virolae, 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 : 74-75

28 Melanastera virolae sp. nov.

( Figs 7E , 10H , 17B , 27S–X )

Type material. Holotype ♂: Brazil: PIAUÍ: Brasileira / Piracuruca, Parque Nacional de Sete Cidades , S4.0727 /0991, W41.6797 /7291, 130‒ 210 m, 21‒24.vi.2016, Virola bicuhyba (D. Burckhardt & D.L. Queiroz) #201(4) ( UFPR; dry).

Paratypes. Brazil: PIAUÍ: 5 ♂, 4 ♀, 11 immatures, 3 skins, same as holotype but ( MMBC, NHMB; dry, slide, 70% ethanol; NMB-PSYLL0008146, NMB-PSYLL0005826, NMB-PSYLL0008197 [LSMelvir-62], NMB-PSYLL0008199 [LSMelvir-62], NMB-PSYLL0008198 [LSMelvir-62], NMB-PSYLL0008200 [LSMelvir-62], NMB-PSYLL0008195, NMB-PSYLL0008196) .

Description. Adult. Coloration. Yellow; head and thorax with dark brown dots. Antennal segments 4–9 with dark brown apices, segment 10 entirely dark brown. Forewing ( Fig. 17B ) yellow with relatively large dark brown dots, sparse at base, becoming denser towards apex, sometimes confluent at apex; base and apex of pterostigma, apices of veins Rs, M 1+2, M 3+4, Cu 1a, Cu 1b and spots on vein A dark brown. Femora with two brown tranverse bands. Abdominal sternites brown laterally.

Structure. Forewing ( Fig. 17B ) oviform, broadest in the middle, broadly and evenly rounded apically; wing apex situated in cell r 2 near apex of M 1+2; C+Sc weakly curved in distal third; pterostigma slightly narrower in the middle than cell r 1, convex; Rs weakly curved in basal two thirds, obliquely curved to fore margin in apical third; M longer than M 1+2 and M 3+4; Cu 1a weakly irregularly curved, ending at level of M fork; surface spinules present in all cells, leaving narrow spinule-free stripes along the veins, forming distinct hexagons of a single row of spinules, spinules absent in basal half of cell c+sc. Hindwing with 10 ungrouped or 5 + 5 grouped costal setae. Metatibia bearing 8‒9 grouped apical spurs, arranged as 3‒4 + 5, anteriorly separated by 3 or more bristles.

Terminalia ( Fig. 27S–X ). Male. Proctiger long, tubular, weakly convex posteriorly; densely covered with long setae in apical half. Subgenital plate irregularly ovoid; dorsal margin irregularly curved, posterior margin straight; with moderately dense, long setae. Paramere, in lateral view, irregularly spatulate; apex, in lateral view, blunt, directed upwards, in dorsal view, truncate, directed upwards and inwards, bearing two small teeth; outer face with dense, moderately long setae mostly posteriorly; inner face with dense, moderately long setae; posterior margin with long setae. Proximal segment of aedeagus with apical part strongly subdivided. Distal segment of aedeagus with dorsal margin distinctly sinuate in basal half; ventral process situated slightly distal of the middle of the segment, in lateral view, long, narrow, simple; in dorsal view, ventral process oblong-oval; apical dilation, in lateral view, elongate, subparallel-sided, with narrowly rounded apex, at base with angular membranous lobe at dorsal margin; in dorsal view, apical dilation narrowly obovate, broadest in apical third; sclerotised end tube short and almost straight.—Female terminalia cuneate; densely covered with setae. Dorsal margin of proctiger, in lateral view, with a distinct hump distal to circumanal ring, straight apically, apex pointed; in dorsal view, apex blunt; circumanal ring, in dorsal view, distinctly cruciform. Subgenital plate, in lateral view, abruptly narrowing in apical half, pointed apically; in ventral view, apex blunt.

Fifth instar immature. Coloration. Light; antenna pale yellow with pale brown apical segment; cephalothoracic sclerite, wing pads, legs and caudal plate yellow.

Structure. Eye with one short simple ocular seta dorsally.Antennal segments with following numbers of pointed sectasetae: 1(0), 2(1), 3(0), 4(2), 5(0), 6(2), 7(1), 8(1), 9(0), 10(0). Forewing pad with 8–10 marginal pointed sectasetae and 0–1 pointed sectaseta dorsally; hindwing pad with 3 large marginal pointed sectasetae and 1–2 smaller pointed sectasetae situated close to pad posterior margin but more dorsally. Metatibiotarsus long; tarsal arolium broadly triangular apically, 1.2–1.5 times as long as claws. Abdomen with three lateral pointed sectasetae on each side anterior to caudal plate. Caudal plate with anterior margin relatively close to anterior margin of extra pore fields; with five pointed sectasetae on either side laterally, and four pointed sectasetae subapically near circumanal ring on either side dorsally. Extra pore fields forming continuous outer and inner bands, consisting of small oval and rounded patches; outer band long medially, end pointing outwards. Circumanal ring small.

Host plant. Virola bicuhyba (Schott) Warb. ( Myristicaceae ).

Distribution. Brazil (PI).

Derivation of name. Named after its host, Virola .

Comments. Within the the trematos -group, Melanastera virolae sp. nov. and M. trematos sp. nov. are the only species with a spatulate (versus lanceolate) paramere. They differ from each other as indicated under the latter species.

Figures

FIGURE 7. Habitus of adult Paurocephalini. A, Klyveria crassiflagellata (Burckhardt); B, Melanastera moquiniastri sp. nov.; C, M. olgae sp. nov.; D, M. xylopiae sp. nov.; E, M. virolae sp. nov.; F, M. melanocephala sp. nov.; G, M. sellowianae sp. nov.; H, M. smithi (Burckhardt, Morais & Picanço). Scale bar: 0.5 mm.

FIGURE 10. Melanastera spp., head, dorsal view. A, M. roraima sp. nov.; B, M. tubuligera sp. nov.; C, M. umbripennis sp. nov.; D, M. nasuta sp. nov.; E, M. australis sp. nov.; F, M. obscura sp. nov.; G, M. trematos sp. nov.; H, M. virolae sp. nov.; I, M. inconspicuae sp. nov.; J, M. dimorpha sp. nov., ♂.

FIGURE 17. Melanastera spp., forewing. A, M. trematos sp. nov.; B, M. virolae sp. nov.; C, M. inconspicuae sp. nov.; D, M. dimorpha sp. nov., ♂; E, M. dimorpha sp. nov., ♀; F, M. cabucu sp. nov.; G, M. itatiaia sp. nov.; H, M. pusilliflorae sp. nov.; I, M. goldenbergi sp. nov.; J, M. clavata sp. nov. Scale bars: 0.2 mm.

FIGURE 27. Melanastera australis sp. nov. A, ♂ terminalia, lateral view; B, paramere, inner face, lateral view; C, distal segment of aedeagus, lateral view; D, distal segment of aedeagus, dorsal view; E, paramere, dorsal view; F, ♀ terminalia, lateral view.—M. obscura sp. nov. G, ♂ terminalia, lateral view; H, paramere, inner face, lateral view; I, distal segment of aedeagus, lateral view; J, distal segment of aedeagus, dorsal view; K, paramere, dorsal view; L, ♀ terminalia, lateral view.—M. trematos sp. nov. M, ♂ terminalia, lateral view; N, paramere, inner face, lateral view; O, distal segment of aedeagus, lateral view; P, distal segment of aedeagus, dorsal view; Q, paramere, dorsal view; R, ♀ terminalia, lateral view.—M. virolae sp. nov. S, ♂ terminalia, lateral view; T, paramere, inner face, lateral view; U, distal segment of aedeagus, lateral view; V, distal segment of aedeagus, dorsal view; W, paramere, dorsal view; X, ♀ terminalia, lateral view. Scale bars: 0.1 mm.