Franzenia irrorata Esben-Petersen, 1929

Machado, Renato Jose Pires & Oswald, John David, 2020, Morphological phylogeny and taxonomic revision of the former antlion subtribe Periclystina (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae: Dendroleontinae), Zootaxa 4796 (1), pp. 1-322 : 57-61

Franzenia irrorata Esben-Petersen, 1929

( Figs. 19–21 )

Franzenia irrorata Esben-Petersen 1929:32 (OD); Stange 1976:304 (cat); New 1985b:27 (key, rd, ill); New 1996:80 (cat); Stange 2004:101 (cat); Oswald 2018 (cat); Machado et al. 2019 (tree).

Diagnosis. Male gonarcus thin and simple; female posterior gonapophyses short.

Description. Lengths: forewing: 18–21 mm; hind wing: 17–20 mm.

Head ( Figs. 20 a–b): Labrum pale, set with a line of elongate setae. Clypeus pale to brown, set with some pale and black elongate setae. Frons dark brown with interantennal space pale; beset with short white setae. Gena pale. Vertex not raised; entirely dark brown; set with short black setae. Ocular setae elongate and white. Antennae clubbed; long, ≥ 4x length of pronotum; distance between antennae about the same size of scape width; all segments dark brown with distal margin pale (except for anterior surface of scape and pedicel, pale); torular membrane pale; flagellomeres almost as long as wide at base, apical flagellomeres much wider than long; flagellum set with short black setae, scape and pedicel set with short white setae. Mandible short, pale with tip dark. Palpi, maxillary and labial mostly pale, with irregular dark brown marks mainly around palpimacula; apical labial palpomere fusiform, palpimacula opening oval-shaped, located medially.

Thorax ( Fig. 20b ): Pronotum about as long as wide; posterior margin about as wide as anterior; subapical furrow present; mostly dark brown with pale areas: a large rounded medial mark at anterior region, and two longitudinal sinuous lines around midline on area before furrow; set with short black setae, some long black setae and few long white setae on margins and medial area. Pterothoracic tergites grey to dark brown, with irregular pale marks on medial region in some specimens. Mesonotum set with short black setae, few elongate white setae, and a line of elongate black flattened setae at scutum anterior margin. Metanotum with few short black and white setae, mainly at scutellum. Pterothoracic pleura dark brown dorsally; covered with long white setae. Miller’s organ absent.

Wings ( Fig. 20d ): Narrow with tip acute; Banksian lines absent in both wings; veins mostly dark brown, but some veins intercalated with white spots, beset with short black setae. Male pilula axillaris present. Forewing membrane mostly hyaline; brown marks as follows: tip of prefork area, around gradate crossveins, around mediocubital and radial crossveins, subcostal area, some brown infuscation at posterior margin and apex; pterostigma brown with tip white; CuA fork located between the RP origin and first fork; three presectoral crossveins; subcostal veinlets mostly simple but few apical ones forked; posterior area wider than prefork area. Hind wing membrane hyaline, except by a small brown infuscation at rhegmal area, and around gradate veins; MP fork located near RP origin; costal crossveins simple; one presectoral crossvein.

Legs ( Figs. 20a, c ): All pairs of legs, femur short (<2x length of coxa); tibia slightly shorter than femur and about same size of tarsi; tibial spurs absent; T2, T3 and T4 about the same size, T1 ≥ 3x length of T2, T5 slightly lon- ger than T1; claws shorter than T5 length; Proleg sense hair shorter than half of femur length; coxa pale to grey and covered with long white setae; trochanter pale to brown, set with short black and white setae; femur broad, mostly brown but base pale and apex dark, covered with some short black and white setae, and many long black and white setae (basally); tibia slightly enlarged medially, mostly dark brown (except base, pale), with antennal cleaning setae at distal half of ventral surface, covered with short black setae, few long white setae and some long black setae; tarsi dark brown except for T1 pale, covered with short black setae and few short white setae. Mesoleg similar to proleg, except for coxa entirely dark brown; femur not broad, and white setae not as long; tibia very enlarged distally, set with short black setae, some white setae at medial and distal areas, and few elongate black setae. Metaleg similar to mesoleg, except for tibia and T1 slightly longer; tibia pale except for dark brown apex, and without white setae.

Abdomen: Sternites mostly dark brown with medial area pale (in some specimens, pale areas larger, taking most of the segment). Tergites mostly dark brown with a pale rectangular mark (medially divided by a thin, dark brown line) at base of segments; distal margin pale. Covered with short black setae, and some white setae on basal sternites (mainly tergite 1).

Male Terminalia ( Figs. 21 a–c): Ectoproct posterior margin rounded in lateral view, covered with elongate black setae. 9 th sternite short, with posterior margin slightly elongate medially, proximal margin curved in ventral view; covered with long black setae, mainly medially. Gonarcus thin, a transverse bar with a small medial curve in dorsal view; arched in posterior view; in lateral view elongate with anterior margin rounded. Mediuncus membranous. Paramere broad and elongate in lateral view, with ventral margin and particularly the apex more sclerotized.

Female Terminalia ( Figs. 21 d–e): Ectoproct posterior margin rounded, set with thin elongate setae and some cavisetae ventrally. Lateral gonapophyses rounded, slightly shorter than ectoproct, beset with cavisetae, and some elongate setae ventrally. 9 th tergite set with some thickened setae. 7 th sternite very long, with distal border rounded in ventral view; covered with short setae. Pregenital plate weakly sclerotized, very small and triangular in ventral view. Posterior gonapophyses stout, beset with long black setae. 9 th tergite membranous digitiform process absent. Anterior gonapophyses absent. Ventral membrane ventromedial plate covered with many short setae; gonapophyseal plates present.

Distribution ( Fig. 19 ). Australia: NSW*, NT*, QLD, SA*, VIC*, WA*. Known from sparse records across mainland Australia.

Adult activity period. Records for September, November to February, and April.

Biology. As for genus.

Name-bearing type. Franzenia irrorata : Holotype (by original designation), sex undetermined, QMBA, examined. Type locality: Australia, Queensland, Brisbane (town). From original description: “Two specimens at Brisbane, 2/1/1927 (L. Franzen leg.). The type specimen in the collection of Mr. L. Franzen, the other in the collection of the author”. From New (1985b): “ Holotype (sex not now determinable), Queensland, ‘Brisbane 7.xi.26, L.F.’ (Franzen) (QM). Bears red ‘Type’ label but no ‘det. Esben-Petersen’ label. The specimen is very fragile; antennae and left HW missing; 2 legs on card below specimen; abdomen fragmented and held together by longitudinal rod. Despite the discrepancy in collecting data (types listed by Esben-Petersen, 2.i.1927) I have no doubt that this specimen is either the true type or one subsequently labeled as such by Franzen”. The holotype statement presented by New (1985b) is confirmed here, the specimen at QMBA bears all the holotype labels mentioned above. Condition: poor, many parts missing, impossible to determine its sex.

Additional material examined (5♂, 14♀). AUSTRALIA: New South Wales: Narrabri : 25.i.1961, M. Nikitin (1♀, FSCA) ; Northern Territory: Bachelor Camp : 12.iv.1966, McFarland (1♀, SAMA) ; 5 miles N of Wigley Waterhole , 17.ii.1966, E. Britton (1♂, ANIC) ; Queensland: 27 km E of Forsayth , 18.xi.1978, R.I. Storey (1♀, QMBA) ; 17 km E of Miles , 11.xii.1990, T.A. Lambkin (1♂, QMBA) ; 42 km SW of Sarina , xi.1961, M. Nikitin (1♂, FSCA) ; South Australia: 230 km S of Coober Pedy , 25.ii.1989, R.B. Miller, found in tiny tree hole in fine organic matter (1♀, FSCA) ; Margaret River: Coward Spring , xii.1974 (1♀, SAMA) ; Musgrave Range : ii.1966 (1♀, SAMA) ; Victoria: Lake Hattah : 28.xi.1967 (1♀, MVM) ; Western Australia: 2 km N of Cane Grass Swamp crossing, 30:11S– 121.10E, 25.xii.1995, M.S. & B.J. Moulds & K.A. Kopestonsky (1♀, AMSA) ; Goldfields Woodlands National Park: 69 air km WSW Coolgardie , 380m, 31.18428 oS– 120.49041 oE ± 80m, 15.xii.2012, M.V., Oswald, Diehl & Machado, Oswald #603 (1♂, TAMU) ; Millstream : x.1970 (4♀, ANIC) ; Moola Bulla : ix.1953 (1♀, SAMA) ; track S off highway 1, 79 air km EENE of Norseman , 32.08056 oS– 122.60297 oE ± 90m, 28.xii.2012, M.V., Oswald, Diehl & Machado, Oswald #619 (1♂, TAMU) . No Label (1♀, FSCA) .

Comments. See Comments for Franzenia .

Figures

FIGURE 19. Distribution of Franzenia, Fusoleon and Latileon species.

FIGURE 20. Franzenia irrorata: a) head, anterior; b) head and thorax, dorsal; c) mid leg, anterior; d) wings, dorsal.

FIGURE 21. Franzenia irrorata: male: a) terminalia, lateral; b) genitalia, lateral; c) genitalia, posterior; female: d) terminalia, lateral; e) terminalia, ventral. Scale bars = 0.5 mm.