Gurusamy Ramesh

Allocaecilius nilgiriensis sp. nov., discovered in the Southern Western Ghats of India, is described and illustrated. It can be distinguished by presence of unique brown patches in the distal cells R1, R3 and R5 in the forewing and thumb-like posterolateral sclerites in hypandrium. This represents the second species of the genus recorded from the country. Additionally, an updated key to all known species of genus Allocaecilius Lee & Thornton, 1967 and their distribution is provided.

Three new species of the genus Ectopsocus, namely E. bispinosus sp. nov., E. cluniatoides sp. nov., and E. sengaltheri sp. nov., are described and illustrated. In addition, four species of Ectopsocus, (E. ewarti Vaughan, Thornton & New, 1989; E. himalayanus New, 1971; E. hypandrus Thornton, 1984; and E. meridionalis Ribaga, 1904), and one species of Ectopsocopsis (E. mozambica (Badonnel, 1931)), are reported for the first time from India. Moreover, the female of E. himalayanus New, 1971, is described for the first time. This study is the first record of the genus Ectopsocopsis from India. We also provide an updated key to the species of the family Ectopsocidae from India.

Two new species of Hemipsocus Selys-Longchamps, 1872 are described here based on specimens collected from the forests of Jharkhand, Kerala and Tamil Nadu states, India. The species, H. mockfordi sp. nov. and H. menoni sp. nov., are differentiated from other members of this genus by the following characteristics; the female subgenital plate with two apical lobes, the straight and strongly chitinized male paraproctal horn in H. mockfordi sp. nov. The male epiproct exhibits well-developed scales that extend from the anterior section towards the median region in H. menoni sp. nov.

Lichenomima aldretei n. sp. is described and depicted here and collected from the forests of the Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu, India, and is distinguished by a distinctive apical lobe in the hypandrium.

Phallocaecilius indicus sp. nov., from the Southern Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, India, is here described and illustrated. This is the third known species in the genus, which is here reported from the Indian subcontinent for the first time.

Species of Lachesilla Westwood, in which the males have one clunial apophysis are so far known only in the Neotropics. We here describe a species of Lachesilla in the pedicularia species group from the Southern Western Ghats, India. The males present a short, distally obtusely concave apophysis in the clunium, over the area of the epiproct. Lachesilla aethiopica (Enderlein) known in the Neotropics, the USA and Africa, was collected in Tamil Nadu, India, representing a range extension to Asia.

Soa papanasam sp. nov. is described and illustrated based on both sexes from Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve and Mcghamalai Wildlife Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu, India. It differs from all other known species of Soa, by hindwing vein RI originating proximal to vein M1 and distal to M2. This is the first species of the genus Soa described from India.