Meomyia hortorum, Li & Yeates, 2020

Li, Xuankun & Yeates, David K., 2020, Revision of the Australian bee fly genus Meomyia Evenhuis, 1983, with description of three new species (Bombyliidae, Bombyliinae, Bombyliini), Zootaxa 4810 (2), pp. 201-243 : 216-219

4. Meomyia hortorum sp. nov.

( Figs 9 , 10 , 27a )

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:FBE48882-49F7-43D9-9F30-B1137D54DE2E

Type specimens. Holotype ♂ Australia, WA, -32.0974 116.5923, York, on Leptospermum , 16 Sep 2018, J & F Hort ( WAM) . Paratypes ♂ (3) ♀ (4), Australia, WA, same data as holotype ( WAM) .

Other specimens examined. Australia, WA, ♂ (8) ♀ (1), Wandering , 27 Sep 1951, IFB Common. ♂ (1) ♀ (1), 12 ml. NW. of Williams, 30 Sep 1952, Key & Wallace. ♂ 3 ml. NNW. of Crossman, 30 Sep 1952, Key & Wallace. ♂ 33.50S 119.15E, Fitzgerald R. 36km ENE Jerramungup, 22 Sep 1981, ID Naumann, JC Cardale. ♂ (1) ♀ (1), 32.45S 116.34E, 2km NNW of Crossman, 24 Sep 1981, ID Naumann, JC Cardale. ♀ Near Yarelea [maybe miss spelling], 17 Sep 1936, Mackerras. ♀ Katanning, 11 Oct 1951, IFB Common. ♀ Newdegate, 19 Sep 1952, McIntosh, Calaby. ♂ (2), -32.0484 116.5689, York, open woodland, 15 Sep 2018, J & F Hort. ♂ (3), -32.0822 116.5921, on Olearia rudis , 16 Sep 2018, J & F Hort .

Diagnosis. Antennal flagellum wide. Posterior margin of scutum without black band. Posterior margin of scutellum and abdominal tergites 3–6 with pale yellow setae. Lateral margin of male gonocoxite slightly curved subapically; apex of epiphallus bifid, branch slender and acute apically.

Description. Male. Body length 8.5–9.1 mm, wing length 9.6–9.9 mm.

Head. Head about 2.0 x wider than long, mostly black with thick pale pruinescence and covered in white hairs and scales. Eye holoptic. Frons long, 3.3 x length of ocellar tubercle, upper narrow and black; lower half triangular, as long as upper half, with thick pale pruinescence, and white scales. Ocellar tubercle slightly raised, blackish brown to black with sparse pale pruinescence, with long black hairs. Face with thick pale pruinescence and covered in long white hairs. Gena with thick pale pruinescence and sparse white hairs. Clypeus with thick pale pruinescence and otherwise bare. Occiput with thick pale pruinescence and long white hairs. Posterior eye margin slightly concave. Antennal scape and pedicel brown with sparse pale pruinescence, scape with long white hairs, admixed with few long black hairs, pedicel with short black hairs; flagellum black without pruinescence, bare. Scape 3.0 x as long as wide, and 3.0 x as long as pedicel, uniform from base to apex. Pedicel 0.8 x as long as wide. Flagellum 8.0 x as long as wide, 2.0 x as long as scape + pedicel, 2.5 x as long as scape, conical and slightly laterally compressed, one-segmented with apical stylus ( Fig. 9c ). Palpus not extending beyond oral cavity, brown with short brown hairs, one-segmented, without palpal pit. Mouthparts slender, 3.8 x as long as eye length, 2.1 x as long as head length, labellum large and fleshy ( Fig. 9h ).

Thorax. Integumental colour of scutum mostly black with sparse grey pruinescence. Scutum covered with white to pale yellow hairs, admixed with few black hairs, hairs denser on anterior half; postalar callus with four pale yellow setae and admixed with dense black and white hairs. Four brownish yellow notopleural setae present. Scutellum black with sparse grey pruinescence, pruinescence denser on the margin, covered with long white hairs, admixed with some black hairs, posterior margin with pale yellow setae. Pleura black with thick pale pruinescence, mostly covered in long white hairs, except anterodorsal area of anepisternum with pale yellow setae, anepimeron, meron, laterotergite and mediotergite bare.

Legs. Legs blackish brown and mostly covered in black scales, except posterior half of femora covered in white scales and hairs, posterior face of fore and mid tibia admixed with white scales. Fore femur with one row of anterior bristles medially; mid femur with one row of anterior bristles; hind femur with one row of anteroventral bristles, and more separate bristles on apical half. Bristles and other hairs on legs brown. Fore tibia 2.2 x longer than fore basitarsus, mid tibia 2.4 x longer than mid basitarsus, hind tibia 2.5 x longer than hind basitarsus.

Wings. Wing membrane hyaline. Cell r 5 closed; cell br shorter than cell bm, crossvein r-m arising from base of cell dm; crossvein m-m 0.8 x as long as crossvein r-m; cell cua open ( Fig. 9d ). Haltere stem black, knob blackish brown.

Abdomen. Integumental colour of tergites black mostly with thick pale pruinescence. Tergite 1 with dense pale yellow hairs; tergite 2 with pale yellow hairs on anterior half, and dense black hairs on posterior half; tergites 3–4 with dense white hairs; tergites 5–7 with dense black hairs, except hairs sparse medially; posterior margin of tergites 3–6 with pale yellow setae, posterior margin of tergites 2 and 7 with black setae; tergite 8 with dense white hairs. Sternites black with thick pale pruinescence, sternites covered in white scales, and with pale yellow setae on posterior margin. Genitalia. Epandrium anterior margin strongly concave, posterior margin strongly concave ( Fig. 10d ). Lateral margin of gonocoxite slightly curved subapically ( Figs 10 a–b); apex of epiphallus bifid, branch slender and acute apically ( Fig. 10c ).

Female. Body length 8.3–9.2 mm, wing length 8.8–9.5 mm. Very similar to male, except frons black with thick pale pruinescence, 2.9 x as wide as ocellar tubercle, frons with short white scales admixed with brownish yellow setae ( Fig. 9k ). Eight acanthophorite spines present on each side of tergite 9+10 ( Fig. 10g ).

Remarks. Meomyia hortorum sp. nov. is similar to Meomyia kochae sp. nov., but differs as follows: antennal flagellum wide; posterior margin of scutellum and abdominal tergites 3–6 with pale yellow setae; lateral margin of male gonocoxite slightly curved subapically.

Distribution. Australia (WA).

Etymology. This species is named in honor of Fred and Jean Hort for their important contributions to photographing and collecting Diptera specimens from Western Australia.

Figures

FIGURE 9. Meomyia hortorum sp. nov. External (a–h (♂); i–n (♀)): (a, i) dorsal; (b, j) lateral; (c) antenna, lateral; (d) wing; (e, k) head, dorsal; (f, l) head, frontal; (g, m) head, profile; (h, n) head, lateral. Scale bars = 1 mm (a, b, d–n); = 0.1 mm (c).

FIGURE 10. Meomyia hortorum sp. nov. Genitalia (a–e (♂); f, g (♀)): (a) genital capsule, dorsal; (b) genital capsule, ventral; (c) genital capsule, lateral; (d) epandrium, dorsal; (e) epandrium, lateral; (f) sternite 8, ventral; (g) genitalia and spermathecae. Scale bars = 0.1 mm.

FIGURE 27. Meomyia adults visiting flowers from WA. (a) male Meomyia hortorum sp. nov. visiting Leucopogon sp. flowers; (b) female Meomyia sericans (Macquart, 1850) visiting Pimelea sp. flowers; (c) male Meomyia sericans (Macquart, 1850) visiting Verticordia sp. flowers. Photograph by Jean and Fred Hort.