Luciola promelaena Walker. Female.

Ballantyne, Lesley, Fu, Xinhua, Lambkin, Christine, Jeng, Ming-Luen, Faust, Lynn, Wijekoon, W. M. C. D., Li, Daiqin & Zhu, Tengfui, 2013, Studies on South-east Asian fireflies: Abscondita, a new genus with details of life history, flashing patterns and behaviour of Abs. chinensis (L.) and Abs. terminalis (Olivier) (Coleoptera: Lampyridae: Luciolinae), Zootaxa 3721 (1), pp. 1-48 : 33-34

Luciola promelaena Walker. Female. SRI LANKA (as Ceylon). NHML

Luciola melaspis Bourgeois. Female. SRI LANKA (as Ceylon). MNHN.

Diagnosis. Dorsally pale brownish with elytral apices whitish due to aggregation of white material assumed to be fat body ( Fig 19 A, F); distinguished most obviously from chinensis , perplexa and terminalis by the pale coloured elytra without an apical brown marking, and from chinensis and terminalis by the pale terminal abdominal tergites.

Male. 8.7–10.3 mm long; 2.4–3.0 mm wide, 2.9–4.3 times as long as wide (variability may relate in part to the nature of these old very dry specimens). Colour ( Fig. 19 A, B, C): Pronotum, MN and elytra very pale brown mostly semitransparent with underlying muscles or hind wings visible; elytra with pale apices due to aggregation of white material at apex, and sometimes narrowly along suture and lateral margin; MS pale brown with retraction of fat body in posterior area making this area appear slightly darker brown in lectotype and single Carin Chebà male; MS very dark brown in 3 males (2 Carin Ghecù, one Carin Chebà labelled var. scutellaris ); mouthparts and antennae very dark brown, head dark reddish brown; venter of pro and mesothorax pale yellowish brown, of metathorax moderately dark brown (semitransparency of cuticle here suggests some of this colour can be attributed to underlying dark dehydrated muscles); all legs pale brown at their bases, with brown tibiae and tarsi; abdomen with basal ventrites mid brown, V6, 7 yellowish cream and occupied by LO; T7, 8 yellowish basal tergites mid brown; dorsally reflexed margins of ventrites brown in T2–5, white in T6, yellowish if visible at sides of T7, 8.

Pronotum: ( Fig. 19 ) 1.5–1.8 mm long; 2.4–2.9 mm wide; W/L 1.5–1.7; posterolateral corners slightly angulate, a little less than 90°. Elytron: 7.1–8.5 mm long. Head: GHW 1.9–2.3mm; SIW 0.3 mm; ASD <ASW (ASD subequal to ASW in one Carin Ghecù male). Antennae elongate,> 2 x GHW and <3 x GHW. Mouthparts: number of teeth on apical labial palpomere variable (either 4 teeth on both, 3 on right and four on left, or four on left and 3 on right in lectotype). Abdomen ( Fig. 19 ). Aedeagal sheath with sternite terminated by short rounded hairy posterolateral projections. Aedeagus ( Fig.19 ).

Female ( Fig. 19 ). Macropterous and assumed capable of flight. 10–11.7 mm long; 3.0–4.0 mm wide; W/L 0.3– 0.38. Colour: as for male with these exceptions: all females including the type have pale light brownish MS; accumulation of fat body at elytral apex reduced to about half the length of that in male except in one Carin Chebù female where extent is similar to that of male but very patchy in its distribution; V 5 in type female with narrow brown posterolateral markings; LO in V6 only, often adhering in middle area to the underside of V6 and yellowish with surrounding area whitish due to fat body; V7 very pale whitish due to accumulation of fat body beneath, V8 yellowish, no fat body beneath cuticle. Pronotum: 1.5–1.9 mm long, 3.0– 3.2 mm wide. Elytron: 8.5–9.0 mm long. Head: GHW 1.5–1.8 mm; SIW 0.4–0.5 mm; ASD> ASW; Mouthparts: number of teeth on apical labial palpomere variable (either 4 teeth on both (4), 3 on right and 4 on left (1), or 3 on left and 4 on right (2)). Abdomen with V7 deeply emarginate in middle ( Fig. 19 ).

Larva. Not reliably associated.

Remarks. Walker’s species have been largely overlooked and Gorham (1903) was quite dismissive of them in referring to five of them (page 327) “like most of Walker’s species, of doubtful authenticity”. Fortunately Walker’s types survive in the NHML. Luciola melaspis was described by Bourgeois (1909) from Sri Lanka (as Ceylon) and India. It is very similar to the few specimens listed above which Olivier (1891) distinguished as Luciola aegrota var. scutellaris because of the dark colour of the MS. The synonymy is established here without dissecting the type of melaspis . We identified the Sri Lankan specimens by similarity of colour patterns to the Olivier (1891) description, and details of the internal genitalia dissected by Wijekoon confirmed its assignment to Abscondita gen. nov.

Figures

FIGURE 19. Luciola aegrota Olivier A, B, C, F, G (syntype male MCSN). Luciola promelaena (Walker) D, E (type female NHML). Locality labels H, I. A, C, D, dorsal, B, E ventral whole body; F aedeagus ventral; G dissected abdomen ventral.