Zodion asiaticum Becker, 1922

Stuke, Jens-Hermann, 2014, Some remarks on rare and new Palaearctic species of the genus Zodion Latreille (Diptera: Conopidae), Zootaxa 3860 (3), pp. 235-252 : 237-239

Zodion asiaticum Becker, 1922

(figs 10–11)

Material examined: Holotype (♂): (1) "Alai Geb. / VII. 1903 " [hand written]; (2) "50816"; (3) " Typus " [red]; (4) " asiaticum / Beck. / det. Becker" [first two lines hand written]. The specimen is deposited in the Museum für Naturkunde der Humboldt-Universität, Germany, Berlin ( ZMHB).

When Becker (1922) described Z. asiaticum he pointed out that the most important character to distinguish his new species from other Zodion species was the milky clouded wing ("milchig getrübten Flügel"). This character was the only one used by Kröber (1936) to distinguish Z. asiaticum from Z. cinereum . Zimina (2000) distinguished Z. asiaticum from Z. cinereum by the lack of spots at the bases of the hairs on the abdomen and thorax, and the denser and thinner hairs. These characters do not accord with the original description, however, in which Becker (1922) stated "die sonst hervortretende Fleckung des Rückens ist sehr schwach ausgebildet, ebenso fehlt die Behaarung fast ganz, am Schildrande stehen nur 4 zarte Härchen" and "Hinterleib aschgrau, fast nackt mit sehr geringer Punktierung". The indistinct black spots on the apical segments of the abdomen can be explained by the condition of the abdomen of the type specimen, which has become wet so that the dusting is not easy to see (fig. 10).

I have compared the holotype of Z. asiaticum with specimens of Z. cinereum and could not find any characters to distinguish the two. The white veins of the wing which give a milky-white impression (fig. 11) are in reality only very light veins, and the pattern of the wing colouration otherwise resembles Z. cinereum completely. Therefore Z. asiaticum Becker, 1922 should be treated as a junior synonym of Z. cinereum ( Fabricius, 1794) (syn. nov.).