Hylotoma proxima Andre, 1881

23. Hylotoma proxima Andre, 1881

( Fig. 32 View FIGURE 32 )

Hylotoma proxima André, 1881: 347–348 , ♂, ♀.

Current status. Arge scita (Mocsáry, 1880) (synonymized by Benson 1968: 126).

Type locality. Syria, Bloudan.

Lectotype (designated here): ♀, <golden circle> // Syria // Hylotoma proxima André // к[оллекциЯ]. А. Яковлева [ Collection of A.I. Jakowlew] // arge // DEI-GISHym 89448 // SYNTYPUS Hylotoma proxima André, 1881 , ♀, teste A. Taeger 2018 // Zoological Institute St. Petersburg INS_HYM_0001933 [ ZISP] .

Description. Female ( Fig. 32 View FIGURE 32 ). Body length 7.8 mm; fore wing length 7.0 mm.

Colour. Head, thorax, two basal antennomeres, legs black with strong blue metallic lustre; flagellum dark brown; abdomen yellow, tergite 1 at base and narrow band along inner surface of saw sheath blackish; tibiae and tarsi on fore and middle legs yellow-white (two apical tarsomeres blackened, hind tibiae whitish, except apices up to preapical spurs. Mandibles in middle reddish, mouthparts yellow. Wings hyaline, yellowish, especially in cell C, greyish towards apex. Veins up to pterostigma yellow, rest and pterostigma brown. Small dark spot under pterostigma. Pubescence yellowish-white.

Head. Head behind eyes parallel. Distance between eyes 1.4 × vertical diameter of eye; eye with vertical diameter 1.7 × its horizontal diameter. Postocellar area slightly convex, with weak anterior furrow. POL: OCL: OOL as 1.3:1.0: 1.0. Medial fovea broad, flat in lower part, with weak rounded pit in upper part, open towards frontal area. Lateral carinae sharp, almost parallel, converging downwards, joining in indistinct median carina. Supraclypeal area weakly convex, evenly punctuated. Malar space about diameter of frontal ocellus. Clypeus shiny, sparsely punctate, with small medial semi-circular notch on ventral margin. Labrum with slightly concave ventral margin.

Antennae. Antennal length 1.3 × maximum head width; flagellum weakly curved at base, widened towards apex, apex broadly rounded; its setae short, dense, adhering.

Thorax. Mesopleuron in lower part with glabrous band; scutellum weakly convex, broadly rounded at apex.

Legs. Middle and hind tibia with preapical spurs; tibial spurs simple. Basal tarsomere of hind tarsus longer than next three combined.

Wings. In fore wing, cell 3Rs with posterior margin slightly longer than anterior margin, expanded to external margin. Vein 3r-m slightly curved. Vein B of fore wing joins vein R well before (longer than vein Sc) junction point of vein M. Membrane of cell 1Rs with sparse short setae. Wing margin between veins M and Cu non ciliate, without glabrous band along margin.

Abdomen. Abdomen oval (in dorsal view), basal tergites glabrous. Saw sheath length 1.8 × its width in ventral view, simple, parallel-sided, broadly rounded at apex (ventral view), on inner surface concave, with small, blunt spines; in lateral view triangular, tapered at apex, apex rounded, slightly convex on ventral margin.

Lance in lateral view convex, narrowed to apex, almost entirely evenly covered with annuli. Maximum width of lance equal to lancet width. Carina of apical part of dorsal margin well developed, with small indistinct denticles, remaining part of dorsal margin with longitudinal shallow fossa. Lancet with straight dorsal and convex ventral margin. Annuli nearly straight and dorsally inclined towards apex, in apical part indistinct, in basal part weakly curved. Annular spines (ctenidia) short, simple, several times shorter than width of annulus. Ventral margin with 17 well-distinct, strongly sclerotised serrulae. Serrulae almost smooth, triangular, oblique, with bluntly rounded apex. Between serrulae one straight pore canals of marginal sensilla.

Male (according to original description). Body length 7.5 mm; wingspan 15.5 mm.

In colouration as female, but head, thorax, femora and trochanters with bronze-green metallic lustre, spot on tergite 1 of abdomen and metanotum with blue metallic lustre, hind tibiae brownish with black apex.

Remark. The original description is based on an unknown number of female and male syntypes originating from Syria. The male was not found by us in the ZISP collection and should be considered lost. The colouration of the male is given here according to the original description. One female was found in ZISP and is here designated as the lectotype.