Melanastera curtisetosa Serbina & Malenovský & Queiroz & Burckhardt 2025

The curtisetosa -group Description. Adult. General body colour light (Fig. 7B). Head (Fig. 8D–G) and thorax covered with long setae. Head, in lateral view, inclined at <45° from longitudinal body axis. Vertex trapezoidal, 1.8–2.2 times as long as wide, with imbricate microsculpture and long macroscopical setae. AL 0.8–11, AL/HW 1.2–1.9. Thorax weakly to moderately arched. Forewing (Fig. 14D–G) oblong-oval, with subparallel costal and anal margins, widest in the middle; wing apex in cell r 2 near apex of M 1+2; pterostigma with subparallel margins, weakly or not widening towards apex (in one Oriental species, the forewing is broadly oval, with divergent costal and anal margins, widest in apical third, with wing apex in the middle of cell r 2 and pterostigma strongly widening to middle). Distal segment of aedeagus lacking ventral process. Dorsal margin of female proctiger, in lateral view, weakly or strongly sinuate distal to circumanal ring. Immature. Antenna 9-segmented (in Brazilian species) or 10-segmented (in Afrotropical and Oriental species). Comments. In addition to the four Brazilian species described here, the curtisetosa -group includes Melanastera pilosa (Burckhardt, Aléné, Ouvrard, Tamesse & Messi) from Kenya and Tanzania, developing on Grewia bicolor Juss. (Malvaceae) (Burckhardt et al. 2006a), M. sinica He & Burckhardt from China (Hainan island), developing on Grewia cf. chuniana Burret (Malvaceae) (He et al. 2024) and two fossil species from Miocene Dominican amber: M. casca Burckhardt & Drohojowska and M. vetus Burckhardt & Drohojowska (Burckhardt et al. 2024a). Adults of M. pilosa and M. sinica differ from the Brazilian taxa in having a shorter and broader forewing with much more numerous and denser dark dots (in M. pilosa) or dark bands (in M. sinica), which are also present in cell c+sc. Melanastera sinica also differs from the Brazilian species in the broader, medially widened pterostigma and broader, subrectangular paramere (He et al. 2024). The fifth instar immatures of M. pilosa and M. sinica differ from the Brazilian species of the curtisetosa- group by having a 10-segmented antenna, a forewing pad with 3–4 (in M. pilosa) or 5 (in M. sinica) marginal sectasetae and a tarsal arolium about twice as long as the claws (versus 9- segmented antenna, forewing pad with 5 or more marginal sectasetae and arolium about as long as claws or slightly longer). The two fossil species differ from the extant Brazilian species as follows: M. casca by the relatively broader forewings (FL/FW = 2.2 versus ≥ 2.4) and the relatively short female proctiger with a nearly straight dorsal outline (versus relatively long with a distinctly sinuate or concave dorsal outline), and M. vetus by the forewing with dark dots restricted to the apices of the veins along the margin but otherwise absent on the cells (versus with dark dots either absent altogether or present on most cells) (Burckhardt et al. 2024a). The species of the curtisetosa -group are associated with Asteraceae (in Brazil) and Malvaceae (in Africa and Asia). The four Brazilian species and the two Dominican amber species probably form a monophyletic group (Burckhardt et al. 2024a).