China, Hainan: Ledong County, Jianfengling, Mingfenggu, 18°74'24"N, 108°84'81"E.

Holotype : China • ♂; Hainan, Ledong County, Jianfengling, Mingfenggu; 18°74'24"N, 108°84'81"E; 24 Apr. 2016; X.-Y. Luo leg.; on Grewia cf. chuniana; CAU, dry mounted. Paratypes: China • 2 ♂, 7 ♀, 12 immatures; same data as holotype; CAU, NHMB, dry and slide mounted, and in 95% ethanol.

Adult. Body yellowish brown with small dark brown dots; forewing with each a broad medial and subapical light brown band and small, dark brown irregular spots. Metatibia with 3+4 grouped apical metatibial spurs separated by five unsclerotised bristle-like setae anteriorly. Forewing oval, widest in apical third; pterostigma long, strongly widening to middle; surface spinules present in all cells, covering membrane up to the veins; irregularly spaced to form groups of 5–6 spinules. Male proctiger weakly expanded posteriorly. Paramere, in lateral view, subrectangular with antero-apical sclerotised tooth. Aedeagus two-segmented; distal segment lacking ventral process. Female proctiger with relatively straight dorsal margin; apex obliquely truncate. Circumanal ring cruciform. – Fifth instar immature. Antenna 10-segmented. Forewing pad with 5 marginal subacute sectasetae. Tarsal arolium narrowly lamellar, widening to apex which is rounded; about twice as long as claws. Caudal plate with anterior margin distant from anterior margin of extra pore fields; with 2 lateral sectasetae on either side near fore margin, and three pointed sectasetae on either side of circumanal ring dorsally.

Adult. Colouration. Body (Fig. 1A, B) yellowish brown. Head and thorax covered with sparse small brown dots. Antenna yellow to yellowish brown, with apices of segments IV–IX and entire segment X dark brown to black. Femora with brown spots. Forewing yellowish with light brown pattern consisting of each a broad medial and subapical band and small, brown irregular spots, veins pale yellow.

Figure 1. 

Habitus of adults of Melanastera sinica He & Burckhardt, sp. nov. A dorsal view B lateral view. Scale bars: 1.0 mm.

Structure. Head, in lateral view (Fig. 1B), inclined at 45° from longitudinal body axis; in dorsal view (Fig. 1A), about as wide as mesoscutum. Vertex (Fig. 2A) subrectangular, about half as long as wide; surface with fine microsculpture and microscopical setae; median suture developed; posterior margin weakly concave. Genae weakly rounded, with each a pair of long setae on either side of frons (Fig. 2A). Frons relatively large, triangular. Eyes hemisphaerical. Antenna (Fig. 2B) 1.7–1.8 times as long as head width, with a single, large subapical rhinarium on each of segments IV, VI, VIII and IX; relative length of flagellar segments as 1.0: 0.5: 0.5: 0.5: 0.6: 0.6: 0.5: 0.4; relative length of segment 10 and terminal setae as 1.0: 1.3: 1.1. Clypeus flattened, in ventral view almost triangular. Thorax distinctly arched, with fine microsculpture; mesoscutellum swollen; metapostnotum with small subacute, laterally compressed tooth. Metacoxa with relatively short horn-shaped, blunt meracanthus; metatibia 1.0 times as long as head width, slender, weakly expanded apically; with 3+4 grouped apical metatibial spurs separated by five unsclerotised bristle-like setae anteriorly. Forewing (Fig. 2C) 2.7–3.1 times as long as head width, 1.6–1.8 times as long as wide, oval, widest in apical third; wing apex in the middle of cell r₂; veins densely clothed in conspicuous setae; vein C+Sc straight in basal two thirds, strongly bent in apical third; pterostigma long, strongly widening to middle; vein Rs relatively straight in the middle, curved in a 30° angle to costal margin apically; vein M weakly, irregularly curved; veins M₁₊₂ and M₃₊₄ slightly shorter than M; vein Cu shorter than M+Cu; vein Cu_1a evenly curved; vein Cu_1b straight, slightly shorter than Cu; surface spinules present in all cells, covering membrane up to the veins, along veins slightly finer; irregularly spaced to form groups of 5–6 spinules. Hindwing (Fig. 2D) slightly shorter than forewing, with indistinctly grouped costal setae. Visible abdominal tergites III–V with a tubercular bump in the middle in both sexes.

Figure 2. 

Melanastera sinica He & Burckhardt, sp. nov., adult A head B antenna C forewing D hindwing E male terminalia F inner face of paramere G female terminalia. Scale bars: 0.25 mm (A); 0.3 mm (B); 0.5 mm (C, D); 0.1 mm (E–G).

Terminalia (Fig. 2E–G). Male proctiger (Fig. 2E) 1.2–1.3 times as long as head width, broad with posterior margin produced; in lateral view, widest in basal third. Subgenital plate (Fig. 2E) subglobular, weakly irregularly curved dorsally. Paramere (Fig. 2E, F), in lateral view, subrectangular with antero-apical, partly sclerotised tooth-like process; posterior margin weakly sinuate; outer and inner face covered in long setae in apical half, denser on inner face and along apical and posterior margins. Aedeagus (Fig. 2E) two-segmented; distal segment, in lateral view, tubular and slightly angular postero-apically, lacking ventral process; sclerotised end tube of ductus ejaculatorius moderately long, relatively straight. – Female terminalia (Fig. 2G) cuneate, moderately long. Proctiger 0.4 times as long as head width; in lateral view, dorsal margin, distal to circumanal ring, almost straight; with a transverse row of long setae in the middle and a lateral longitudinal row of long setae on either side in apical third; apex, in lateral view, obliquely truncate, apex slightly upturned. Circumanal ring 0.4 times as long as proctiger; in dorsal view, cruciform. Subgenital plate 0.6 times as long as proctiger; irregularly narrowing to pointed apex, in lateral view; beset with long setae in apical two thirds.

Measurements (in mm; 3 ♂, 2 ♀). Total body length measured from anterior margin of vertex to tip of folded forewing ♂ 2.31–2.52, ♀ 2.42–2.68; antennal length ♂ 1.23–1.31, ♀ 1.24–1.34; metatibia length ♂ 0.70–0.73, ♀ 0.72–0.74; forewing length ♂ 1.87–2.12, ♀ 1.96–2.26; proctiger length ♂ 0.15–0.16 ♀ 0.26–0.28; paramere length 0.12–0.13; length of distal segment of aedeagus 0.13–0.14.

Fifth instar immature (Fig. 3). Body (Fig. 3C) 1.1–1.2 times as long as wide; sparsely covered in microscopic setae. Antenna (Fig. 3A) 10-segmented with a subapical rhinarium on each of segments IV, VI, VIII and IX, and following numbers of subacute sectasetae: 1 (0), 2 (2), 3 (0), 4 (2), 5 (0), 6 (2), 7 (1), 8 (1), 9 (0), 10 (0). Legs moderately long with 4–5 subacute sectasetae on tibiotarsi; tarsal arolium (Fig. 3B) narrowly lamellar, widening to apex which is rounded; about twice as long as claws. Forewing pad 0.7 times as long as antenna, bearing 5 moderately large marginal subacute sectasetae (Fig. 3C); hindwing pad with 2 marginal subacute sectasetae. Caudal plate (Fig. 3C–E) with anterior margin distant from outer band of extra pore fields, inner band of pores less distinct than outer band; with 2 sectasetae on either side laterally, and three pointed sectasetae on either side of circumanal ring dorsally.

Figure 3. 

Melanastera sinica He & Burckhardt, sp. nov., fifth instar immature A antenna B tarsal arolium C habitus (left: dorsal side, right: ventral side) D detail of extra pore fields (dorsal side) E detail of extra pore fields and circumanal ring (ventral side). Scale bars: 0.15 mm (A); 0.03 mm (B); 0.2 mm (C); 0.01 mm (D, E).

Measurements (in mm; 2 immatures). Body length 0.98–1.01; antennal length 0.52–0.54; length of forewing pad 0.35–0.37; length of tarsal arolium 0.03–0.04; length of claws 0.01–0.02.

From the Latin adjective sinicus = Chinese, referring to the unexpected discovery of this mostly American genus in China.

China: Hainan.

Grewia cf. chuniana Burret (Malvaceae).

Serbina et al. (in press) defined several species groups within Melanastera mostly on the basis of morphological characters of adults. Melanastera sinica is a member of the curtisetosa-group for the absence of a ventral process on the distal segment of the aedeagus. The curtisetosa-group is composed of four species from Brazil associated with Asteraceae (confirmed or likely hosts) and M. pilosa (Burckhardt et al. 2006) from Kenya and Tanzania, developing on Grewia bicolor Juss. (Malvaceae) (confirmed). Melanastera sinica differs from the four Brazilian species in the forewing with a much more expanded dark pattern, which is slightly expanding towards the apex (versus parallel-sided) and bears a broad (versus narrow) pterostigma, in the broad subrectangular paramere (versus narrow, lamellar), the 10-segmented antenna in the last instar immature (versus 9-segmented), and the host association with Malvaceae (versus Asteraceae). From the African M. pilosa with which it shares the expanded dark forewing pattern, the 10-segmented antenna in the last instar immature and the host genus Grewia, it differs in the broader paramere, the absence of long setae on the body and forewing, the broad (versus narrow) pterostigma, the broader paramere (versus narrower), and the apically broader and obliquely truncate (versus slender and subacute) female proctiger (Burckhardt et al. 2006).