Meunieriella spinosa, Urso-Guimarães, 2018

Urso-Guimarães, Maria Virginia, 2018, Two new species of the tribe Alycaulini (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) from Brazil, Florida Entomologist 101 (4), pp. 603-610 : 607-609

Meunieriella spinosa sp. nov. Urso-Guimarães ( Figs. 18–29 )

DESCRIPTION

Adult. Male. Body length: male 1.2 mm (n = 3), female 1.4 mm (n =

2). Head: eyes black, holoptic, facets hexagonal, closely adjacent ( Fig. 18 ); Antenna with 17 to 18 flagellomeres in male, 1 of the females with antennae broken at 15th flagellomere. Male and female flagellomeres barrel-shaped, with row of stout setae and circumfila appressed to flagellomeres as in Figure 19 . Mouthparts: labellum triangular in frontal view; palpus 4-segmented, first segment as wide as long, second and third longer and wider than first, fourth equal in width and twice as long as third ( Fig. 18 ). Thorax: wing ( Fig. 20 ) length, male: 0.9 mm, female: 1.0 mm; maximum width, male and female: 0.5 mm; R 5 half the length of wing. Legs completely covered with scales, tarsal claws toothed; empodia as long as claws ( Fig. 21 ). Scutum with dorsocentral rows of setae and lateral setae present, anepistemum and katepistemum bare; anepimeron with 9 setae. Male abdomen: tergites 1 to 5 sclerotized, tergites 6 to 8 weakly sclerotized and retractable, all tergites with single row of setae along posterior margin, trichoid sensilla not visible. All sternites membranous, with single row of setae along posterior margin, trichoid sensilla not visible on shrunken abdomen. Female abdomen: Tergites 2 to 6 rectangular, weakly sclerotized, all tergites with single row of setae and scales along posterior margin, seventh tergite with pair of trichoid sensilla. Sternites 2 to 7 weakly sclerotized, sternite 8 membranous, all covered with setae and scales, seventh sternite with 2 pairs of trichoid sensilla. Male terminalia ( Figs. 22–25 ):gonocoxite and gonostylus cylindrical and very long, the former completely covered with setae, and the latter setulose basally, carinate beyond; with small tooth apically; hypoproct unilobed, longer and narrower than cercus, with pair of setae at apex; parameres bilobed, longer than hypoproct, covered with microsetae at apex of each lobe and with basal lobe on each side, aedeagus cylindrical, longer than parameres and narrower than cercus. Ovipositor ( Figs. 26–27 ): protractible portion of ovipositor about 7.5 times length of seventh tergite, pair of longitudinal rows of spines on dorsal part of protractible region; fused cerci completely covered with macrosetae; hypoproct 1/3 the length of cerci, longer than wide, narrowed, with apical macrosetae.

Pupa ( Figs. 28–29 ). Body length: 1.3 mm, maximum width: 0.5 mm (n = 3). Head: antennal horns short, rounded and smooth with upper and lower spines; cephalic setae very long (0.2 mm); upper and lower frontal horn absent, lower and lateral papillae absent, upper cephalic margin thickened laterally; prothoracic spiracle long (0.1 mm); abdominal segments with dorsal rows of small spicules in discal area.

Larva. Unknown.

Type Material. HOLOTYPE male, Delfinópolis , Minas Gerais State, Brazil (20.343960°S, 46.804585°W; about 700 masl), reared from abandoned hairy leaf galls of an unidentified cecidomyiid on Inga edulis , collected 29-VI-2000, Urso-Guimarães MV collector; emerged 12-VII-2000, deposited in Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo . PARATYPES: 2 males, 2 females, 3 exuviae collected and reared with holotype ( Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo) .

Etymology. The specific name “ spinosa ” means “with spines” and refers to the diagnostic characteristic of this species, the longitudinal row of spines in the dorsal area of the protractible region of the ovipositor.

Gall and biology. Globoid hairy galls on leaves of I. edulis , short brown to red trichomes, monothalamous, occurring on upper leaf surface. The single larva pupates in the gall. Galls found in Delfinópolis ( Urso-Guimarães et al. 2003, Fig. 17 ).

Remarks. The new species belongs to the genus Meunieriella in possessing most of the diagnostic characters, especially the male sixth through eighth abdominal segments completely retractable within anterior part of abdomen, gonocoxite, and gonostylus of male terminalia extremely prolonged and narrow; elongated and protractible ovipositor, cercus with simple setae; pupal antennal horn with upper and lower spines, upper and lower frontal horn absent, upper cephalic margin thickened laterally; prothoracic spiracle and cephalic papillae long. Some characters can approximate Meunieriella spinosa sp. nov. from the Neotropical congeners: R 5 wing vein is 5/10 as long as wing, the male sixth to eighth abdominal tergites are reduced, and the gonocoxites and gonostyli are very narrow and long, as in all Neotropical species of Meunieriella except for M. avicenniae , which has the R 5 7/10 longer than the wing, the male sixth to eighth abdominal tergites less reduced, and the gonocoxites and gonostyli are wider and shorter than in Neotropical species. Meunieriella spinosa sp. nov. may be differentiated from the Neotropical congeners by all of the following adult and pupal unique characters: the presence of the basal lobe on each side of parameres, a pair of longitudinal rows of spines in the dorsal area of the internal protractible region of the ovipositor, and the pupation occurring inside the gall. Meunieriella spinosa sp. nov. is inquiline in galls of an unidentified cecidomyiid, as are the majority of the Neotropical species.

Figures

Figs. 18–21. Meunieriella spinosa sp. nov.: (18) Male head (frontal view); (19) Female flagellomeres 1 to 3; (20) Wing; (21) Male tarsal claw and empodium.

Figs.22–25. Meunieriella spinosa sp. nov.: (22) Male terminalia (dorsal view); (23) Male terminalia (schematic drawing, dorsal view);(24) Male terminalia (ventral view); (25) Male terminalia (schematic drawing, ventral view).

Figs. 26–27.Meunieriella spinosa sp. nov.: (26) Last segments of female abdo- men and ovipositor (dorso-lateral view); (27) Ovipositor (ventral view).

Figs. 28–29. Meunieriella spinosa sp. nov.: (28) Cephalic region of pupa (ventral view); (29) Terminal segment of pupa (dorsal view).

Figs.13–17. Alycaulus hexadentatus sp. nov.: (13) Cephalic region of pupa (ventral view); (14) Abdominal segments of pupa (dorsal view);(15) Prothoracic spatula of larva (ventral view); (16) Prothoracic spatula and lateral papillae of larva (ventral view); (17) Terminal segment and terminal papillae (dorsal view).