Neuroleon nubilatus ( Navás, 1912 ), Navas, 1912

Michel, Bruno & Akoudjin, Massouroudini, 2012, Review of Neuroleon Navás of West Africa with descriptions of four new species (Neuroptera, Myrmeleontidae), Zootaxa 3519, pp. 32-52 : 43

Neuroleon nubilatus ( Navás, 1912)

( Figs. 34–40 )

Klapalekus nubilatus Navás, 1912: 46 .

Neuroleon nubilatus (Navás) : Stange 2004 (new combination).

Oligoleon longipennis Esben-Petersen, 1931: 202 , syn. nov.

Neuroleon longipennis (Esben-Petersen) : Hölzel 1972 (new combination).

Diagnosis. Medium sized species ( Fig. 34 ). Tibial spurs of fore and middle legs shorter than T 1. Tibial spurs of hind legs minute or absent.

Redescription. Head. Face yellow with black marking surrounding base of antennae ( Fig. 35 ). Thorax. Pronotum pattern as in figure 36. Foreleg. Coxa yellow with row of about 10 long white setae. Femur dark dorsally covered by flat-lying white setae, and four to five black and five to six erect white setae. Tibia with incomplete dark ring at the apical 1 / 3 and dark distally. Five to six erect black or white setae. Tibial spurs about ½ of T 1. Tarsomeres dark apically. Middle leg. As in foreleg. Hind leg. Yellow. Tibial spurs minute (about 0.05 µ) or absent. Wings. Forewing 3 15–18 mm, ♀ 12–21 mm. Hind wing 3 15–18 mm, ♀ 12–20 mm. Membrane hyaline. Veins yellowish. Longitudinal veins brown at the junctions with crossveins. Forewing. No crossveins in apical field. Cubital mark conspicuous. Gradates brown. Pterostigma brown basally. Hind wing. Longitudinal veins suffused apically along the posterior margin ( Fig. 34 ). In some males shaded area less visible. Abdomen. 3 10–13 mm, ♀ 11–13 mm. Brown with large lateral yellow stripes not always visible on dried specimen ( Fig. 37 ). Male. Parameres long with a seta on inner margin. Gonosaccus with six to seven long setae. Extremity of sub-genital plate flat ( Figs 38, 39 ). Gonarcus U-shaped. Female. Gonapophyseal plate stout and straight ( Fig. 40 ).

Type material examined. Klapalekus nubilatus Navás, 1912 . Type ♀ Zungeru [09° 48 ’N 06°09’E] NIGERIA (Coll. BMNH) . Oligoleon longipennis Esben-Petersen, 1931 . Type ♀ Port Sudan [19 ° 37 ’N 37 ° 12 ’E] SUDAN (Coll. NHMW)

Additional material examined (103, 13 ♀♀). MALI Sikasso 1 ♀ 15.II. 1996, Wayerma District, light trap. Natiékoura 1 ♀ 24.II. 1997, between 16:00– 17:00 ; 33 04.III. 1998 ; 33 18.III. 1996. Koulikoro [13 ° 48 ’N 07° 26 ’W] 1 ♀ 04.XI. 1995. Banamba 1 ♀ 08.XII. 1991 at light, degraded savannah with trees, fields and mango orchards, ½ km from dry stream, J. Beerlink leg. ( ZMAN). BURKINA FASO Bobo-Dioulasso 13 10.III. 2005, Forest of the Kou, gallery forest J. Bouyer leg. ; 1 ♀ 26.III. 2010 ; 1 ♀ 29.III. 2010 ; 13 09.IV. 2010 ; 1 ♀ 19.V. 2010, ONEA ; 13 06.X. 2009 ; 1 ♀ 29.X. 2009, all M. Akoudjin leg. W National Parc [11 ° 52 ’N 02°07’E] 13 5 ♀♀ 01.IV. 2003, J. Bouyer leg.

Ecology. In Mali and Burkina Faso adults fly at the end of the rainy season and during the dry season.

Distribution. Probably widely distributed within the Sudano-Sahelian region.

Figures

FIGURES 34 – 40. Neuroleon nubilatus (Navás). 34 — Habitus of Male. 35 — Face. 36 — Vertex and pronotum. 37 — Abdomen. 38 — Right view of male ectoproct and genitalia. 39 — Ventral view of male genitalia. 40 — Right view of female terminalia.