Liriomyza bella Spencer

Lonsdale, Owen, 2011, The Liriomyza (Agromyzidae: Schizophora: Diptera) of California 2850, Zootaxa 2850 (1), pp. 1-123 : 29-31

Liriomyza bella Spencer

Figs 43–46

Liriomyza bella Spencer 1981: 219 . Spencer & Steyskal 1986: 112.

Wing length 1.5–1.8mm (♂), 1.9–2.0mm (♀). Length of ultimate section of vein CuA 1 divided by penultimate section: 1.9–2.0. Eye height divided by gena height: 2.9–3.0. Scutum with grey pruinosity visible on dark regions. Parafacial and orbital plate projecting.

Chaetotaxy: Two ori, two ors. Acrostichal setulae in two rows.

Colouration: Calypter margin and hairs grey. Head entirely light yellow with ocellar tubercle brown centrally and face whitish. Scutum yellow with dark anteromedial stripe (exceeding midpoint of scutum) fused to lateromedial stripes (sometimes only partially), and with one pair of thin posterolateral stripes; scutellum yellow with lateral corner brown; katatergite yellow; anatergite dark below scutellum and paler lateral to scutellum with dorsum yellow. Pleuron yellow with thin anteromedial spot on anepimeron, faded anteroventral spot on anepisternum (absent in holotype), ventral half of meron brown, and ventral half of katepisternum brown with posterior margin and region around bristle pale. Legs light yellow with tarsi sometimes brownish, becoming darker apically. Abdomen predominantly pale yellow; male with one pair of small medial spots on tergite 1, one pair of wider anterior spots on tergites 2–5 (sometimes connected or only separated by thin yellow line), a single anteromedial spot on tergite 6, and epandrium brown with dorsum and perianal region yellow; female abdomen only with oviscape dark brown, but non-type females with one pair of thin posterolateral spots on tergite 1 and one pair of small spots on tergite 6.

Genitalia: Figs 43–46 . Surstylus narrow, setose and truncated apically, with small posterobasal lobe and one subapical spine. Paraphallus relatively long and thin. Hypophallus ill-defined and with several apical hairs. Mesophallus short, barely longer than wide and fused to distiphallus. Distiphallus elongate, with clear apical tubules approximately twice length of remainder of phallus, not much wider than mesophallus at base, and with thin ventrobasal “collar”. Ejaculatory apodeme dark with pileus ejaculatorius darker laterally, stem short and blade becoming lighter apically excluding dark marginal striations.

Host. Unknown.

Range. USA. California [Del Norte*, El Dorado, Mendocino, Mono, Stanislaus], Colorado.

Type material. Holotype, USA. California: Mono Co., 7mi E of Tioga Pass , 15.vii.1961, G.I.Stage (1♂, CASC) . Paratypes examined, USA. California: El Dorado Co., Summit Luther Pass , 6.viii.1948, sweeping, Lot

No. 102-3, K.E. Frick (2♀, CASC) , Echo Lake , 23.vii.1955, E.I. Schlinger (3♀ 5♂, UCD) , Mono Co., 7mi E Tioga Pass, 15.vii.1961, G.I. Stage (4♂ 3♀, EMEC) .

Additional material examined. USA. California: Del Norte Co., Darlingtonia Trail, Six Rivers Natl. For., 41°51’00”N, 123°54’27”, 192m, S.D. Gaimari, 2.vi.2009, ex. trail by Darlingtonia bog (13♂ 11♀, CSCA) .

Comments. The CSCA paratype of this species is here treated as Liriomyza admiranda , which can be distinguished from L. bella by the characters listed in the above key. The brown spots on the otherwise pale abdomen further differentiate most material of this species from the otherwise similar Phytoliriomyza melampyga , but some specimens (including the type series) have an entirely yellow abdomen, necessitating male dissections for confident identification.

Figures

FIGURES 43–49. Figs 43–46: Liriomyza bella Spencer, male genitalia; 43: ejaculatory apodeme; 44: external components, ventral; 45: phallus, left lateral; 46: phallus, ventral. Figs 47–49: L. parabella spec. nov., male holotype genitalia; 47: external components, ventral; 48: phallus, left lateral; 49: phallus, ventral.