Bittacus ferreirai Machado, 2018

Machado, Renato Jose Pires, Mendes, Diego Matheus De Mello & Rafael, José Albertino, 2018, The genus Bittacus Latreille (Insecta: Mecoptera) in Brazil: key to species, distribution maps, new synonym, and three new species, Zootaxa 4526 (3), pp. 303-330 : 309-310

Bittacus ferreirai Machado sp. n.

( Figs. 4c , 8i , 10 a–f, 12c)

Diagnosis. Head mostly pale. Wing membrane maculated; one costal crossvein. Hind wing Rs 1+2 not forked. Male epandrium without actiniform process, its internal margin converging apically.

Description. Forewing length 18.2–18.9 mm, hind wing length 16.5–17.0 mm.

Head ( Figs. 10b, c ) mostly pale, except for the brown gena and black ocellar triangle; set with pale pubescence, particularly in the vertex; three ocelli, lateral ocelli slightly larger. Antennae long, filiform, pale, with pale pubescence; flagellum generally slightly darker than scape and pedicel. Number of flagellomeres undetermined but with more than 16.

Thorax ( Fig. 10c ) covered with yellowish pubescence. Pronotum pale to brown. Antepronotum and postpronotum with one long black seta on each lateral margin. Mesonotum and metanotum dark brown with irregular pale marks mostly on medial area; with two long black setae on the anterior half of each segment. Scutella pale, with two long black setae on posterior margin. Pleural region dark brown with scattered small pale areas.

Legs ( Fig. 4c ) with coxae dark brown; yellowish pubescence slightly longer than on other segments. Trochanter pale with small black mark on the femur border. Femur, tibia, and tarsi with sparse short black setae. Fore and middle femora long and thin, pale with apex dark brown. Hind femur broader and slightly darker than anterior femora. Tibia pale with apex slightly darker, longer than femur, with two long apical spurs; spurs in fore and middle leg shorter than half-length of basitarsus, but slightly shorter than basitarsus in hind leg. Fore and mid tarsi pale; basitarsi slightly shorter than tibia half-length, and longer than the remaining four tarsomeres combined; tarsomere III about as long as half-length of tarsomere II and slightly longer than tarsomere IV; tarsomere V about as long as tarsomere IV and prehensile. Hind tarsus darker than the anterior tarsi, slightly longer than half-length of hind tibia; tarsomeres II–V about the same length, basitarsus about three times longer than tarsomere II; tarsomere V prehensile.

Wings ( Figs. 4c , 10a ) narrow with apex rounded. Membrane mostly hyaline, but with dark marks around the main forks, apical crossveins, pterostigma, and areas between R and C and R and Rs 1+2; thyridium present; longitudinal veins brown, covered by short black setae. Forewing with one subapical costal crossvein; humeral crossvein present; Sc ending beyond first fork of Rs; Rs fork nearly forming a right angle; Rs 1+2 forking near the level of the pterostigma end (one varying female paratype with Rs 1+2 not forking); Rs 3+4 forking closer to the level of Sc end than pterostigma; one or two pterostigmal crossveins (holotype with one); M origin basal to Rs origin; M and Rs first forks at the same level; Cu 1 ending at the level of Rs 3+4 fork; A 1 ending slightly basal to Rs first fork. Hind wing similar to forewing except Rs 1+2 not forked.

Abdomen ( Fig. 4c ) with basal segments pale, apical segments dark brown, particularly the apical sternites. Segments covered by pale pubescence.

Male terminalia ( Fig. 10d; e; f ) with epandrium pale, set with pale setae; in dorsal view, internal margin converging apically, posterior margin rounded, internal margin set with short thick black setae; in lateral view, slightly longer than basystilus; in lateral view convex dorsally and concave ventrally; posterior margin almost straight but posterodorsal corner rounded. In posterior view appearing somewhat oval ( Fig. 10f ). Cercus about as long as sternite IX, pale, set with pale setae. Basistylus set with long yellowish setae, particularly at the posterior margin, dark brown basally but lightening towards the apex; apex acute in lateral view and with a medial dorsal invagination in posterior view. Gonostylus short, brown, with apex rounded, set with long yellowish setae. Penisfilum broad at base, abruptly narrowed medially, tapering towards the apex, curving backwards at the medial region.

Paratype female terminalia with cercus short, pale, set with yellowish setae. Subanal plate and tergite XI pale and set with short yellowish setae. Cercus, subanal plate, and tergite XI ending about at the same level. Gonocoxosternite dark brown, set with yellowish setae, not fused ventrally; in lateral view with a subapical membranous concavity.

Etymology. Named after the entomologist and colleague André da Silva Ferreira, who collected the whole type series, and made it available to us.

Holotype. Male (present designation): MZUEFS: BRASIL: Bahia: Aracatu, Fazenda Lagoa do Tamburi, Rodovia BA 262, km 400 sentido Vit. da Conquista—Brumado , coletado na lâmpada da residência, 11.vi.2011, Ferreira, A.S. leg. / MZFS #56207.

Holotype condition. in good condition. Left foreleg broken at the femur-tibia articulation but glued onto the label below.

Paratypes. Brazil: Bahia: Aracatu, Fazenda Lagoa do Tamburi, Rodovia BA 262, km 400 sentido Vit. da Conquista—Brumado , coletado na lâmpada da residência, 16.i.2010, Ferreira, A.S. leg. / MZFS #56208 (1♀ MZUEFS) ; idem — 19.vi.2011 / MZFS #56211 (1♂ MZUEFS) ; idem —caatinga arbórea, 21–22.xii.2012 / MZFS #56210 (1♀ MZUEFS) ; idem — 11–12.i.2013 / MZFS #56209 (1♂ MZUEFS) .

Comments. Because of the maculated wings, Bittacus ferreirai sp. n. is another species that would fit in the “group chilensis ” as proposed by Collucci & Amorim (2000). Within the group, B. ferreirai seems to be closer to B. blancheti ; the male epandrium of both species does not present any actiniform process and the internal margins of the lobes converge towards the apex. However, they can be easily separated by the general shape and color of the wings. Based on the wing shape and body color, B. ferreirai sp. n. is similar to B. cruzi sp. n. (1 costal crossvein, Rs 1+2 not forked in the hind wing and legs and antennae not alternating between pale and dark bands), but their head color, mostly pale in B. ferreirai , mostly dark brown in B. cruzi , and male genitalia with internal margin of epandrium converging in B. ferreirai and diverging posteriorly in B. cruzi , easily distinguish them.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Bittacus adult habitus images. a) Bittacus varzeanus sp. n., living female; b) B. varzeanus male; c) Bittacus ferreirai sp. n., male holotype. Scale bar = 3 mm.

FIGURE 8. Brazilian Bittacus male epandria, dorsal view. a) B. angrensis; b) B. aripuanensis; c) B. blancheti; d) B. boraceiensis; e) B. brasiliensis; f) B. cruzi sp. n.; g) B. diversinervis; h) B. femoralis; i) B. ferreirai sp. n.; j) B. flavescens; k) B. froehlichi; l) B. genicutalus; m) B. latreillei; n) B. maculosus; o) B. omega; p) B. pintoi; q) B. varzeanus sp. n.

FIGURE 10. Bittacus ferreirai sp. n. a) wings; b) head, frontal view; c) head and thorax, dorsal view; d) male terminalia, lateral view; e) male terminalia, dorsal view; f) male terminalia, posterior view. Scale bars = 1 mm.