Argentinomyia humboldti Montoya & Wolff, 2023

Montoya, Augusto L. & Wolff, Marta, 2023, Taxonomic revision of the Neotropical genus Argentinomyia Lynch-Arribálzaga, 1891 (Diptera: Syrphidae), with description of 16 new species, Zootaxa 5234 (1), pp. 1-157 : 63-64

Argentinomyia humboldti Montoya & Wolff sp. nov.

Proposed standard English name: Humboldt’s long-antennae flower fly.

( Figs 34 and 90D )

Type material. HOLOTYPE. Adult female, pinned, deposited at Colección Entomológica Universidad de Antioquia. Original label: “ COLOMBIA, Antioquia, Belmira, Páramo Santa Inés” / “Cabaña Cabildo Verde, El Morro, Alto de La Gallina ” / “ 6,632639, -75,645267, 3170–3200m ” / “ 21-30.vi.2017, Net, C. Rodríguez; J. P. Carmona ”. “ HOLOTYPE / Argentinomyia humboldti / Montoya & Wolff 2020 ” ( CEUA 98063 ). Identified as Argentinomyia sp. 16 by Montoya 2019 . PARATYPES. COLOMBIA. Label with the same data as Holotype (1♀, CEUA 98064 ) ; Valle del Cauca, Jamundí, Corregimiento Meseta (Cabecera) La Selva , 3,167 630, -76,764164, 2200 m, Malaise trap, 27.v.2004, S. Sarria; M. Lasso, Collection sample·#5166 (2♀, IavH) ; ECUADOR. Napo Province, Yanayacu Biological Station , -0.598967, -77.891553, 2145 m, Net on flowers of Miconia sp. , 21.viii.2022, X. Mengual (1♀, INABIO) .

Length (n= 3): Body, 7.4–7.9 mm; Wings, 6.8–7.3 mm.

Diagnosis. Facial tubercle brown, face golden pilose and pollinose, facial pubescence not punctuate; calypter wholly yellowish; scutellum and pleuron partially yellow ground color, yellow-golden pilose and pollinose in these areas; wing bare basally; coxae brown; metabasitarsus yellow-orange, usually strongly contrasting with the dark color of the tibiae and the rest of the tarsi; abdomen with a pair of long, apically rounded rectangular to triangular maculae on 2 nd to 3 rd terga.

Description. FEMALE. Head ( Fig. 34A ): Face black, golden-yellow pollinose and pilose. Tubercle low, bare, area above the tubercle yellow pollinose. Frontal triangle yellow-silver pollinose, golden pilose. Frontal triangle brown-velvety pollinose, golden pilose. Gena black. Occiput black pilose dorsally, yellow hoary ventrally. Antenna orange, short, ratio 1.0:1.5:2.4, basoflagellomere as long as the scape and pedicel together, yellowish, darker toward the end and dorsal on basoflagellomere, pile black, apically rounded; arista brown, bare. Thorax ( Figs 34B–C ): Grey to yellow-orange, mesonotum yellow semishining, grey to golden pollinose, yellow-golden pilose. Pleura yellow pollinose, yellow pilose, postpronotum, the middle region of anepimeron, dorsal surface of katepisternum, katatergum, anatergum and postalar callus yellow golden pilose and pollinose. Scutellum grey shining, yellowgolden pollinose, with long yellow hairs and short yellow pile intermixed; fringe short and yellow. Wing ( Fig. 34C ): Slightly yellowish, stigma brownish, mostly bare, costal cell bare on basal 1/2, cells dm and r bare, cell cua bare on anterior 3/4, apical border slightly brownish; calypter wholly brown; plumula yellow; halter yellow, capitulum yellow. Legs ( Fig. 34C ): Slightly thickened, yellow, pro- and mesolegs yellow, metafemur brown, except yellow on apical 1/2, metatibiae and tarsi brown, brown pilose on brown areas; coxae brown. Abdomen ( Fig. 34B ): Black, yellow maculae, 1 st tergum laterally yellow, extending the maculae to the lateral area of the 2 nd tergum in the whole length, 3 rd tergum with a pair of rectangular maculae, apically rounded and extending only the apical 1/2 of segment length, in addition to slightly lateral maculae, 4 th tergum with short triangular maculae, extending only the apical 1/2 of segment length, 5 th with basolateral small maculae, in addition to slightly lateral maculae.

MALE. Unknown.

Etymology. The name of this beautiful species, Argentinomyia humboldti sp. nov. is given in honor of Alexander von Humboldt on the 250 th anniversary of his birth. Humboldt was an enthusiastic Prussian naturalist who collected many elements of the American fauna and flora in South and Central America, including Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela. His expeditions through South America provided biological material for several dipterologists, contributing to the knowledge of many Neotropical organisms in the early eighteenth century. The specific epithet is to be treated as a noun in the genitive case.

Biology. Label data suggest that A. humboldti sp. nov. visits flowers of Miconia sp. (Melastomataceae) .

Geographical range. Argentinomyia humboldti sp. nov. (n= 4) is distributed in Colombia (Antioquia and Valle del Cauca) and Ecuador (Napo) ( Fig. 90D ). The species is endemic to the Northern Andes domain, distributed throughout middle and high altitudes (2200–3200 m) in the provinces: Cauca (2200 m) , Magdalena (3170–3200 m) and North Andean Páramo (2145 m) .

Figures

FIGURE 34. Argentinomyia humboldti sp. nov., female Holotype (CEUA 98063): A. Head, frontal view; B. Dorsal view; C. Lateral view. Scale bars: 5 mm.

FIGURE 90. Geographical distribution of Argentinomyia species in the Tropical Andes.