Ischiodon scutellaris ( Fabricius, 1805 )

Ramage, Thibault, Charlat, Sylvain & Mengual, Ximo, 2018, Flower flies (Diptera, Syrphidae) of French Polynesia, with the description of two new species, European Journal of Taxonomy 448, pp. 1-37 : 12-15

Ischiodon scutellaris ( Fabricius, 1805)

Figs 2D , 3 G–H, 6 A

Scaeva scutellaris Fabricius, 1805: 252 (holotype: ♂, UZMC; type locality: India, Tamil Nadu, Tranquebar).

Syrphus coromandelensis Macquart, 1842: 149 .

Sphaerophoria annulipes Macquart, 1855: 116 .

Syrphus splendens Doleschall, 1856: 410 .

Syrphus nodalis Thomson, 1869: 497 .

Syrphus erythropygus Bigot, 1884: 87 .

Syrphus ruficauda Bigot, 1884: 96 .

Melithreptus novaeguineae Kertész, 1899: 178 .

Ischiodon trochanterica Sack, 1913: 6 .

Melithreptus ogasawarensis Matsumura, 1916: 23 .

Ischiodon boninensis Matsumura, 1919: 128 .

Epistrophe platychiroides Frey, 1946: 164 .

Ischiodon penicillatus Hardy, 1952: 363 (nomen nudum).

Epistrophe magnicornis Shiraki, 1963: 141 .

Sphaerophoria macquarti Van der Goot, 1964: 220 .

Differential diagnosis

Species with basoflagellomere elongate and subacute apically, face yellow, metasternum bare and abdominal terga 2–5 distinctly marginated ( Figs 2D , 3 G–H). It differs from S. grandicornis by having a dorsal yellow macula on the katepisternum and the male metatrochanter with a ventral spine-like process or calcar.

Material examined

FRENCH POLYNESIA: Austral Islands: 1 ♀, Rapa Iti, motu Karapoo rahi, 4 Apr. 2017, F. Jacq leg. ( ZFMK: ZFMK-DIP-00019531). – Gambier Islands: 2 ♀♀, 3 ♂♂, 2 puparia, Mangareva, Rikitéa, 6 Apr. 1966, P. Cochereau leg. ( MNHN); 1 ♀, Mangareva, 16 Apr. 1966, Malaise trap, P. Cochereau leg. ( MNHN). – Marquesas Islands: 5 ♀♀, Fatu Hiva, ‘Omoa, 6–26. Aug. 2013, Malaise trap, F. Jacq leg. (3 ♀♀: CTR; 2 ♀♀: ZFMK: ZFMK-DIP-00019714, ZFMK-DIP-00019715); 1 ♀, 1 ♂, Hiva Oa, 5 Mar. 2013, F. Jacq leg. (1 ♀: CTR; 1 ♂: ZFMK: ZFMK-DIP-00019721); 2 ♀♀, Nuku Hiva, Vallée française, Apr. 2013, Malaise trap, F. Jacq leg. ( CTR); 1 ♀, Nuku Hiva, Anaho, 13 Aug. 2014, F. Jacq leg. ( CTR); 13 ♀♀, 2 ♂♂, Tahuata, 5 Sep. 2012, Malaise trap, F. Jacq leg. (9 ♀♀, 1 ♂: CTR; 4 ♀♀, 1 ♂: ZFMK: ZFMK-DIP-00019708 to ZFMK-DIP-00019712). – Society Islands: 13 ♀♀, 3 ♂♂, Bora Bora, Vairupe, 13 Nov. 2012, Malaise trap, F. Jacq leg. (11 ♀♀, 1 ♂: CTR; 2 ♀♀, 2 ♂♂: ZFMK: ZFMK-DIP-00019719, ZFMK-DIP-00019720, ZFMK-DIP-0001971922, ZFMK- DIP-00019723); 1 ♂, Huahine, motu Maeva, 16°41′51.5″ S, 150°58′50.8″ W, 1 Jul. 2007, S. Charlat leg. ( SCL: symbiocode_07570); 1 ♀, Huahine, Pohue Rahi, 16°46′51.2″ S, 150°58′34.7″ W, 470 m a.s.l., 4 Jul. 2007, S. Charlat leg. ( SCL: symbiocode_08019); 1 ♂, same collection data as preceding ( SCL: symbiocode_08018); 1 ♂, Huahine, Pohue Rahi, 16°46′54.44″ S, 150°58′10.07″ W, 265 m a.s.l., 23 Sep. 2012, T. Ramage leg. ( CTR); 2 ♂♂, Huahine, Pointe Tiva, 16°49′17.31″ S, 150°59′4.42″ W, 5 m a.s.l., 22 Sep. 2012, T. Ramage leg. ( CTR); 1 ♀, Moorea, motu Tiahura, 17°29′15″ S, 149°54′43″ W, Malaise trap, Oct. 2006, S. Charlat leg. ( SCL: symbiocode_01632); 2 ♀♀, same collection data as preceding but Nov. 2006 ( SCL); 1♀, Moorea, Opunohu, Trois Cocotiers Trail, 17°33′00″ S, 149°50′15″W, 420 m a.s.l., 2 Dec. 2006, Malaise trap, S. Charlat leg. ( SCL: symbiocode_03845); 4 ♂♂, Moorea, 17°31′40″ S, 149°50′06″ W, 300 m a.s.l., 6 Jun. 2007, S. Charlat leg. ( SCL: symbiocode_02597); 1 ♂, Raiatea, Faaroa Bay, 16°49′00.5″ S, 151°23′58.5″ W, 300 m a.s.l., 26 Jun. 2007, S. Charlat leg. ( SCL: symbiocode_05172); 1 larva, Raiatea, marae Taputapuatea, 16°50′08″ S, 151°21′31″ W, 27 Jun. 2007, S. Charlat leg. ( SCL: symbiocode_05606); 1 ♂, Raiatea, Te Mehani Rahi, 16°45′36.1″ S, 151°29′19.4″ W, 29 Jun. 2007, S. Charlat leg. ( SCL: symbiocode_04987); 3 ♀♀, Raiatea, Avera Rahi, 16°47′42.17″ S, 151°24′48.82″ W, 10 m a.s.l., Malaise trap, 28 Sep. 2012, T. Ramage leg. ( CTR); 1 ♀, Raiatea, Opoa, Aratao, 11 Jul. 2013, F. Jacq leg. ( CTR); 1 ♂, Raiatea, Te Mehani ‘ute ‘ute, on Apetahia, 2014 , F. Jacq and T. Laroche leg. ( CTR); 1 ♀, 1 ♂, Raiatea, Opoa, 18 May 2015, Malaise trap, F. Jacq leg. ( ZFMK: ZFMK-DIP-00019716, ZFMK-DIP-00019717); 1 ♂,Taha’a, Mount Ohiri Trail, 16°36′19.81″ S, 151°31′46.48″ W, 130 m a.s.l., 30 Sep. 2012, T. Ramage leg. ( CTR); 1♂, Tahiti, 1854, Deyrolle leg. ( MNHN); 1 ♂, Tahiti, Fautaua Valley, 333 m a.s.l., 23 Aug. 1928, A.M. Adamson leg. ( NBCN); 1 ♀, Tahiti, Mount Marau, 17°36′08″ S, 149°33′42″ W, 970 m a.s.l., 4 Apr. 2006, Malaise trap, E. Claridge leg. ( SCL: symbiocode_04455); 1 ♂, Tahiti, Arue, 17°32′8.26″ S, 149°31′6.74″ W, 200 m a.s.l., 16 Sep. 2012, T. Ramage leg. ( CTR); 1 ♂, Tahiti, Vallée de la Punaruu, 17°37′43.38″ S, 149°33′47.73″ W, 170 m a.s.l., 3 Oct. 2012, T. Ramage leg. ( CTR); 1 ♂, Tahiti, Plateau Te Tamanu, 17°38′0.40″ S, 149°33′12.57″ W, 560 m a.s.l., 6 Oct. 2012, T. Ramage leg. ( ZFMK: ZFMK-DIP-00019729); 1 ♀, Tahiti, Punaauia, 11 Oct. 2012, Malaise trap, T. Ramage leg. ( CTR); 2 ♀♀, Tahiti, Mahina, 16 Nov. 2012, Malaise trap, F. Jacq leg. ( CTR); 2 ♀♀, Tahiti, Papeete, Sainte-Amélie, 2014, F. Jacq leg. ( CTR); 1 ♀, Tahiti, Papeete, Sainte-Amélie, Mar. 2015, Malaise trap, F. Jacq leg. ( CTR); 1 ♀, Tahiti, Mont Marau, 1400 m a.s.l., 27 Aug. 2017, T. Ramage and F. Jacq leg. ( ZFMK: ZFMK-DIP-00026903). – Tuamotu Islands: 1 ♀, Hao, 15 May 1966, Malaise trap, P. Cochereau leg. ( MNHN); 2 ♂♂, Moruroa, Eider, 8 May 1966, on flowers of Messerschmidia argentea, P. Cochereau leg. ( MNHN); 1 ♂, Morane, Motu est, 1 Jun. 2012, F. Jacq leg. ( ZFMK: ZFMK-DIP-00019713); 2 ♀♀, Morane, Motu ouest, 3 Jun. 2012, F. Jacq leg. (1 ♀: CTR; 1 ♀: ZFMK: ZFMK-DIP-00019718).

Geographical distribution

Widespread species in the Oriental and Australasian Regions ( Japan west to India and south to Australia, Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, Micronesia, Samoa and other Pacific islands, including French Polynesia).

Status in French Polynesia

Present; recorded from Marquesas Islands, Gambier Islands, Tuamotu Islands, Austral Islands and Society Islands.

Flowers visited

Ischiodon scutellaris has been seen visiting two plant species, Hippobroma longiflora (L.) G.Don and Apetahia raiateensis Baill. (Campanulaceae) . Apetahlia raiateensis is a shrub endemic to the three trachytic plateaus of Raiatea and it is listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN(UICN France, MNHN & DIREN Polynésie française 2015). In terms of conservation, the identification of the pollinators of this species may be useful (F. Jacq, pers. comm.). A couple of males at the MNHN were collected on flowers of Messerschmidia argentea (L. f.) I.M.Johnst. (= Tournefortia argentea L. f. = Heliotropium foertherianum Diane & Hilger, 2003 ). Due to the overall similarity between females of I. scutellaris and A. nigripilosa in the field, some records of visited flowers cannot be confidently assigned to one of these species and they are not included.

Biology

Cochereau (1966, 1974) observed the food web of I. scutellaris (as Xanthogramma sp.) in Mangareva, Gambier Islands. Larvae of I. scutellaris attacked several aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae ) on different plants: Rhopalosiphum maidis (Fitch, 1856) and Sitobion avenae ( Fabricius, 1775) on several species of Poaceae ; Brevicoryne brassicae (Linnaeus, 1758) on Brassica oleracea L., ( Brassicaceae ); and Aphis gossypii Glover, 1877 on several plants belonging to Araceae , Asteraceae , Malvaceae and Myrtaceae . He also observed that the pupae of I. scutellaris were parasitized by a braconid wasp ( Hymenoptera : Braconidae ).

Genetics

The GenBank accession numbers for this species are: 28S gene ( MF446488 , specimen ZFMK- DIP-00019720), 18S gene ( MF446444 , specimen ZFMK-DIP-00019720), protein-coding COI gene ( MF446540 , specimen ZFMK-DIP-00019720; MF446516 , specimen ZFMK-DIP-00019721). The BOLD Process IDs for the DNA barcodes (5′–COI) for this species are: SYC 1600-14 (= KX053515 , specimen symbiocode_01632),SYC2519-14(= KX053518 ,specimen symbiocode_02597), SYC3765-14 (= KX053516 ,specimensymbiocode_03845),SYC4375-14(= KX053520 ,specimensymbiocode_04455), SYC4907-14 (= KX053519 , specimen symbiocode_04987), SYC5089-14 (= KX053521 , specimen symbiocode_05172), SYC5521-14 (= KX053513 , specimen symbiocode_05606), SYC7453-14 (= KX053514 ,specimen symbiocode_07570),SYC7894-14(= KX053517 ,specimen symbiocode_08018) and SYC7895-14 (= KX053522 , specimen symbiocode_08019). The Barcode Index Number (BIN) for these specimens is BOLD:AAE5566 (https://doi.org/10.5883/BOLD:AAE5566).

References

Macquart 1855: 116 (description, Marquesas Islands); Thomson 1869: 497 (description, Tahiti); Aubertin & Cheesman 1929: 172 (records); Hull 1937: 83 (catalogue); Thompson 1989: 16 (cit.); Thompson & Vockeroth 1989: 444 (catalogue).

Remarks

Old records of this species are not easy to verify, as some authors used S. grandicornis and I. scutellaris as synonyms for a long time.

Figures

Fig. 2. A. Allograpta amphotera (Bezzi, 1928), holotype, ♂, dorsal view. B. Allograpta jacqui Mengual & Ramage sp. nov., holotype, ♂ (ZFMK-DIP-00019707), dorsal view. C. Allograpta nigripilosa (Hull, 1944), ♂, dorsal view (photograph by F. Jacq). D. Ischiodon scutellaris (Fabricius, 1805), ♂ (ZFMK- DIP-00019713), dorsal view. Scale bars = 1 mm.

Fig. 3. A–B. Allograpta amphotera (Bezzi, 1928), holotype, ♂. A. Lateral view. B. Frontal view. C–D. Allograpta jacqui Mengual & Ramage sp. nov., holotype, ♂, (ZFMK-DIP-00026906). C. Lateral view. D. Frontal view. E–F. A. nigripilosa (Hull, 1944), ♂ (photographs by F. Jacq). E. Lateral view. F. Frontal view. G–H. Ischiodon scutellaris (Fabricius, 1805), ♂ (ZFMK-DIP-00019713). G. Lateral view. H. Frontal view. Scale bars = 1 mm.

Fig. 6. A. Ischiodon scutellaris (Fabricius, 1805), ♂ (ZFMK-DIP-00019713), metacoxa and metatrochanter. Arrow indicates the ventral spine-like process. B. Simosyrphus grandicornis (Macquart, 1842), ♂ (ZFMK-DIP-00019736), metacoxa and metatrochanter. C–E. Allograpta jacqui Mengual & Ramage sp. nov., holotype ♂ (ZFMK-DIP-00026906). C. Lateral view. D. Dorsal view. E. Frontal view. F–G. Melanostoma polynesiotes Mengual & Ramage sp. nov., paratype, ♂ (ZFMK-DIP-00026902). F. Dorsolateral view. G. Lateral view. Scale bars = 0.5 mm.