M. apicalis Macleay

(Figs 79, 85, 88, 92, 93, 96, 97, 105, 106)

Melobasis apicalis Macleay 1872:241; Kerremans 1885:136; Masters 1886:92; Kerremans 1892:103; 1903:159; Carter 1923:81; 1929:284; Obenberger 1930:428; Bellamy 2002:146; 2008:1315. The following references concerning the biology of M. apicalis probably do not refer to this species, given the rarity of this species in collections, and some may refer to the much more commonly collected M. suturalis Thomson, which since Carter (1923), has been incorrectly considered to be a junior synonym of M. apicalis: Brooks 1965:30; Turner & Hawkeswood 1994:97; 1996:84; 1997:261; Turner 2001:61; Bellamy 2002:146; Hawkeswood 2011:2; Bellamy et al. 2013:56.

Type locality: Queensland, Gayndah.

Type specimens examined. Melobasis apicalis Holotype ♀ (AMSA) K3211 / apicalis McL. W. Gayndah.

Other specimens examined. Queensland: 1 ♁ (TMSHC) Mt. Hopeful, 13 km S.W. of Bajool, 14 Nov. to 12 Dec. 1999, 530 m., in blue bucket trap on hill top, T.M.S. Hanlon; 1♀ (TMSHC) same data as previous but 13 to 20 March 1999, in yellow bucket trap on hilltop; 1♁ (QMA) SEQ 25 º42′S 151º26′E Nipping Gully, site 6, 18–19 Dec. 1998, 200 m., G. Monteith, C. Gough & G. Maywald, 7532.

Diagnosis. General diagnosis: length 6.56–7.19 mm; head, pronotum and elytra in ♁ emerald green, the lateral margins of elytra in apical half and apices narrowly dull reddish-purple; ♀ blackish-green, head in lower two-thirds in holotype dull reddish-copper, lateral margins of elytra in apical half and apices narrowly dull reddish-purple; underside in ♁ largely reddish-copper, the centre of prosternum, prosternal process, mesosternum, centre of metaventrite, inner third of hind coxae, anterior faces of fore and mid femora and tibia, all tarsi and antennae, emerald green; underside in ♀ almost completely dull reddish-purple, centre of prosternum, prosternal process, metaventrite, very narrowly dull blue green, antennae dull blue green; centre of prosternum, prosternal process, mesosternum and metaventrite centrally in ♁, densely clothed with long silvery pubescence, remainder of underside clothed with short, silvery pubescence; entire underside in ♀ clothed with short, silvery pubescence.

Head (Fig. 88): in ♁ contiguously punctate with very small strong round punctures, moderately densely clothed with moderately long silvery pubescence; in ♀ very densely punctate with slightly weaker punctures, more sparsely clothed, with less conspicuous silvery pubescence; clypeal excision shallow arcuate, with a narrow, shiny, impunctate border; clypeal peaks poorly developed, obtuse angled; clypeal angles not developed; vertex flat, slightly less than half width of head across eye when viewed from above; eyes strongly convex.

Antenna: not sexually dimorphic; segment 3 very slightly triangularly expanded, segments 5–10 with expansion quadrate.

Pronotum: 1.44–1.64× as wide at base as long in midline; anterior margin moderately bisinuate with a moderately developed median lobe, with a very narrow beaded margin; posterior margin weakly biarcuate; widestjust behind midlength; lateral margins weakly rectilinearly diverging from basal angles to widest point, before weakly almost rectilinearly converging to apical angles; basal angles slightly acute; very slightly narrower at base than elytra at base; lateral carina well defined, slightly curved, about three-quarters complete; punctation in central half very dense to contiguous, consisting of transversely ellipsoidal punctures mostly arranged in transverse series; punctation in lateral half very dense to contiguous, the punctures transversely ovate next to the central half, becoming round towards the lateral margin; spaces between punctures imperceptibly to weakly microreticulate; glabrous.

Scutellum: quadrate to slightly elongate, triangular to shield shaped, about one-eleventh to one-fourteenth width of elytra at base; microreticulate.

Elytra: 2.25–2.39× as long as wide at base; basal margin weakly biarcuate, slightly widening from base over the humeral callosities thence parallel sided t to midlength, before narrowing to the rounded apices; lateral margins from just behind midlength and apices serrate, with acute serrations; sutural margins slightly raised in apical half; elytra without, or with at most one slightly indicated costate interval, next to the subsutural depression, which is barely indicated; punctation in internal half dense, consisting of small, round punctures; punctation in external half, very dense to contiguous, consisting of larger, transversely oval and ellipsoidal punctures, partly arranged in transverse rows; weakly microreticulate.

Hypomeron: contiguously punctate with moderately large, moderately shallow, ovate punctures, with moderately long, silvery pubescence, bottoms of punctures shiny.

Prosternum: with a broad bead at the anterior margin; the anterior margin at the same level as the area behind; prosternal process slightly widening distally, in ♁ very densely to contiguously punctate with small, round punctures, depressed at centre, and clothed with moderately dense, long, silvery pubescence; in ♀ very densely to contiguously punctate with small, round punctures, not depressed, only sparsely clothed with short silvery pubescence.

Mesanepisternum: densely punctate with small punctures of variable shape.

Central part metaventrite, inner part of metacoxa, central part of abdominal ventrites glabrous, more sparsely and weakly punctate than lateral parts of these structures which are very densely punctate with lunate punctures, with moderately dense, moderately long silvery pubescence.

Apical ventrite (Figs 96, 97): lunate punctures contiguous near the lateral margins, but not forming grooves; excision in ♁ broad, W shaped, with a transversely rectangular flange at the centre, with moderately long, well developed, parallel lateral spines (Fig. 96); ♀ narrower, W shaped with a spine like prolongation at centre, the lateral spines well developed, slightly divergent (Fig. 97).

Fore tibia: slightly curved, with a well developed setal brush on the anterior face at the anterior third, partly concealing a deep notch, bordered apically on the ventral face by a strong tooth in ♁ (Figs 92, 93); tibia almost straight, without a setal brush, notch or tooth in ♀.

Mid tibia: moderately strongly curved, slightly swollen, with a setae filled depression on the ventral face and a small tooth at the apex on the posterior face in ♁; straight, without a setae filled depression or tooth in ♀.

Tarsal claws widened at the base but without a basal tooth.

Aedeagus (Figs 105, 106): parameres very strongly narrowing before the apical setae bearing part; apical setae bearing part very narrow, with moderately large, widely spaced, slightly curved, spine like setae, in addition to the usual long fine setae; median lobe with a truncate tip.

Ovipositor: not examined.

Comments: Overall similarities suggest that this species may be most closely related to M. conicollis, but without a male of M. conicollis, this is uncertain.

Bionomics. Adults have been collected in December, in bucket traps between November and December, and in March. Larval host unknown.