Melittia mida Bartsch & Sáfián, 2025, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Bartsch, Daniel
name: Sáfián, Szabolcs
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Sesiidae
Melittia
Melittia mida

description: Melittia mida sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 9EF564D0-EF36-4014-A45F-A8339A7C53A0
Figs 1–7
Material examined. Holotype: ♂ (Figs 1, 2) “ Kenya, Kilifi District, Mida / east of Arabuko-Sokoke / Forest, 20 m, 21–23.IV.2024, / 3°18’33.5‘‘S, 39°57’58.9‘‘E, / pheromone, Sz. Sáfián leg.”; “Holotype, Melittia mida, Bartsch & Safian des. 2024” (SMNS).
Paratypes: 7 ♂ (Figs 3–6) same data as holotype (6 SMNS, 1 HNHM) (1 ♂, genitalia examined by D. Bartsch, slide DB 2024-09) (Fig. 7).
Etymology. Named after the type locality, the village of Mida, which lies between Mida Creek and the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest in the coastal region of Kenya.
Description. Holotype with alar expanse 33 mm, forewing length 14 mm, antenna length 7 mm, body 16 mm.
Head: labial palpus with basal palpomere white with some light yellow scales, second one pale yellow, laterally white with some black scales distally, terminal one yellow mixed with some black scales; frons dark grey, ventrally and laterally white; vertex and dorsal portion of pericephalic scales covered with mixture of black and white scales, pericephalic scales sub-dorsally greenish ochre, laterally pale yellow; antenna black, tip ventrally mixed with some light yellow scales, scapus dorsally white.
Thorax: patagia glossy greenish yellow; remaining parts dorsally greenish ochre, laterally grey, ventrally white with some yellow scales.
Legs: foreleg pale yellow; tibia orange-yellow; tarsus with black line dorsally. Midleg with coxa and femur pale yellow; ventral edge of femur with hair-like mixed white and light yellow scales; tibia yellow with tufts of long scales dorsally and ventrally; tarsus yellow, mixed with black scales; first tarsomere with tufts of long scales ventrally. Hindleg with coxa and femur pale yellow; ventral edge of femur with hair-like mixed white and light yellow scales; hindtibia and all tarsomeres with tufts of long, hair-like, mainly ochre-yellow scales, mixed with some brownish and dark grey scales; tibia laterally as well as first tarsomere on inner side black-brown, other tarsomeres black-brown throughout.
Wings: transparent areas very large; forewing apical area almost completely reduced; forewing discal spot narrow, black; all wings with costal area, veins and margins black, some greenish ochre scales basally; hindwing discal spot very narrow; hindwing dorsum black; fringes of all wings dark grey; underside of forewing costal area yellow.
Abdomen: dorsally black, posterior margins of all tergites narrow ochre-yellow; tergite 1 entirely, tergite 2 anteriorly and laterally, remaining tergites laterally covered with long, greenish ochre scales; sternites white; anal tuft ochre-yellow, laterally white; specialized scale follicles of tergite 8 largely reduced (compare Naumann 1971), present only in middle of posterior margin.
Male genitalia. Uncus lobes rather long, somewhat pointed, with rows of short strongly sclerotized spines apically; vinculum caudally narrowed; saccus relatively short; valva evenly widened distally, triangular, apical and ventral lobe evenly rounded at the termen of the valva; ventral lobe densely covered with long strongly sclerotized setae; phallus simple, slightly shorter than valva.
Variation. Alar expanse varies between 30 and 35 mm, hindlegs vary somewhat in the extent and intensity of the dark pattern.
Diagnosis. The large transparent areas, the largely reduced forewing apical area, the narrow forewing discal spot and the greenish-ochre colour of the body are characteristic and clearly distinguish this species from almost all its congeners. In Africa, only Melittia boulleti Le Cerf, 1917 has a similar structure of the wings, with very narrow forewing apical area and narrow discal spots, but a completely different colouration of body and legs. In M. boulleti, thorax and abdomen are dark brown with bronze to bronze-purple sheen (greenish ochre dorsally, white ventrally in M. mida sp. nov.); anal tuft dark brown (ochre-yellow in M. mida); legs much darker, particularly hindtibia dark brown to black, yellow ventro-proximally, rusty ventrally and distally (mainly ochre-yellow in M. mida sp. nov.); hind tarsus except for first tarsomere smooth (with tufts of black scales in M. mida sp. nov.).
Habitat and Behaviour. This species was collected in a young secondary thicket along the edge of the Arabuko-Sokoke coastal forest complex (Fig. 8). The type series was captured using a bundle of various pheromone lures between 8:50 and 10:00 am in hot and sunny weather at 28–29°C and quite strong wind.
Distribution. Only known from the type locality.
description: Published as part of Bartsch, Daniel & Sáfián, Szabolcs, 2025, Two new Clearwing moths from coastal Kenya (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae: Melittiini, Osminiini), pp. 573-580 in Zootaxa 5588 (4) on pages 574-576, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5588.4.4, http://zenodo.org/record/14896670