Pales pumicata ( Meigen, 1824 )

Cerretti, Pierfilippo, 2005, Revision of the West Palaearctic species of the genus Pales Robineau­Desvoidy (Diptera: Tachinidae), Zootaxa 885, pp. 1-36 : 29-31

Pales pumicata ( Meigen, 1824) ( Figs 4 , 11 )

Tachina pumicata Meigen, 1824: 397 . Type locality: not given [Europe].

Pales brunicans Robineau­Desvoidy, 1830: 156 . Type locality: St. Sauveur [Yonne, France]. Tachina diniele Walker, 1849: 771 . Type locality: England [?].

Zenillia speculanda Pandellé, 1895: 338 . Type locality: Hautes­Pyénées [ France].

Type material. Syntype ɗ of Tachina pumicata : [round card] Meigen / [rear] 2002 / 40 // Phorocera / pumicata / ɗ [ MNHN]. [specimen in good condition with 2 reclinate upper orbital setae]. Syntype ɗ of Tachina pumicata : [round card] Meigen / [retro] 2002 / 40 // pumicata / Ψ [sic!] [ NHMP]. [actually a male — in good condition]. Holotype ɗ of Tachina diniele : Type Tachina diniele Walk. [round, with green circle] // Holotype [round, with red circle] // England // HOLOTYPE ɗ / OF Tachina / diniele Walk. / examined 1970 / R. W. Crosskey // Pales diniele (Walk) det R. W. Crosskey, 1973 / (?= pumicata Mgn ) // Pales / pumicata Meig. / B. Herting det. // BMNH (E) # 239687 [ BMNH]. [specimen in good condition].

Additional material. FRANCE — Basses­Alpes, Lurs, 21.VI.1991, Tschorsnig leg., 1 ɗ ( SMNS). Hautes­Alpes, Ailefroide, Torrent de St. Pierre, 10.VIII.1997, Tschorsnig leg., 1 ɗ ( SMNS). Hautes­Alpes. 1 km N Ailefroide, 5–6.VIII.1997, Tschorsnig leg., 2 ɗɗ, 1 Ψ ( SMNS). Hautes­Alpes, Briançon, Ailefroide, 2.VIII.1985, Tschorsnig leg., 2 ɗɗ ( SMNS). Hautes­Alpes, Dauphiné, Ailefroide, 7.VII.1975, 1 ɗ ( SMNS). Hautes­Alpes, Briançon, Les Aberts, 1.VIII.1985, Tschorsnig leg., 1 ɗ ( SMNS). Hautes­Alpes, Brunissard, 11.VII.1991, Tschorsnig leg., 1 ɗ; ditto 10.VII.1991 1 ɗ; ditto 7.VII.1991 1 ɗ ( SMNS). Hautes­Alpes, Col Izoard Nord 1700 m, 14.VII.1976, 2 ɗɗ ( SMNS). Hautes­ Alpes, S of Col de la Pousterle, 9.VIII.1998, Tschorsnig leg., 3 ɗɗ ( SMNS). Hautes­ Alpes, E Lauteret 1950 m, 30.VII.1992, Tschorsnig leg., 1 ɗ ( SMNS). Hautes­Alpes, Prorel 2570 m, 30.VII.1992, Tschorsnig leg., 1 Ψ ( SMNS). Hautes­Alpes, Queyras, Brunissard, 10.VII.1975, Herting leg., 1 ɗ ( SMNS); ditto, 14.VII.1976, Herting leg., 2 ɗɗ, 2 ΨΨ ( SMNS); ditto, 31.VII.1985, Tschorsnig leg., 9 ɗɗ, 1 Ψ ( SMNS); ditto, 4.VIII.1983, Tschorsnig leg., 2 ɗɗ, 3 ΨΨ ( SMNS). Hautes­Alpes, le Rocher Blanc, 2550 m, 26.VII.1995, Tschorsnig leg., 1 ɗ ( SMNS). Hautes­Alpes, Val Biaysse, les Mensals, 11.VIII.1998, Tschorsnig leg., 1 ɗ ( SMNS). Drôme, Saillans, 17.VI.1988, Tschorsnig leg., 1 ɗ ( SMNS). Roussilon, Umg. Banyuls s. Mer, 10–20. VI.1994, leg. Mittelm. Exkurs. 2 ΨΨ ( SMNS). Var, Cavalière, V, 1 ɗ ( SMNS). Vaucluse, Lagnes, 9.V.1965, B. Herting leg., 1 ɗ, 1 Ψ ( SMNS); ditto, 4.VI.1966, Herting leg., 1 Ψ ( SMNS). ITALY (mainland) — Emilia­Romagna, Bologna prov., Borgo Capanne, VIII.1950, 1 ɗ, 1 Ψ ( SMNS). Latium, Latina prov., Parco Nazionale del Circeo, Monte Circeo, quarto freddo 30 m a.s.l., 1.IX.2004, P. Cerretti, B. Merz, G. Nardi leg., 1 ɗ ( PCCR). Toscana, Firenze prov., Palazzuolo sul Senio 400 m, VIII.1982, 1 ɗ; ditto, 24.IX.1984, 1 ɗ ( SMNS). Firenze prov., Quadalto, 450 m, 4.VIII.1998, G. Campadelli leg., 1 ɗ ( SMNS). Toscana, Firenze prov., Valico Paretaio 950 m, 27.VIII.1978, 3 ɗ ( SMNS). ITALY (Sicily) — Palermo prov., Bosco della Ficuzza 600–1000 m a.s.l., 31.VII.2003, P. Cerretti, M. Tisato leg. (2 ɗɗ, swept from flowers of Foeniculum vulgare ( Apiaceae )) ( PCCR). SPAIN — Gerona prov., 3–5 km SE LEscala, 27.V.1998, Tschorsnig leg., 1 Ψ ( SMNS). Gerona prov., Port de la Selva, Puig vaquer, 430 m, 31.V.1998, Tschorsnig leg., 3 ɗɗ ( SMNS). Gerona prov., E Sant Pere de Rodes, 30–31.V.1994, Tschorsnig leg., 26 ɗɗ, 2 ΨΨ ( SMNS). Gerona prov., 2 km W Sant Pere de Rodes, 1.VI.1998 Tschorsnig leg., 2 ɗɗ ( SMNS). Granada prov., Prado Llano, 18.VI.1987, Tschorsnig leg., 3 ɗɗ ( SMNS). Huesca prov., Puerto de Oroel, 25.VI.1992, Tschorsnig leg., 1 ɗ ( SMNS). Huesca prov.,Valle de Ansó, 1 km W Zuriza, 21.VIII.2000, Tschorsnig leg., 3 ɗɗ, 1 Ψ ( SMNS). Huesca prov., Valle del Hecho, 6 km S Hecho, 22.VIII.2000, Tschorsnig leg., 1 Ψ ( SMNS). Huesca prov., 5 km N Sallent de Gállego, 23.VIII.2000, Tschorsnig leg., 2 ɗɗ, 1 Ψ ( SMNS). SWITZERLAND – Genève, Genthod, Frey G. coll. 2 ΨΨ ( MHNG). Vaud, la Sarraz, 17.VII.1974, 1 Ψ ( SMNS).

Diagnosis. Thorax (except scutellum) black in ground colour; scutellum red on posterior 1/3 or more. Abdomen black (rarely reddish on sides of abdominal tergites 3 and 4), sometimes with bronze or dark blue reflections, covered with more or less dense grey or golden­grey microtrichosity (very dense with shifting spots in the specimens from Sicily). Usually 1 reclinate upper orbital seta (about 20% of the material examined have 2); lateral vertical seta weak, not or slightly differentiated from the postocular setulae. ɗ: postpedicel about 2.2–3.3 times as long as pedicel; parafacial (in lateral view) at its narrowest point 0.43–0.75 times as wide as postpedicel; frons 0.83–1.3 times as wide as an eye in dorsal view; legs entirely black (rarely tibiae dark brown); claws at least as long as tarsomere 5 (fore claws longer than tarsomere 5); cerci short and stout; surstylus shorter than cerci in lateral view (as in Fig. 17 ). Ψ: postpedicel about 1.7–2.6 times as long as pedicel; lateral vertical setae strong, well differentiated from the postocular row; frons 0.9–1.3 times as wide as an eye in dorsal view.

Distribution. Euro­Mediterranean (cf. Tschorsnig et al. 2004).

Hosts. Unknown.

Remarks. P. pumicata was firstly cited from Sardinia by Martelli and Arru (1958) on the basis of specimens reared from Malacosoma neustria ( Lepidoptera : Lasiocampidae ) and identified by Prof. Filippo Venturi. My examination of these specimens (FVCP) revealed that they belong to P. pavida . The record of P. pumicata from Sardinia by Richter (1995) is also based on this misidentification.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 6. Pales spp. 1. Pales abdita sp. nov. paratype ɗ (Cyprus), habitus. 2. Pales marae sp. nov.

FIGURES 10 – 16. Pales spp. 10. Pales pavida (Meigen) ♂ (Germany, Baden­Württemberg), left hind tibia in dorsal view. 11. Pales pumicata (Meigen) ♂ (Italy, Latium), left hind tibia in dorsal view, scale bar 1 mm (for Figs 1011). 12 – 14. Male terminalia of Pales abdita sp. nov. paratype ♂ (Spain, Salamanca prov.). 12. Sternite 5 in ventral view, scale bar 0.5 mm. 13. Epandrial complex in posterior view. 14. Epandrial complex in right lateral view. 15 – 16. Male terminalia of Pales abdita sp. nov. paratype ♂ (Italy, Verona prov.). 15. Cerci and right surstylus in posterior view. 16. Epandrial complex in right lateral view. Scale bar 0.5 mm (for Figs 13 – 16).

FIGURES 17 – 19. Male terminalia of Pales marae sp. nov. paratype ♂ (Italy, Sardinia, Sassari prov.), scale bar 0.5 mm. 17. Terminalia in right lateral view; a: hook­like structure on hypandrium. 18. Epandrial complex in posterior view. 19. Sternite 5 in ventral view.