Lispe bengalensis (Robineau-Desvoidy)

(Figs 448–459)

Limnophora bengalensis Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830: 518 .

Lispe tetrastigma Schiner, 1868: 297 . Lispa armipes Becker, 1903: 118 .

Lispa tetrastigma .— Stein, 1919: 144.

Lispa armipes .— Malloch, 1923: 609; Malloch, 1925a: 334; Lee, Crust & Sabrosky, 1956: 307.

Lispe armipes .— Séguy, 1937: 183.

Lispe tetrastigma .— Séguy, 1937: 186; Hennig, 1960b: 458.

Lispe bengalensis .— Pont, 1989: 692.

Type-material. Limnophora bengalensis was described from the ♀ sex from Bengal, India. Although Séguy (1937) omitted the species from his world catalogue and gave Emden (1965: 542) the information that the type was lost, I found the holotype ♀ in the MNHN General Collection. It is rather mouldy, especially on the pleura; left mid leg, left hind tibia+tarsomeres, and right hind tarsomeres 4-5 are missing. It is labelled "310." by Macquart; "bengalensis." by Macquart; and " Limnophora Bengalensis. / RD." by Robineau-Desvoidy himself.

Lispe tetrastigma was described from 6 unsexed specimens from Ceylon [Sri Lanka]. I have studied these syntypes, 2♂ 4♀, in NMW. All are labelled "Novara-R. / Ceylon " and "tetrastigma / det. B. B." [Brauer and Bergenstamm], and all belong to Lispe bengalensis as defined here.

Lispa armipes was described from several specimens of both sexes from Damiette in the Nile Delta, Egypt, 24 March. I have studied 3♂ 1♀ syntypes from ZMHU (see Pont & Werner, 2006: 24). Each is labelled " Damiette / 44904. III". 1♂ is in excellent condition, displaying all the characters of this species and with the cercal plate partly exposed; I have labelled it and herewith designate it as lectotype. The other 2♂ 1♀ have been labelled as paralectotypes. All four specimens are Lispe bengalensis as defined here.

Note on synonymy. This species was known as Lispe armipes Becker until 1951. The synonymy of Lispe armipes with Lispe tetrastigma was established by Emden (1951: 374) after study of the types, and the synonymy with Lispe bengalensis was established by Pont (1980: 751) after rediscovery of the type of Limnophora bengalensis.

Diagnosis. Lispe bengalensis can be separated from other species by having hind coxa bare behind, meron bare below spiracle, dark brown palpus, and heavily spinose fore femur in both sexes.

Material Examined. AUSTRALIA: Queensland: Annan River, 3 km W by S of Black Mt., Malaise trap, 28.ix.1980, D.H. Colless, 2♀ (ANIC). New South Wales: Casula, 21.ix.1957, M.I. Nikitin, 1♀ (BMNH) ; Collaroy, 23.i.1924, Health Dept., 1♂ 1♀ (MV) & 1♀ (AMS) ; Jervis Bay, 14.ii.1953, Z. Liepa, 1♂ (ANIC) ; Merimbula, i.1973, K.R. Norris, 5♂ 3♀ (ANIC & BMNH) ; Moruya Heads, 28.i.1957, Z. Liepa, 1♀ (ANIC) ; Nelligan, 1.ii.1973, E.A. Fonseca, 1♀ (BMNH) ; Terrigal, 26.xii.1968, Z. Liepa, 1♂ 1♀ (ANIC) ; Ulladulla Beach, 20.ii.1972, Z. Liepa, 2♂ (ANIC) .

Description ♂ ♀. Head (Fig. 448). Ground-colour black. Frons at broadest point 0.33–0.34, at lunula 0.32, of maximum head-width (frontal view). Fronto-orbital plate of ♂ silvery pruinose, slightly grey above, conspicuously tinged with yellow in ♀; parafacial, face, gena and lower half of occiput silvery pruinose, parafacial and face tinged with yellow in ♀. Frontal triangle narrow, when viewed from below in ♂ silvery pruinose, in ♀ yellowish-grey pruinose. Parafacial broad, almost (♂) to quite (♀) as broad as postpedicel, setulose along entire length. Antenna black, at most the juncture between pedicel and postpedicel orange; postpedicel 2.25 (♂) or 2.6 (♀) times as long as broad, falling short of mouth-margin by 0.7 (♂) or 0.8 (♀) its length. Arista plumose, the hairing at widest point 0.9 (♂) or 1.4 (♀) times width of postpedicel. Vibrissa strong, with a usually strong pair of supravibrissals. Gena moderate, 0.12–0.14 of vertical eye-length; genal setae long and strong. Palpus dark brown, sometimes stem more orange-brown, moderately swollen in apical part (Fig. 449).

Thorax. Ground-colour black. Scutum and scutellum grey dusted, pleura light grey. Scutum without any conspicuous pattern: with pale grey dust covering postpronotal lobe, notopleuron, supra-alar area and post-alar callus, and extending along suture to dc lines; with weak traces of a darker patch around prst ia and prst sa, and along the post ia line; additionally in ♀ with a weak narrow brown median vitta running almost from neck to scutellum. Anterior spiracle brownish. Acr setulae in 6–7 irregular rows at suture. Dc 2+4, all distinct, prst and anterior 2 post setae shorter but 2–3 times as long as the ground-setulae. 2 pprn. 1+1 ia. 1+1 sa, both strong. 1 strong and 1 weaker proepisternal setae. 1 strong proepimeral, equal to the strong proepisternal, with 7–9 adjacent setulae. Anepisternum with a short seta in upper anterior corner; posterior row with 3 setae and 3 setulae. 3 strong kepst, lower seta much closer to posterior than to anterior seta. Meron bare below spiracle and above hind coxa. Scutellum with disc densely setulose, the setulae extending in several rows on to sides; ventral surface bare.

Legs. Black. Fore coxa in ♂ with some moderately long setae on posterior apical edge (Fig. 450). Fore femur with a row of av setulae, those in apical half short, spinulose and comb-like, all stronger in ♀ than in ♂; pv row complete, the setae long and fine, some twice as long as femoral depth, interspersed and along pv to p surfaces with multiserial spinules, these stronger in ♀ than in ♂; pd row complete. Fore tibia without submedian seta, with the setulae on p to pv surfaces rather long and erect in apical half; in ♀, ventral surfaces with tiny spinules replacing many of the ground-setulae; with d, p and pv apical setae, the p absent in ♂. Fore tarsomere without modifications. Mid femur with a row of setulae on av surface, comb-like and spinulose in apical half, a few in basal half often elongated into short setae; pv surface with a few short fine setae in basal half, none equal to femoral depth, continued as a comb-like row of short spinules in apical half, all the v spinules stronger in ♀ than in ♂; with a row of a setae in basal half; 2 p preapicals. Mid tibia with 1 submedian p seta; with strong ad, a, v and pv apicals, and a very weak pd in ♀. Mid tarsomere without modifications. Hind coxa without a seta on posterior apical margin. Hind femur with several short fine pv setae in basal half in ♂, none as long as femoral depth, reduced to setulae in ♀; av surface with only 1 seta at middle and 1 before apex; otherwise only with regular short setulae ventrally which tend to be rather spinulose in ♀; ad row complete; 1 d preapical. Hind tibia with 1 ad and 1 av seta; ad and d preapical setae strong; av and pv apical setae strong. Hind tarsomere without modifications.

Wing. Clear. Tegula black, basicosta yellow. Crossvein r-m placed below the point where vein R1 enters costa; dm-cu almost straight, longer than apical section of vein CuA1. Vein M running straight to wing-margin. Calypters creamy, margins yellow, sometimes creamy in ♀. Haltere yellow, knob orange.

Abdomen. Ground-colour black. Dust on tergites light grey. Tergites unmarked except for tergites 3 and 4 which each have a pair of large subquadrate dark brown spots (Fig. 451), smaller and less well-defined in ♀ than in ♂, not continuing down on to sides of tergites, sometimes with dark shadows also on disc of syntergite 1+2. ♂ epandrium mainly grey dusted. ♀ ovipositor with exposed tergites dusted grey to brownish-grey. Sternites 1–5 grey dusted. Tergites without strong erect setae except on tergite 5 which has 2–3 pairs of discals and 2 pairs of marginals. ♂ sternites 2–4 sparsely setulose (Fig. 452).

Ƌ terminalia. Epandrium separated from tergite 5 by a broad syntergosternite 8, which has 2 spiracles; not produced ventrally. Tergite 6 absent; sternite 6 present as a pair of rod-like plates. Surstylus absent, i.e. fused to epandrium without trace (Fig. 453). Cercal plate deeply divided dorsally and ventrally (Fig. 454). Hypandrium apparently attached at only one point, to a rod originating from wall of epandrium close to upper outer edge of cercal plate. Phallic complex (Figs 455–456): hypandrium short and broad, almost closed posteriorly over base of postgonite and phallapodeme, and with a strong lobe-like ventral projection medially; praegonite and postgonite present, the latter weakly sclerotised; phallapodeme connected medially to hypandrium by a bridge, and forked posteriorly to meet base of postgonites; phallus long and unusually free-lying, and with a large juxta mostly covered with tiny spinules, basal part with a strongly sclerotised plate posteriorly (Fig. 456) that is produced into a pair of pointed processes.

♀ ovipositor (Figs 457–459). Tergite 6 complete; tergite 7 divided medially; tergite 8 divided dorsally, each half displaced laterally. Sternite 6 present as a pair of small plates; sternite 7 represented by several small bristledots; sternite 8 present as 2 small plates, concealed in the invaginated membrane at tip of segment 8. Epiproct Vshaped, with 4 pairs of strong setae and several setulae, connected to the cercus. Hypoproct large, extended posteriorly, with several stout spines at apex. Cercus plate-shaped, without spines at apex. 3 spermathecae.

Measurements. Wing-length, 5.5–6.0 mm (♂), 6.0– 6.5 mm (♀). Body-length, 7.0– 7.5 mm (♂), 7.5–8.0 mm (♀).

Biology. Adults have been collected on a beach.

Distribution. Australia (Q, NSW). An uncommon but very widespread species, known from North Africa, and the Afrotropical and Oriental regions. In addition to Australia, it is recorded from the Marquesas and Society Islands in the Australasian/Oceanian region.