Ephestiasula woodmasoni Mukherjee, Stiewe & Ghorai, 2010

Kamila, A. P., Sureshan, P. M. & Mukherjee, T. K., 2021, First Record of the male of Ephestiasula woodmasoni Mukherjee, Stiewe & Ghorai, 2010 (Insecta: Mantodea: Hymenopodidae) from Kerala, Records of the Zoological Survey of India 121 (2), pp. 279-282 : 280-281

Ephestiasula woodmasoni Mukherjee, Stiewe & Ghorai, 2010 ( Figure 1-10 )

2010. Ephestiasula woodmasoni Mukherjee, Stiewe & Ghorai , Genus, 21 (2): 169-173.

Holotype female ( NZSI), type locality India: Gujarat, Jougad near Bajang Creek .

Material examined: 1 male, INDIA: Kerala, ZSI Kozhikode campus, (11°15’49’’ N, 75°47’11’’ E), 16-xii-2019, coll. Kamila (Reg. No. ZSIK – INV 13827 ) .

Description: Measurements (in mm): Total length 25; Forewing 18; Hindwing 16; Prozona 2; Metazona 2; Foreleg: Coxa 5; Femur length 5 and width 3.5; tibia 4.

Head ( Figure 1&2 ): Yellowish brown covered with blackish small dots and patches. Vertex with a prominent median tubercle, a crest formed after a deep groove from the median tubercle on both sides. Juxtacular lobes with strong tubercle distinctly well raised above the eyes. Lower half of vertex with more black patches and dots than upper half. Eyes round, bulging; ocelli much prominent, yellowish brown. Frontal sclerite pentagonal, yellowish brown with dark brown spots, ends in a blunt tooth with median carina encloses a broad concavity.

Pronotum ( Figure 5 ): Small, somewhat squarish, setaceous, more blackish. Prozona and metazona almost equal in size. Middle of the anterior prozona with two small, close hunches and lateral raised divergent carinae. Prozona with two pairs of hunches in the middle. Prozona separated by a deep groove from metazona. Metazona with 2 large hunches. Supra-coxal dilation strong and conical. Pronotum with a median carina which is prominent on metazona. Prosternum and metasternum yellowish brown with brown dots.

Forelegs ( Figure 3-4 ): Forecoxa externally pale red in distal part (in live) or light reddish brown (in preserved), with a little serrated borders. Leaf-like expanded fore femora externally yellowish brown with brown spots, pale black patch in upper half, internally totally black with a bilobed brownish yellow patch that extends from claw groove to 4th longer internal spine, upper distal area with a small brownish patch. Few minute tubercles on the posterior half of fore femora externally. Discoidal spine 4; external spine 4, 1st and 2nd external spines closer; internal spine 14 (7 long & 7 short), all fore-femoral spines entirely black. Foretibia internally black with 12 internal and 13 very closely arranged external spines. First tarsal segment longer than others taken together; externally brown and internally black in color.

Middle and hind legs ( Figure 6-7 ): Brownish with black and white bands. Femora with minute but sharp genicular spine. 1 st segment of tarsi equal to or a little shorter than other segments taken together. Metatarsi greenish with posterior end black both internally and externally. 1 st segment with few black spots. Mid and hind legs with 2 tarsal claws.

Wings ( Figure 7-8 ): Fore wings opaque, extending beyond abdomen. Costal area yellowish brown with reticulated veinules, posterior border with small black patches or lines, distal end with brown smoky patch. Anal area with light bluish veins and veinules proximally, blue color also extends to mesothorax (in live). Anal vein 3 branched. Costal area of hindwing semi-opaque, remaining area hyaline. Costal area with smoky patches which extend to the distal discoidal area. Anal area with same light blue colour as in forewing which also extends to metathorax (in live).

Abdomen ( Figure 6 ): First 2 tergites blackish, 3rd and 4th blackish in the middle, with lateral brownish yellow patches. Other tergites reddish brown (in live) or bright brown (in preserved), internally brownish yellow. Supraanal plate transverse and bilobed. Cerci cylindrical and setaceous with 11 segments.

Genitalia ( Figure 9-10 ): Titillator (ti) broad and directed to left side. Hypophallus (hp) broad, posterior end ovate, curved to right side. Pseudophallus (ph) ends as a club shaped lobe which bears minute spines at tip, directed rightwards, anterior area with long, chitinous structure. Right epiphallus conical, tip pointed, curved to left side.

Distribution: INDIA- Gujarat, Kerala (present record).

Figures

Figures 1-6. Ephestiasula woodmasoni. 1 - Head frontal view; 2 - Head dorsal view; 3 - Fore leg dorsal view; 4 - Fore leg ventral view; 5 - Thorax dorsal view; 6 - Abdomen dorsal view.

Figures 7-10. Ephestiasula woodmasoni. 7 - Male body dorsal view; 8 - Male body ventral view; 9&10- Male genitalia dorsal view.