Phasia varicolor ( Curran, 1927 ) Sun & Marshall, 2003

Sun, Xuekui & Marshall, Stephen A., 2003, Systematics of Phasia Latreille (Diptera: Tachinidae), Zootaxa 276 (1), pp. 1-320 : 203-205

3.7.8 Phasia varicolor ( Curran, 1927) , comb. nov.

(Figures I­66. II­3.1)

Catharosia varicolor Curran, 1927: 165 .

Besserioides varicolor: Crosskey 1973: 111 (catalog) ­ Cantrell and Crosskey 1989: 735 (catalog). Besserioides sexualis Curran, 1938: 185 .

DESCRIPTION

Body length: 6.5­7 mm.

MALE: HEAD. Head spherical or nearly so. Vertex 0.25 times as wide as head width; eyes separated by a distance 2 times as wide as ocellar triangle. Fronto­orbital plate brown to black, greyish yellow pruinose, 2­3 rows of hairs laterally. Frontal vitta broad, brown, parallel. Frontal vitta at base of antennae 2.5 times as wide as fronto­orbital plate anteriorly. Ocellar setae strong; outer vertical setae present; inner vertical setae absent. Face brown to black, greyish yellow pruinose. Parafacial brown to black, greyish yellow pruinose, bare, 0.9 times as wide as first flagellomere. Lower margin of face slightly projecting, visible in profile, orange yellow, yellow pruinose. Vibrissa well differentiated; intervibrissal distance 1.1 times distance between vibrissa and eye on same side; facial ridge with bristles on lower 1/6. Gena brown, yellow pruinose; hairs black; height 0.12 times eye height. Lunule brown, normal; sublunular bulla indistinct. Antenna brown to black; first flagellomere 2.1 times as long as pedicel; arista thickened on basal 0.33. Length of oral opening 1.2 times its width. Occiput slightly convex, white pruinose; hairs white. Palpus brown.

THORAX. Mesoscutum black, thinly grey pruinose; postpronotal brown, with fine black hairs. 0+1 Acrostichal seta; 0+1(2) dorsocentral setae; 1­2 postpronotal setae; presutural supra­alar seta present, strong; 0 postsutural intra­alar seta; 2 notopleural setae; 1 supra­alar seta; 2 postalar setae. Pleuron thinly grey pruinose; hairs black. Anepimeral setae hair­like, black; 3 katepisternal setae; 5­6 meral setae. Scutellum dark brown to black with grey pruinosity, with two pairs of marginal setae; apical setae present and distinct; discal setae randomly arranged, not in rows. Subscutellum not very prominent. WING. Lower calypter hyaline white. Wing base without scale­like setae. Tegula black. Basicosta brown. Wing hyaline, narrow; petiole of apical cell 0.2 times as long as preceding section of R 4+5; M meeting R 4+5 at acute angle. Halter yellow. LEGS. Fore femur brown to black; hairs black. Fore tibia black, without bristles, apically with 1 v, 1 pv and 1 d. Fore tarus black. Fore claws brown, apex black, 0.9 times as long as fifth tarsomere. Pulvilli yellow. Mid femur brown to black; hairs black. Mid tibia black, with 1 ad and 1 v, apically with 1 ad, 1 av, 1 pv, 1 pd, 1 v and 1 d. Hind femur brown to black; hairs black. Hind tibia black, with 4 ad and 3­4 pd.

ABDOMEN. Abdominal tergites black, with yellow spot or area (or whole yellow); pruinosity absent; longitudinal vitta absent. Relative length of abdominal tergites I+II:III:IV:V = 1.1:1:1:1; relative width I+II:III:IV:V = 0.5:1:1:0.9. Hair spots indistinct.

TERMINALIA. Syncercus triangular, deeply notched posteriorly; lateral side of cercus bent downward. Surstylus shorter than cercus, apex bent dorsally. Hypandrium broad, longer than phallapodeme. Ejaculatory apodeme slender. Pregonite reduced, with fine hairs ventrally. Postgonite long, bent ventrally, pointed. Epiphallus long, needle­like. Phallus slender, almost as long as hypandrium, sparely haired dorsally on basal 1/2. Distiphallus membranous, branched.

FEMALE. Wing hyaline. Vertex 0.2 times as wide as head width. Anterior spine­like setae of hind tibia absent. Abdomen brown to black. Sternites V, VI broad. Sternite VII (sheath) triangular, longer than sternite VI, narrow apically, bent, apex directed dorsally, smooth ventrally. Ovipositor bent upward.

TYPE MATERIAL

Catharosia varicolor Curran, 1927 . Holotype ♂, AUSTRALIA, Queensland, Bileola, 10.iii.1927, ex: Dysdercus sidae, E. Ballard (BMNH, examined); paratypes, 2♀, AUSTRALIA, Queensland, Brisbane, 26­27.iv.1926, E. Ballard, ex: Dysdercus sidae (BMNH, USNM, examined); 2♀, AUSTRALIA, Queensland, Biloela, xi.1927, ex: Dysdercus sidae E. Ballard (USNM, BMNH, examined).

Besserioides sexualis Curran, 1938 . Holotype ♂, [ AUSTRALIA], Queensland, Laidley, 1.v.1928, ex: Dysdercus sidae M.G. Evans (BMNH, examined); paratypes, 1♂ 1♀, [ AUSTRALIA], Queensland, Brisbane, 2.ix.1927, ex: Dysdercus sidae M.G. Evans (BMNH, USNM, examined); 1♀, [ AUSTRALIA], Gatton, 29.viii.1927, M.G. Evans (BMNH, examined).

OTHER MATERIAL EXAMINED

AUSTRALIA: Queensland, Biloea, 25.iv.1927, G.A. Currlf, ex: Dysdercus sidae (1♂, BMNH); Bardon, Bne, 7­11.1947, A.C.Arvier (1♂, UQIC). SRI LANKA: Anuradhapura, 29.iv.1939, J.C. Hutson, ex: Dysdercus cingulatus , (1♀, BMNH). INDIA: Varanasi, Banaras Hindy Univ., 28.xi.1981, ex: Dysdercus koanigii, R.K. Tripathi (1♀, BMNH); Ujjain, Vikram Univ., i.1964 (1♀, BMNH); Pusa, Bihar, Gravely, 5­10.xi.1915 (1♀, USNM); Jammv Tawi, 1971, ex: Dysdercus koenigii (1♀, BMNH).

HOSTS

Dysdercus sidae Montrouzier ( Hemiptera , Pyrrhocoridae ): ­ AUSTRALIA ( Crosskey 1973: 179).

Dysdercus koanigii Fabr. ( Hemiptera , Pyrrhocoridae ): ­ INDIA.

Dysdercus cingulatus Fabr. ( Hemiptera , Pyrrhocoridae ): ­ SRI LANKA.