Villa sesivora, Greathead, David J. & Karimpour, Younes, 2006

Greathead, David J. & Karimpour, Younes, 2006, A new species of Villa Lioy, 1864 (Diptera: Bombyliidae) parasitic on Sesiidae (Lepidoptera), Zootaxa 1156, pp. 65-68 : 66-68

Villa sesivora sp. nov.

This species closely resembles V. niphobleta in the presence of very pale whitish vestiture and an almost completely hyaline wing but differs in the absence of black hairs and bristles, except on the frons; presence of black scales on the scutum as well as the abdominal terga; and the different epiphallus.

Description

Holotype ♂. Head. Black, only rim of oral cavity ivory. Frons twice width of ocellar tubercle at vertex, with short, fine black hairs, face with pale yellowish hairs; frons face and occiput with whitish scales, dense on lower part of frons and face, tinged yellowish on upper frons and either side of the median occipital groove. Antennal ration 2:1:3.5. Flagellum comprising a single flagellomere, conical at its basal 1/3, remainder narrow, rod­like; scape with white hairs on inner side and white and black on outer side. Proboscis as long as oral cavity, blackish with sparse, fine yellowish hairs. Palpi pale brownish with pale hairs at the base and black ones at the apex. Thorax. Black; hair white, tinged yellowish on the upper anterior margin; bristles weakly developed colourless and barely distinguishable from the hair; scales white and black at middle of scutum and base of scutellum. Legs, brownish­black; bristles black, sparse and weak; hair on coxae white, scales on femora and tibiae whitish tinged yellow, black on tarsi. Wing hyaline, except costal cell and extreme base milky whitish. Patagium and costal comb well developed, patagium silvery white, costal comb chalky white. Veins yellow at base gradually darkened to brown beyond vein MA. Venation as V. niphobleta with r­m cross­vein at one 1/3 length from base of cell dm, vein M2 angular before cross­vein m­m so that apex of dm is broad. Haltere ivory white. Abdomen ( Fig. 1 ). Black with brownish areas at sides of terga 1–4; covered in fine white hair and scales interrupted by bands of black scales across apical 2/3 of terga 1–4 and bases of terga 5–7; black scales at sides of terga 5–6 upstanding, forming minute tufts; sterna with white hair and scales. Genitalia (Fig. 2) with gonocoxae broad proximally, epiphallus as long as gonocoxae broad and bent ventrally at apex and with three fine bristles at either side near the apex. Body length: 10 mm; wing 9 mm.

Paratype Ψ. As holotype but frons four times width of ocellar tubercle at vertex; pale hair and scales more distinctly yellowish; patagium chalky white like costal comb.

Material examined

Holotype ♂. IRAN: Urmia, N37°31’ E45°01’, vi.2004, Y. Karimpour, host Chamaesphecia schizoceriformis Kolenati (Lep. Sesiidae ) [ BMNH]. Paratypes 2 ♂♂, 1 Ψ, same data as holotype 1 Ψ in BMNH, 2 ♂♂ in DPPU.

Etymology

Named from the host family and Latin for devourer.

Remarks

The specimens were reared from the pupae of C. schizoceriformis which bores into the roots of Euphorbia boissieriana and pupates there. This record is of particular interest in that species of Chamaesphecia from Europe have been released in North America for control of introduced weedy members of the E. esula complex ( Julien & Griffiths, 1998).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Villa sesivora sp. nov. dorsal view of male FIGURE 2. Villa sesivora sp. paratype to show distribution of scales on the abdomen. nov., lateral view of male genitalia and dorsal view of epiphallus.