DIAGNOSIS
This is the smallest of the three Palpares species found in Madagascar. It has the typical rounded wings of Palpares and has the elongate dark bands on fore- and hindwings, and fusion of the basal two bands of the hindwing. The male postventral lobes of the ectoprocts are short, straight and close together.

TYPE DEPOSITORY
ZMHB, Berlin

TYPE LOCALITY
Madagascar: Tulear, Voelzkow (syntype male and female).

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION
This species is found throughout the southern quarter of the country and along the west coast.

TEMPORAL DISTRIBUTION
It can be found in the adult stage during any month of the year, although peak emergence appears to be in December.

ELEVATION
9 to 825 m.

REMARKS
Weele (1907) has provided crude illustrations of the male genitalia. A lectotype has never been selected from the two syntypes. Fraser (1951) provides a key to Madagascar species known at that time. Both P. amitinus and P. insularis have complete basal and middle dark bands on the hind wing. The character most apparent fro separation of this species from P. insularis is the fusion at mid-length of the basal and middle bands of the hind wing.

There is a type specimen of Palpares amitinus fraseri Auber from Fort Dauphin in the Paris Museum. This specimen is similar to typical Palpares amitinus, except that the middle band in the hind wing is discontinuous. This is probably more of a genetic form rather than a subspecies.

Palpares decaryi Navas, 1924 was described for what appears to be a specimen of P. amitinus without the connecting hind wing bands. Fraser (1951b) did not include this species in his key to Madagascar species of Myrmeleontidae.