Elaphropeza strigifera ( de Meijere, 1911 )

SHAMSHEV, IGOR V. & GROOTAERT, PATRICK, 2007, Revision of the genus Elaphropeza Macquart (Diptera: Hybotidae) from the Oriental Region, with a special attention to the fauna of Singapore, Zootaxa 1488 (1), pp. 1-164 : 110-111

Elaphropeza strigifera ( de Meijere, 1911)

Drapetis (Ctenodrapetis) strigifera de Meijere, 1911: 333 (male).

Re-description. Male. Body length 2.0 mm, wing length 2.3 (2.0 in the original description) mm. Head with occiput entirely black, shining, bearing yellow setation. Eye slightly concave on posterior margin. Anterior ocellars moderately long, proclinate; posterior ocellars minute. Two pairs of inclinate verticals (inner ones longer). Antenna with scape and pedicel yellow, postpedicel (except base) and style black. Pedicel with circlet of subequally short setulae. Postpedicel very short, 1.5 times longer than wide. Style rather densely pubescent, 4.7 times longer than postpedicel and 2.3 times as long as scape, pedicel and postpedicel combined. Proboscis brownish. Palpus small, rounded, pale yellow, with scattered yellow setulae.

Thorax black (postalar callus somewhat paler), with yellow setation; scutellum and metanotum tomentose, otherwise thorax shining. Prothoracic episterna lacking long upturned bristle just above fore coxa, with 1 short bristle in upper part. Postpronotal bristle minute. Mesonotum with 2 notopleural, 1 postsutural supraalar, 1 postalar and 4 scutellar (inner ones very long, cruciate; outer ones very short) bristles. Acrostichal bristles 2-serial, prominent in anterior part of scutum only, 4 pairs, rather short. Dorsocentral bristles 1-serial, prominent in posterior part of scutum only, 4 pairs, prescutellars longer.

Legs long, slender, almost entirely yellow; fore and mid tibiae rather brownish yellow, tarsomeres 5 of all legs black. Fore femur with rows of short antero- and posteroventral bristles and 2 longer bristles near base. Fore tibia lacking prominent bristles (except subapicals). Mid femur with 2 rows of spinule-like, short, ventral bristles, 1 long thin bristle near base and 1 anterior subapical bristle. Mid tibia with 1 row of black ventral spinules in apical part, lacking prominent bristles (except subapicals). Hind femur bearing 1 row of short anteroventrals and 3–4 erect dorsal bristles near base. Hind tibia with 1 anterodorsal bristle; apical projection hardly prominent, rounded, clothed in dense brownish setulae. Tarsi of all legs unmodified.

Wing narrow, with axillary lobe greatly reduced, hyaline along anterior and posterior margins, otherwise brownish, including wing-apex, covered with uniform microtrichia; veins yellowish to brownish yellow. Costal vein with moderately long setulae along anterior margin. Basal costal bristle long, yellow. Costal index: 43/47/49/16. Vein Rs subequal to crossvein bm-cu. Vein R2+3 smoothly arched. Veins R4+5 and M1+2 divergent near wing apex, both straight. Vein CuA1 not quite reaching wing margin. A1 absent. Crossvein bm-cu transverse. Crossvein r-m near middle of cell bm. Halter yellow.

Abdomen shining, with brownish yellow setation. Tergites 1–3 and 6–7 dark brown, tergite 4 black, tergite 5 invisible (hidden by tergite 4). Tergites 3 and 4 with unmodified setation.

Terminalia dark brown, elongate. Not examined.

Female. Unknown.

Type material examined. Holotype male labelled: [red label] Drapetis (Ctenodrapetis) / strigifera / de Meijere, 1911 / ZMAN type DIPT.0492.1; Drapetis strigifera [hand-written] / det. de Meijere / Type [handwritten]; E. Jacobson / Batavia / April 1908 ( ZMAN).

De Meijere (1911) described this species from a single male that is deposited in ZMAN. Currently, the holotype is in good condition .

Distribution. Indonesia (Java).

Remarks. The relationships of E. strigifera are unclear beyond inclusion within the E. ephippiata species group. However, in having a cuneiform wing with a reduced anal lobe this species is probably closely related to E. aristalis (Melander) and E. cuneipennis (Melander) (both known from the Philippines only).