Megaselia albalucifrons, Haeggqvist, Sibylle, Ulefors, Sven Olof & Ronquist, Fredrik, 2015

Haeggqvist, Sibylle, Ulefors, Sven Olof & Ronquist, Fredrik, 2015, A new species group in Megaselia, the lucifrons group, with description of a new species (Diptera, Phoridae), ZooKeys 512, pp. 89-108 : 103

Taxon classification Animalia Diptera Phoridae

Megaselia albalucifrons sp. n.

Material examined.

Holotype male, in alcohol, (LA214) SWEDEN, Sm, Älmhults kommun, Stenbrohult, Djäknabygds bokbacke, Heath with old beeches. N56°36.548' E14°11.583' (=TrapID 24) 30.iv.-31-v.2005 (=coll. event ID 1672) Leg. Swedish Malaise Trap Project (Swedish Museum of Natural History).

Paratypes, 4 males, same as holotype (LA207, LA212, LA215, LA216).

Differential diagnosis.

The habitus (Fig. 2) is very similar to Megaselia lucifrons , but the species can be distinguished by the narrower and more lightly colored hypandrial left lobe (Fig. 6c). The proctiger hair is also slightly stronger than in Megaselia lucifrons (Fig. 5). In the phallus, the tip of the truncus (Fig. 3c) is more rounded in Megaselia albalucifrons than in both Megaselia lucifrons and Megaselia subnitida .

Description.

Male: Frons dark brown and shiny with about 70 hairs, about as broad as long. Postpedicels brown. Palps light yellow with 6-8 setae. Labellum broad, light yellow as palps, densely covered with spinules. Anepisternum with 10-18 hairs. Thorax brown. Three notopleural setae, without cleft in front of them. Scutellum with anterior pair of hairs and posterior pair of setae. Abdominal tergites brown with hairs distally and laterally, especially T6 with long, strong hairs at the rear margin. Venter brown with hairs on segment 3-6. Hypopygium with brown epandrium with fine hairs on both sides, but not dorsally, and longer hairs at the lower margin (Fig. 5, left side of epandrium). Pale yellow to light brown anal tube, cercus with 14 downbent hairs and the somewhat downbent proctiger with strong pair of upbent hairs at the tip (Fig. 5). Hypandrium brown, except for pale left lobe. Legs colored as follows: Fore and middle legs yellow or brownish yellow, hind legs with coxae yellow and femur to tarsae brown. Hind femur with lighter, triangular shaped patch at the base. Wings (Fig. 3a) 1.3-1.6 mm long. Costal index 0.40-0.47. Costal ratios 4.0-4.4: 1.5-1.8: 1. Costal cilia (of section 3) 0.05-0.07 mm long. With 3 axillary setae, all about twice as long as costal cilia. A minute hair is situated at the base of vein 3. Veins light brown or brown. Wing membrane tinged light brown or brown (visible to the naked eye against a white background). Haltere knob light yellow, almost white.

Etymology.

The name is derived from the Latin word “albus” (white, pale), referring to the left lobe of the hypandrium, which is pale in comparison to that of Megaselia lucifrons .

Distribution and ecology.

Megaselia albalucifrons is found in Southern and central Sweden (Fig. 7), so far no specimens have been found from traps in Northern Sweden.

Remarks.

Megaselia albalucifrons runs to couplet 104 in Disney’s key ( 1989), together with Megaselia lucifrons .