Kalasha confusa Viraktamath & Yeshwanth 2023, sp. nov.

Kalasha confusa sp. nov.

Figs 6G, H, 10A, 12F, 21A–G

Diagnosis. Closely resembling K. minuta Shen & Zhang, but pronotum narrower posteriorly, aedeagal shaft longer and thinner, male pygofer ventral process with shorter process slender and less curved, subgenital plate narrowed both basally and distally (see also Remarks).

Description. Dark brown. Margins of crown, median ridge of clypellus, pale reddish brown, carina on dorsal area of crown creamy white. Labium yellowish brown, Eyes grayish brown with posterior region paler. Ocelli yellow. Basal callosities on crown creamy white. Pronotum dark brown with marginal areas reddish brown, mesoscutum dark brown, anterior half of mesoscutum reddish brown. Prothoracic and mesothoracic legs yellowish brown. Meta tibial stout setae and their bases black, slender ones brown. Forewing venation yellowish brown. Abdominal tergite III and IV with lateral large spots yellowish, the spots on tergite IV larger and closer to median line, other tergites with obscure yellowish areas (Fig. 12F).

Crown medially longer than interocular distance but shorter than width of head including eyes, disc depressed, median longitudinal sulcus clearly visible. Face including eyes longer than wide, clypellus shorter than frontoclypeus, surface coarsely punctate. Pronotum coarsely punctate with pits in transverse rows, medially longer than median length of crown but shorter than mesonotum, 1.1× as wide across posterolateral angels as head width including eyes, 1.3× as wide posteriorly as anterior margin, posterior margin concave medially. Mesonotum punctate with pits slightly smaller than those on pronotum. Forewing punctate in basal 0.75, venation especially in distal half clearly visible.

Male genitalia. Pygofer with vertical membranous cleft in basal 0.25, about 2× as long as wide in lateral view, ventral process almost as long as pygofer, with its dorsal fork straight and ventral fork curved. Subgenital plates narrow at base and also in distal 0.66, apex conically rounded, about 1.8× as long as wide, and more than 3× as long as wide at base and extending more than 0.66 basal length of pygofer in lateral view. Aedeagus with atrium slightly shorter than shaft, dorsal apodeme shorter than atrial length in lateral view, shaft narrowed at base and slightly widened distally in lateral view, dorsal surface strongly transversely wrinkled in mid region, wrinkles appearing as serrations in lateral view.

Measurements. Male 6.3 mm long, 1.8 mm wide across eyes and 2.1 mm wide across posterolateral angles of pronotum.

Material examined. INDIA: HOLOTYPE ♁, Meghalaya: East Khasi Hills, Mairang, 1866m, 25032 ’N 91048 ’E, 07.vi.2013, Yeshwanth, H.M. (UASB).

Etymology. This species is similar and can be easily confused with K. minuta Shen & Zhang from China and hence the name.

Remarks. K. confusa closely resembles K. minuta and differs in the following features: a) male 6.3 mm long compared to 10.0 mm in K. minuta; b) crown lateral margins more gradually narrowed in front of eyes compared to that in K. minuta and hence less sharply pointed than in the latter; c) male pygofer process with curved fork abruptly narrowed and more strongly curved in K. minuta compared to that in K. confusa; d) male pygofer process reaching beyond basal 0.66 length of pygofer in K. confusa compared to not reaching basal half in K. minuta; e) subgenital plate distally more strongly narrowed in K. confusa compared to that in K. minuta; f) aedeagus in K. confusa with atrium almost as long as shaft in lateral view compared to the shaft almost twice as long as atrium length in lateral view in K. minuta. M. confuse is probably the smallest species of the subfamily and some males of the brachypterous species of the genus from Vietnam, K. brachyala Tang & Zhang approach this size but still larger (the smallest male of K. brachyala 6.8 mm compared to 6.3 mm long in K. confusa). The two species differ in the shape and curvature of the male pygofer process, proportions of the atrium and aedeagal shaft and shape of the shaft in ventral view.