Deleproctophylla bleusei Kimmins 1949

Deleproctophylla bleusei Kimmins, 1949 Figs 2 C, 2 D, 4 E, 4 F, 9, 10, 24 A, 24 B Deleproctophylla bleusei Kimmins, 1949: 28 (type locality: Algeria: Naama, Mécheria; holotype in NHMUK). H. Aspöck and Hölzel 1996: 78 (Deleproctophylla). H. Aspöck et al. 2001: 302 (Deleproctophylla). Güsten 2003: 133 (Deleproctophylla). Monserrat et al. 2014: 157 (Deleproctophylla). Monserrat 2015: 478 (Deleproctophylla). Michel and François 2019: 183 (Deleproctophylla). Monserrat et al. 2022: 81 (Deleproctophylla). Material examined. Type specimen: Holotype. Images available at https://data.nhm.ac.uk/object/73295e3e-26cd-4bf4-8c10-0879722377ff. Additional material. • Morocco: Fes-el-Bali (60 km SE Ouezzane), 34.38°N, 5.16°W, 300 m, 8. VII. 1977, 4 ♂, 6 ♀ (HUAC); • Spain: Alicante, Cox, VIII. 1911, Andréu, 1 ♂ (MCNM); • Morocco: Middle Atlas, Parc National de Tazekka, env. of Barrage Bab Louta Lake, 34°0'5.90"N, 4°18'28.70"W, 590 m a. s. l., dry, ruderal meadow, 15. 06. 2022, 2 ♂, W. Szczepański (USMB); • some locality, date, 1 ♂, W. Szczepański (SCM); • Spain: Almería, Cabo de Gata, 30 SWF 67, 27. V. 2010, F. Rodríguez and J. R. Correas, 1 ♂ (VM); • same locality 16. VI. 2013, 2 ♂, 1 ♀ (VM); • same locality 6. VII. 2013, 1 ♂, 2 ♀ (VM), 1 ♀ (DB); • Almería, Cabo de Gata, Salinas, Las Amoladeras, 30 SWF 67, 14. VI. 2012, 1 ♀ (VM); • same locality, 6. VII. 2013, 2 ♀ (VM); • same locality, 30. VII. 2013, 1 ♀ 1 ♂ (VM); • Spain: Almería, San José, Playa de los Genoveses, 14. VI. 2012, 3 ♂ 2 ♀ (VM); • Spain: Almería, San José, Playa de Mónsul, 10 m, 14. VI. 2012, 1 ♀ (VM); • Spain: Murcia, Lorca, Purias, 30 SXG 25, 550 m, 12. VI. 2010, José Carrillo, 1 ♀ (VM); • same locality, 19. VI. 2010, José Carrillo, 1 ♂ (VM). Diagnostic characters. Metafemur unmarked; forewing unmarked; hindwing posterior margin markedly curved, convex; hindwing with marking below pterostigma; male ectoproct with branch long, in apical half of branch, just after mid-length; setae on branch only at tip; setae on branch and tip of ectoproct stout and curved. Redescription. Size (mm, based on 4 specimens) Head + thorax length 6.7–7.1; antenna length 11.6–14.5; fore wing length 15.7–22.4; fore wing width 6.5–6.7; hindwing length 19.2–22.7; hindwing width 4.2–5.5. Head. Occiput yellowish brown; setae dense, long, pale yellow (Fig. 9 C). Vertex yellowish brown; setae dense, long, pale yellow (Fig. 9 B). Para-ocular band pale yellow. Frons yellowish brown; setae dense, long, pale yellow. Clypeus and labrum yellowish brown; setae long, pale. Mandible yellowish brown, darker apically. Labium and palp yellowish brown. Antenna with pedicel with dense pale and dark setae, flagellomeres brown, nodes slightly darker; club brown, paler anteriorly (Fig. 9 A). Thorax. Cervical sclerite yellowish brown. Pronotum brown; setae long, pale yellow. Mesonotum yellowish brown; internal margins of sclerites with darker brown shades; mesoscutellum yellowish brown with faint median brown stripe; setae long, pale yellow. Metanotum yellowish brown, with faint median marking; setae pale yellow (Fig. 9 C). Pleurae yellowish brown; setae pale yellow (Fig. 9 D). Legs. Pro- and mesothoracic legs entirely yellowish brown. Metathoracic leg yellowish brown, unmarked. Setae of coxae pale yellow; setae of femora and tibiae thin, pale yellow, thicker blackish setae ventrally; tibial spurs narrow; setae of tarsi blackish (Fig. 9 D). Wings. Forewing long, apex rounded. Pterostigma with ~ 4 forked and unforked brown veinlets; membrane very pale brown, almost whitish in young (but not freshly emerged) individuals. Presectoral area with ~ 5 crossveins. RP with five branches. MA progressively curving toward hind margin in distal portion. MP - CuA area with ~ 3 irregular rows of cells. Axillary lobe slightly prominent. Forewing venation largely brown, paler toward wing base; Sc and R yellowish, very pale in young individuals; anal veins yellowish. Forewing membrane hyaline (in old specimens faint brownish), unmarked (Figs 2 C, 2 D, 4 E, 4 F, 9 A). Hindwing broad, wider at RP fork; hind margin markedly convex, with a pronounced curve. Presectoral area with three crossveins. RP with four branches. MA largely straight, slightly curved toward hind margin distally. MP - CuA area with ~ 2 irregular rows of cells. Hindwing venation brown, paler near wing base; Sc yellowish. Hindwing membrane hyaline, distal section with a long narrow brown marking, sometimes stripe-like, extending from pterostigma to first branch of RP (Figs 2 C, 2 D, 4 E, 4 F, 9 A). Abdomen. Tergites pale brown, each with a caudal pair of yellowish markings. Sternites pale brown, paler than tergites. Pleural membrane pale brown. Male genitalia. Ectoproct narrow, with long and thin branch bifurcating beyond mid-length, in apical half. Setae of ectoproct long, dark brown; setae on branch only at apex, dense, black, stout, curved, and spine-like; setae on tip of ectoproct black, stout, curved, and spine-like (Fig. 10 A – C). Tergite 9 sub-rectangular in lateral view, with prominent ventral projection; setae long and black, longer and denser on projection. Sternite 9 with three lobes, of which median largest; setae thin, spine-like on median lobe (Fig. 10 B, C). Gx 11 arch-shaped, projecting caudally and curved downward laterally; gx 9 sclerotized, dorsally folded; gp 9 lightly sclerotized forming a shallow median furrow (Fig. 10 F – J). Female genitalia. Ectoproct elongated; setae long, black (Fig. 10 D, E). Tergite 9 sub-rectangular. Gx 9 wider than long; setae long. Tergite 8 subrectangular. Gx 8 wider than long, with long setae. Gp 8 projecting ventrally; setae thin (Fig. 10 D, E). Comparative notes. Deleproctophylla bleusei has a long history of taxonomic confusion with D. dusmeti, to which it is sympatric in the Iberian Peninsula and closely resembles in wing pattern (Monserrat et al. 2014). However, D. bleusei can be distinguished by the unmarked metafemur (Fig. 9 D) and characters of male ectoproct, such as long and thin branch arising after mid-length (Fig. 10 A). The shape of the hindwing provides a reliable diagnostic trait: D. bleusei has smoothly curved posterior margin in D. bleusei, whereas D. dusmeti is characterized by a distinctly triangular shape. Additionally, young (but not newly hatched) specimens of D. bleusei are characterized by a pale C, Sc and R veins, as well as an almost whitish pterostigma. This distinctive venation coloration is also evident in the holotype. Distribution. Africa: Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia. Europe: Spain (H. Aspöck et al. 2001; Monserrat et al. 2014; Oswald 2025) (Fig. 25).