Saropogon Loew, 1847

Alberts, Charlotte H. E. & Fisher, Eric M., 2022, A new species of Saropogon Loew, 1847 (Diptera, Asilidae) from Arizona, with a review of the Nearctic species north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1130, pp. 1-63 : 1

Saropogon Loew, 1847

Saropogon Loew, 1847: 439 (as subgenus of Dasypogon ). Type species: Dasypogon luctuosus Wiedemann, 1820; Coquillett (1910: 603); by designation.

Sarapogon = Sarapogon Williston, 1889: 74; incorrect spelling.

Araiopogon = Araiopogon Carrera, 1949: 122; junior synonym. Type species: Dasypogon gayi Macquart, 1838: 37).

Lycomax = Lycomax Hull, 1962: 278; as a subgenus of Saropogon Loew, 1847. Type species: Saropogon flavofacialis Hull, 1956: 133.

Oberon = Oberon Carrera & Papavero, 1962: 57; junior synonym. Type species: Oberon velutinus Carrera & Papavero, 1962: 58.

Subfamily.

Dasypogoninae ( Hull 1962; Papavero 1973; Artigas and Papavero 1988; Lehr 1988; Geller-Grimm 2004; Dikow 2009a; Cohen et al. 2021).

Tribe.

Saropogonini ( Hardy 1926; Martin and Papavero 1970; Dikow 2009a, 2009b, 2018).

Diagnosis.

Saropogon has a stout and often twisted spur at the antero-ventral apex of the fore tibiae (Fig. 3A ), the same as related genera in the subfamily Dasypogoninae . It differs from other Nearctic taxa such as Diogmites Loew and Blepharepium Rondani by having cell m3 open (Fig. 3B ), and an antennal stylus composed of a single element with an apical seta-like element positioned apically in a cavity on the stylus (Fig. 3C ). However, some S. pritchardi have cell m3 almost closed, but never stalked. Saropogon differs from Lestomyia Williston by having a mystax confined to the oral margin (Fig. 3D ) and its face is slightly concave (Fig. 3E ) when viewed laterally. Some species of Lestomyia have a mystax confined to the oral margin, which can be distinguished from Saropogon by having strong anterior (presutural) dorsocentral bristles (absent in Saropogon ( Wilcox 1966)). Cophura can be distinguished from Saropogon by its fore tibial spur on the postero-ventral surface being thin, and sigmoid rather than stout, hooked and on the antero-ventral surface ( Dikow 2009a). Cophura also has a midtibia with a large, usually black, apical spine, which is absent in all Saropogon studied. Length 10-27 mm.

Sexual Dimorphism and wing variation in Saropogon . Back (1909) and Wilcox (1966) have called attention to many species of Saropogon that represent prime examples of sexual dimorphism. Species like S. abbreviatus (Fig. 4A, B ), S. combustus (Fig. 4C, D ), S. purus (Fig. 4E, F ), and S. senex (Fig. 4G, H ) have the male abdomen predominantly black, whereas the female abdomen is largely red. However, there can be color variation within these species. Curran (1931) reported a female S. combustus with a black abdomen. Leg color is also sexually dimorphic in most Nearctic Saropogon , with male legs tending to be black and female legs mainly reddish. Exceptions occur: the male of Saropogon purus has reddish hind femora and middle femora, and the female of S. senex has mainly black legs except for reddish hind femora. Setal patterns can also be dimorphic: males have long, erect, or semierect hairs on the mesonotum, abdomen, and legs in Saropogon bryanti , S. combustus , S. coquillettii , S. dispar , S. laparoides , and S. mohawki . In the females of these species, these hairs are short, appressed, and inconspicuous.

Wilcox (1966) emphasized that the wings of many species of Saropogon contain diagnostic features. Wings of Saropogon abbreviatus (Fig. 5A, B ), S. bryanti (Fig. 5C, D ), S. combustus (Fig. 5E, F ), S. dispar (Fig. 5G, H ), S. hypomelas (Fig. 5I, J ), S. luteus (Fig. 5K, L ), S. purus (Fig. 5M, N ), and S. senex (Fig. 5O, P ) are sexually dimorphic: they are brown in males, yellowish in females. Species with brown wings in both sexes are Saropogon senex , S. abbreviatus , S. purus , and S. pritchardi ; S. luteus and S. pyrodes sp. nov., have yellowish wings in both sexes.

Biology.

Dasypogoninae and Saropogon apparently tend to prefer Hymenoptera prey ( Lavigne 2016; Pollock 2021; Table 1 ). S. combustus and S. pritchardi show a particular interest in the workers of Pogonomyrmex harvester ants ( Pollock 2021). There is currently only one record of Saropogon as prey to another genus of Asilidae in North America. Bromley (1934) recorded Diogmites symmachus Loew, 1872 feeding on Saropogon dispar in Texas.

Saropogon females oviposit in soil with the aid of the acanthophorite spines (Fig. 25D ) at the tip of their ovipositor ( Londt and Dikow 2017). They use the spines to dig into the ground, to lay the eggs, and to sweep soil over the eggs after oviposition ( Dennis and Lavigne 1975).

Figures

Figure 3. Saropogon nitidus illustrating distinguishing characters of the genus A fore tibia with a distinct spur. B open m 3 cell on wing C antennal style D mystax of S. nitidus restricted to oral margin E face slightly concave. Scale bar: 2 mm.

Figure 4. Sexual color dimorphism A Saropogon abbreviatus female B S. abbreviatus male C S. combustus female D S. combustus male E S. purus female F S. purus male G S. senex female H S. senex male. Scale bars: 2 mm.

Figure 5. Representative Saropogon wings of A S. abbreviatus female B S. abbreviatus male C S. bryanti female D S. bryanti male E S. combustus female F S. combustus male G S. dispar female H S. dispar male I S. hypomelas female J S. hypomelas male K S. luteus female L S. luteus male M S. purus female N S. purus male, and O S. senex female P S. senex male. Scale bars: 2 mm.

Figure 25. Saropogon pyrodes sp. nov. terminalia. Male (USNMENT 01819155): A dorsal view 75 x B lateral view 75 x C ventral view 75 x; female (UAIC 1128818): D dorsal view 80 x, arrow indicating acanthophorites (spines) E lateral view 95 x F ventral view of T 6 - 9 40 x, arrow indicating spiral spermathecal reservoir G ventral view of T 8 - 9 80 x, arrow indicating " X " shaped furca. Scale bars: 1 mm.