Empria tridens (Konow, 1896) *

Material.

Varna: 1♂ (DEI-GISHym88776), Tsonevo 5 km S, 100 m, 42.982N, 27.451E, 06.04.2018 . 3♂ (including DEI-GISHym88816, DEI-GISHym88736), Staro Oryahovo 2 km SW, 120 m, 42.976N, 27.787E, 09.04.2018 . 1♂, locality as previous, 11.04.2018 . 2♂ (DEI-GISHym31967, DEI-GISHym88857), Dolni Chiflik 2 km SE, 50 m, 42.983N, 27.743E, 13.04.2018 .

The above specimens are unusually coloured. Abdominal terga (1-) 2-5 (-6) are more or less pale, including the normally black areas surrounding the pale unsclerotised patches (Fig. 38). The corresponding sterna are also more or less pale (Fig. 39). In life, the pale areas are whitish, and more conspicuous than in the pinned specimens, where the colour has become rather brown. No females were collected, so we cannot state whether this sex also exhibits unusual coloration in south-eastern Bulgaria. Empria tridens has a wide Palaearctic distribution (Prous et al. 2011b). Penis valves are not distinguishable from other E. tridens and genetic data (based on one male DEI-GISHym88776, Fig. 16) does not indicate the existence of an additional species either (based on three genes, closest specimens are always other specimens of E. tridens that were studied by Prous et al. 2019).