Hygiella nigripes Mesnil, 1968

Hiroshi Shima & Takuji Tachi, 2016, New species of Hygiella Mesnil (Diptera: Tachinidae), parasitoids of leaf insects (Phasmatodea: Phylliidae), Journal of Natural History 50 (25), pp. 1648-1668 : 1659-1661

Hygiella nigripes Mesnil, 1968

( Figures 1 B, 2C, D, 5A – E)

Hygiella nigripes Mesnil, 1968 , p. 182; Crosskey, 1976, p. 216 (Oriental catalogue); Crosskey, 1977a, p. 649 (Oriental catalogue).

Description

Male. Head with dense pale yellow/grey/white pruinosity; frontal vitta brown; antenna brown/black, arista brown, paler on thickened part; palpus red/yellow. Vertex about onefifth of head width; frontal vitta about twice as wide as fronto-orbital plate at middle; parafacial weakly narrowed below, subequal in width to (about three-fifths in profile) first flagellomere at middle height; gena 0.33 (3/ 10 in profile) of eye height. Inner vertical seta about three-fifths of eye height; outer vertical seta absent; ocellar seta slightly more than two-thirds length of inner vertical seta; one reclinate orbital seta, subequal in length to ocellar seta; seven or eight frontal setae, lowest seta nearly level with middle of pedicel; fronto-orbital plate with one or two rows of fine hairs; facial ridge with several short setae on lower quarter; five subvibrissal setae; gena with several strong hairs on anterior portion and fine hairs on posterior portion; occiput with a row of black hairs behind row of postocular setae. Antenna falling short of lower margin of face by about length of pedicel; first flagellomere about three times as long as pedicel; arista thickened on basal one-sixth. Palpus rather weakly clavate, slightly longer than first flagellomere.

Thorax black, with rather dense grey/white pruinosity; dorsum with four distinct longitudinal vittae. Three presutural and three postsutural acrostichal setae; three presutural and four postsutural dorsocentral setae; three katepisternal setae; anatergite with several minute hairs; scutellum with five pairs of marginal setae and one pair of discal setae, subapical scutellar seta about 1.2 times as long as basal seta and about twice as long as scutellum, two lateral setae fine, shorter than scutellum, apical setae subequal in length to scutellum; distance between bases of subapical setae subequal to that between basal and subapical setae of corresponding side.

Wing hyaline, only slightly tinged with pale brown, especially on basal and anterior portions; tegula and basicosta black; lower calypter pale yellow/white. Costal spine about 1.5 times as long as costal setae; second costal sector haired below; basal node of vein R4+5 with three fine hairs dorsally and ventrally. Relative lengths of costal sectors second, third and fourth approximately as 2: 5: 3; vein M from dm-cu crossvein to its bend longer than distance between the bend and wing margin (4: 3).

Legs black; pulvilli pale yellow/white. Fore tibia with two posterior setae; mid tibia with two strong anterodorsal setae. Claws and pulvilli subequal in length to fifth tarsomere.

Abdomen black; third and fourth tergites with pale blue/white pruinosity on anterior three-quarters; fifth tergite with dense brown nap dorsally and ventrally, anterior margin and mid dorsal longitudinal portion narrowly polished. Syntergite 1 + 2 without median marginal setae; third tergite with a pair of median marginal and lateral marginal setae; fourth and fifth tergites with a row of marginal setae; fifth sternite with broad U-shaped posteromedian cleft and posterior lobes very narrow.

Male terminalia. Cerci in lateral view with median lobe broad and weakly curved ventrally near apex, lateral lobe broad and nearly rounded; surstylus strongly constricted near middle in lateral view, then curved dorsally, apical portion broad; basiphallus with epiphallus nearly on mid-dorsal portion; basal portion of distiphallus rather broad, apical portion without distinct serration on dorsal margin; ejaculatory apodeme very small and weakly sclerotized.

Female. Unknown.

Body length: 8.0 mm.

Type material examined: Holotype male of Hygiella nigripes, Pashok, W. Bengal [ India], 10.viii.1965, Resting on Toon [? Toona ciliata : Meliaceae ] ( CNC).

Additional material examined: one male, Zhushan, Jingdong, Yunnan, China, 9. viii.1990, X. Lin ( KUM); one male, Menla, Menlong, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, China, 16. viii.1990, X. Lin ( IZCAS); three males, Deo Cao Pha, 420 m, E of Ban Song, Son La Prov., Vietnam, 22 – 23.vi.1997, H. Kurahashi ( NSMT, KUM).

Distribution

China (Yunnan), India (West Bengal), Vietnam.

Figures

Figure 1. Male head in dorsal view (A, B) and lateral view (C). (A, C) Hygiella angustifrons sp. nov. (B) Hygiella nigripes Mesnil. Scales: 1 mm.