Archilestes neblina, Garrison, 1982

Garrison, R. W., 1982, Archilestes neblina, a new damselfly from Costa Rica, with comments on the variability of A. latialatus Donnelly (Odonata: Lestidae), Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan 702, pp. 1-12 : 2-6

Archilestes neblina n. sp.

Figs. 1-9.

HOLOTYPE MALE Head: Labium ochre (light brownish yellow), base of mandibles pale blue, tips black; labrum glossy pale blue, becoming darker ventrally, margin rimmed with a thin black line; clypeus black with irregularly shaped ivory spot in medial area of anteclypeus, small pale spots at lateroventral corners; genae pale light blue; frons, vertex, antennae, rear of head, except for transverse pale ochreous line, matte black; a slight metallic green luster on frons and vertex.

Thorax: Prothorax matte black except for irregular pale brown spot on lateral margin of median lobe and epimeron;fine white hairs on lateral margins of medial lobe; posterior lobe slightly convex, entire. Pterothorax ( Fig. 1 ) matte black with narrow pale ochreous humeral stripe extending mesally just below black antealar sinus. Fine ochreous line on middorsal carina; most of mesepisternum dark metallic green merging to black toward middorsal carina. Mesepimeron dark metallic green bordered by matte black, especially ventrally; small pale ochreous spot o n middle of thorax just posterior to first pleural suture. Remainder of thorax ochreous yellow except for following black areas: anterior portion of mesinfra- and metinfraepisternum; broad stripe on second lateral suture; margin of spiracle; narrow line anterior to spiracle turning ventrally and expanding to wide triangular spot; posterior margin of metepimeron broadening to large triangular spot posterodorsally. Metasternum ( Fig. 2 ) mostly matte black with white pruinosity along median line, a small black projection extending anterolaterally and almost touching lower part of black line on second lateral suture; posterior part of metasternum pale ochreous yellow, white pruinosity lightly covering base of metasternum. T o p of thorax and alar plates pruinose blue.

Coxae pale ochreous with broad black stripe laterally, legs entirely black except for faint yellow posterior lines at base of femora, inferior tooth of tarsal claw shorter than superior.

Wings hyaline, slightly smoky toward tips, venation black, pterostigma dark brown, surmounting 5 crossveins in forewings, 6 and 4 in hind wings. First antenodal space 4.7 mm, third antenodal space 7.5 mm (1.6 times first). Postnodal crossveins in forewing 18-20, in hind wing 18-19, Rg arising from R2 just distal to first postnodal crossvein in both fore- and hind wings; proximal side of quadrangle 0.9mm, of posterior side 2.1 mm, of anterior side 1.0 mm; wings petiolated to Ac. Broadening ratio (length of distal vein of marginal cell posterior to subtriangle in hind wing relative to that of forewing) (see Donnelly 1981) 1.03 (1.04 in paratype); elongation ratio of first post-quadrangular cell (relative lengths of anterior to distal vein of that cell, ( Donnelly 1981) 1.31 to 1.43 (1.36-1.43 in paratype).

ABDOMEN.-Segment 1 dark metallic green on dorsum, a large roughly rectangular ochreous yellow spot on sides, ventral margin with matte black spot as large as yellow spot above, a small ochreous spot at anteroventral margin of sides; segment 2 dark metallic green above becoming black toward sides, small ochreous yellow spot at posterolateral margin just anterior to transverse carina; segments 3-10 dark metallic green merging to black on sides with narrow ochreous line bordering ventral margin. Sternite 1 dark ochreous with irregular black spot at anterior and posterior margins, entire surface with light covering of white pruinosity. Anterior hamule ( Fig. 3 ) pale ochreous yellow bordered by black ventrally; posterior hamule ( Fig. 4 ) black, boot-shaped, with a longitudinal ridge. Penis ( Figs. 5,6 ) ovate in ventral view with ventral arm ( Fig. 6 )strongly deflected from penis tip. Superior abdominal appendages ( Figs. 7, 8 ) black, about twice as long as segment 10, with large subbasal tooth and large truncate foliate tips curved posteroventrally. Tips of superior appendages in ventral view with mesa1 margin forming an inflated oval ( Fig. 9 ),remainder of appendage planar with posterior margin irregularly curved ventrally like the margin of a dead, dry leaf. Inferior appendages about a third as long as superiors, tips almost spherical in ventral view, cupshaped in dorsal view, interior of cup silvery-white, covered with long anterodorsally-pointing setae.

MEASUREMENTS(mm).-(Holotype in parentheses). Length of abdomen (excluding appendages) 55 (55); superior appendages 3.7-3.8 (3.7);inferior appendages 1.2-1.5 (1.2);hind wing 42 (42);pterostigma, forewing 2.8-3.0 (3.0),hind wing 2.9-3.0 (2.9).

Paratype male similar to holotype except for minor size differences.

Female unknown.

Holotype Male: Costa Rica, San Jose Prov., small stream near Hacienda Zurqui and Finca La Reina o n Hwy. 220 , NE of San José, elev. 1500m, 13 August 1979, collected by Rosser W. and Jo A. Garrison . Paratype male with same data except 16 August 1979. Holotype #100376 in U.S. National Museum, paratype in author's collection .

The two Archilestes neblina were taken on twigs overhanging a small stream by the Carretera Carrillo (Route 220), NE of San José. The locality may be found on the Carrillo Quadrangle of the 1:50,000 series topographic maps prepared by the Instituto Geografico Nacional de San Jose, Costa Rica. The surrounding countryside was mostly open, highly disturbed and grazed by cattle. The road intersects two small streams which are bordered by seemingly natural vegetation. The streams were mostly shaded and most of our collecting was done in light drizzle and heavy mist, interspersed with occasional periods of sunshine. The surrounding fields were wet and contained small puddles.

Other Odonata found at the streams and nearby were: Cora skinneri Calvert, Hetaerina cruentata (Rambur), H. majuscula Selys, Heteragrion majus Selys, Anisagrion allopterum Selys, Argia chelata Calvert , A. extranea (Hagen) , A. medullaris Hagen , A. terira Calvert, Aeschna cornigera Brauer, Coryphaeschna luteipennis (Burmeister) , Cannaphila vibex Hagen, and Erythrodiplax abjecta (Rambur) . T h e specific name neb1ina comes from the Spanish word for mist, a condition characteristic of the high regions of Costa Rica.

DIAGNOSIS. - Archilestes neblina is the largest species of its genus known (abdomen and appendages = 58.7-58.8 mm), surpassing A. exoletus (50.5-55.0 mm), A. latialatus (52.0- 58.8 mm), A. tuberalatus (51-54 mm), and'A. regalis (50.8-53.4 mm). Archilestes neblina is easily distinguished from all other Archilestes species by the broad, foliaceous shape of the superior caudal appendages ( Figs. 7-9 ). Only the appendages of A. tuberalatus (see Williamson, 1921, Plate 11, Figs. 10, 11 ) are similar, but they are not as broad or foliaceous. Archilestes neblina differs from A. regalis in the origin of Rg to R2. In A. regalis , R3 arises from R2 at the third or fourth postnodal crossvein in both wings, but the same vein arises just beyond the first postnodal crossvein in both wings in A. neblina. Archilestes neblina is also more heavily marked with black on the pterothorax than A. regalis ( Figs. 1, 2 ; Gloyd, 1944).

I examined males of all seven currently described species of Archilestes . Their penes place them into four groups on the basis of shape of that organ in ventral view. In the first group, A. californica ( Figs. 10-11 )and A. grandis ( Figs. 12-13 ), the penis is only a little longer than wide and almost circular. These structures seem to be essentially identical in both species. In the second group, the penes are square-like with rounded corners in A. latialatus ( Figs. 14-15 ) and A. tuberalatus ( Figs. 16-17 ). The sides of the penis are parallel in A. tuberalatus but are slightly convergent in A. latialatus . In the third group, the penes of A. exoletus ( Figs. 18-19 ) and A. neblina ( Figs. 5-6 ) are ovate, and in each species the ventral arm does not touch the penis tip ( Figs. 6 , 19 ), but the latter condition may be the result of post-mortem changes. T h e penis of A. neblina is more elongated than that of A. exoletus . I n the fourth group, consisting only of A. regalis , the penis is cordate with the distal edge emarginate. T h e penes may be more variable than shown here, since most species are known from few specimens.

Figures

Figures 1-9. Archilestes neblina, holotypr male: 1, pterothorax, lateral view; 2, the same, ventral view.; 3, ventrolateral vie~vof abdominal segment 2 showing anterior and posterior hamules; 1,right posterior hamule, lateral view; 5, penis, ventral view; 6, penis, lateral view; 7, abdominal appendages, dorsal view; 8, the same, lateral view; 9, the same, ventral view.

Figures 10-24. Male structures of Archilestes: 10-21, ventral and latel-alvlews of penes; 22-24, dorsal views of male abdominal appendages; 10-1 1,Archtlrstrs cali/ornzca, male. California: Solano Co.; 12-13, A. grandis, male. Venezuela: Miranda State; 14-15, A. latialatus, male. Mexico: Veracruz; 16-17, A, tuberalatus, male. T'enezuela: Aragua State; 18-19, A. exoletus, male. Argentina: Misiones Province; 20-21, A. rrgalis, male. Mexico: San Luis Potosi; 22, A. latialatus, paratype. Guatemala: Alta T'erapaz Province; 23, A. latialatus. Mexico: Veracruz; 24, A. latialatus. Costa Rica: Alajuela Province.