Melanastera olgae, Serbina & Malenovský & Queiroz & Burckhardt, 2025

The olgae -group

Description. Adult. Head, in lateral view, inclined at 45° or more from longitudinal body axis ( Fig. 7C View FIGURE 7 ). Vertex trapezoidal, with faint to strong imbricate microsculpture and microscopic setae; median suture fully developed ( Figs 8H–J View FIGURE 8 , 9A–C View FIGURE 9 ) except for M. tijuca ( Fig. 9D View FIGURE 9 ) where it is reduced in basal three quarters of vertex. VW/VL 1.6–2.4. AL 0.5–0.9; AL/HW 0.9–1.8. Thorax moderately arched, with microscopic setae. Forewing pale yellow to dark brown, lacking small brown dots; wing apex in cell r 2 near M 1+2 or in the middle of cell margin; pterostigma expanding towards the middle or apical third. Distal segment of aedeagus bearing ventral process.

Immature. Antenna 10-segmented.

Comments. The olgae- group includes seven species in Brazil. In addition, Melanastera granulosi sp. nov. resembles M. macaireae sp. nov. and M. tijuca sp. nov. in the narrow, yellow forewing with light stripes along the veins, but is not placed in the olgae- group due to a lack of male material (see comments under M. granulosi ).

Brown & Hodkinson (1988) figured a species, Haplaphalara sp. A from Panama, which resembles the male of M. variegata sp. nov. It differs from the latter species in having a less extensive forewing pattern and less curved veins Rs and Cu 1a.

Melanastera lucens (Burckhardt, Hanson & Madrigal) from Costa Rica resembles the olgae- group by the absence of dark dots on the forewings. It differs from the Brazilian species by a smaller size, a bright orange body and details of the male and female terminalia ( Burckhardt et al. 2005). See also the comment under duckei -group.

The species of the olgae- group are associated with Annonaceae and Melastomataceae . Its members show great diversity in forewing shape, venation and colour pattern, as well as in the structure of the paramere and aedeagus. The group is probably polyphyletic.