Euchariomyia dives Bigot

Yao, Gang, Yang, Ding & Evenhuis, Neal L., 2009, First record of the genus Euchariomyia Bigot, 1888 from China (Diptera: Bombyliidae), Zootaxa 2052, pp. 62-68 : 63-68

Euchariomyia dives Bigot

(Figs. 1–16)

Bombylius pulchellus Wulp, 1880: 164 . Type locality: Indonesia (Java).

Euchariomyia dives Bigot, 1888 a: cxl [1889: cxl (as Eucharimyia )]. Type locality: Sri Lanka.

Bombylius wulpii Brunetti, 1909a: 457 (new replacement name for Bombylius pulchellus Wulp, 1880 ).

Diagnosis. Sides of frons just above antennae with long hair-like white scales; sides of clypeus with long hairlike white scales. Dorsum with dense white reflective recumbent scales almost covering whole surface of abdominal dorsum (male only).

Description. Male. Body length 5–6 mm, wing length 6–7 mm.

Head ( Figs. 2–3 ) black; ocellar tubercle black, ocelli red. Hairs on head black and yellow, scales white; face with black long sparse hairs, sides of frons above antennae with long hair-like white scales, sides of clypeus with long hair-like white scales; eyes holoptic, comparatively contiguous nearly 2/3 distance from vertex to antennae; occiput with yellow hairs. Antenna black; scape cylindrical, 2.5 times longer than wide, with black long hairs; pedicel nearly as long as wide, with short sparse black hairs; first flagellomere elongate, fourteen times longer than wide, with microscopic white scales on surface, tip with a spiculate stylus. Antennal ratio: 5:2:20. Proboscis black with microscopic black hairs, nearly three times longer than head from lateral view; palpus black with long black hairs.

Thorax black with grey pollen, except scutellum with brown pollen. Hairs on thorax mostly yellow, bristles black; postpronotal lobe with long yellow hairs, mesonotum with long yellow hairs anteriorly and three long black lateral bristles near base of wing, close to base of wing with long white hair-like scales, postalar callus with three black bristles. Scutellum almost bare but just with yellow hairs on anterior edge; scutellum with eight black bristles on posterior edge. Legs dark brown. Hairs on legs black, bristles black. Femora with sparse long black hairs; tibiae and tarsi with short black hairs. Hind femur with three av apically. Mid tibia with five ad, four pd, five av and five pv; hind tibia with six ad, eight pd, six av and eight pv. Wing ( Fig. 8) mostly infuscate, dark brown to light brown from base and anterior margin to tip and posterior margin, with metallic reflections. Base of anal lobe and alula with dark brown hairs on margin. Vein M1 not reaching margin, basal medial cell with a dark spot on angle close to basal radial cell and discal medial cell. Halteres brown.

Abdomen ( Fig. 6 ) black. Hairs black; dorsum with dense white recumbent scales almost covering whole surface, tergite 1 with black hairs anteriorly; all tergites with long black hairs laterally. Sternites with black hairs.

Male genitalia ( Figs. 11–16 ). Epandrium subquadrate, higher than long, with black long dense bristles apically, cercus well exposed in lateral view, epandrium subquadrate, nearly as long as wide in back view; gonocoxa with black bristle-like sparse hairs apically, distinctly narrowing apically in ventral view; gonostylus thick at base, then narrowed toward acute tip in lateral view; epiphallus rather long, with an obtuse tip in dorsal view.

Female. Body length 4–6 mm, wing length 5–7 mm. Head ( Figs. 4–5 ) black; ocellar tubercle black, ocelli red. Hairs on head black and yellow, scales white; frons with sparse yellow hairs, face with sparse long black hairs, sides of frons above antennae with long white hair-like scales, and sides of clypeus with long white hairlike scales; eyes dichoptic; occiput with black and yellow hairs. Antenna black; scape cylindrical, 2.5 times longer than wide, with long black hairs; pedicel nearly as long as wide, with sparse short black hairs; first flagellomere elongate, fourteen times longer than wide, with microscopic white scales on surface, tip with a spiculate stylus. Antennal ratio: 5:2:20. Proboscis black with microscopic black hairs, nearly three times longer than head from lateral view; palpus black with long black hairs.

Thorax black with grey pollen except scutellum with brown pollen. Hairs on thorax mostly yellow, bristles black; postpronotal lobe with long yellow hairs, mesonotum with long yellow hairs anteriorly and three long black lateral bristles near base of wing, close to base of wing with long white hair-like scales, postalar callus with three black bristles. Scutellum almost bare but just with yellow hairs on anterior edge; scutellum with eight black bristle on posterior edge. Legs dark. Hairs on legs black, bristles black. Femora with sparse long black hairs; tibiae and tarsi with short black hairs. Hind femur with three av apically. Mid tibia with five ad, four pd, five av and five pv; hind tibia with six ad, eight pd, six av and eight pv. Wing mostly infuscate, dark brown to light brown from base and anterior margin to tip and posterior margin, with metallic reflections. Base of anal lobe and alula with dark brown hairs on margin. Vein m1 not reaching edge, basal medial cell with a dark spot on angle close to basal radial cell and discal medial cell. Halteres brown.

Abdomen ( Fig. 7 ) black. Hairs on abdomen black; dorsum with dense yellow recumbent hairs and black erect hairs almost covering whole surface of abdomen, tergite 1 with black hairs and scales, tergite 3 with white scales laterally. Sternites with dense black hairs.

Female genitalia ( Fig. 9–10 ). Tergite 8 band-shaped with a triangular projection medially in posterior view, tergite 9+10 trapezium and divided medially in posterior view, with more than ten acanthophorite spines each side; cercus ovate and curved close at middle in ventral view; spermathecae globate.

Specimens examined. 12 males, CHINA: Guangxi, Longzhou, Nonggang (E 109º38' N 25º23'), 3. VII. 2008, Guoquan Wang; 15 males, CHINA: Guangxi, Longzhou, Nonggang (E 109º38' N 25º23'), 4. VII. 2008, Guoquan Wang; 1 male, CHINA: Guangxi, Longzhou, Nonggang (E 109º38' N 25º23'), 13. V. 2006, Kuiyan Zhang; 1 female, CHINA: Guangxi, Longzhou, Nonggang (E 109º38' N 25º23'), 12. V. 2006, Kuiyan Zhang; 15 females, CHINA: Guangxi, Longzhou, Nonggang (E 109º38' N 25º23'), 3. VII. 2008, Guoquan Wang; 25 females, CHINA: Guangxi, Longzhou, Nonggang (E 109º38' N 25º23'), 4. VII. 2008, Guoquan Wang; 2 females, CHINA: Guangxi, Chongzuo, Taiping, Maan village (E 107º37' N 22º42'), 3. VII. 2008, Guoquan Wang.

Distribution. Burma, China (Guangxi), India (Kerala, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh), Indonesia (Java), Laos, Sri Lanka, Thailand.

Remarks. We found specimens of this species on days with good sunshine; most of these specimens were collected while they were visiting railway beggarticks ( Bidens pilosa Linnaeus ; Asteraceae ) (Fig. 1). The species flies slower than other genera of bee flies. The environment in which we found this species is similar to that where locusts oviposit, so future collecting of this species in China and elsewhere should also look for possible parasitoid associations between this species and locusts.

Figures

FIGURES 2 – 5. Euchariomyia dives head. 2. male head lateral view; 3. male head front view; 4. female head lateral view; 5. female head front view.

FIGURES 6 – 7. Euchariomyia dives abdomen. 6. male dorsal view; 7. female dorsal view.

FIGURES 11 – 16. Euchariomyia dives male genitalia. 11. epandrium and cercus, dorsal view; 12. epandrium and cercus, lateral view; 13. gonocoxa and gonostylus, lateral view; 14. phallus, dorsal view; 15. phallus, lateral view; 16. gonocoxa and gonostylus, ventral view.

FIGURES 9 – 10. Euchariomyia dives female genitalia. 9. ventral view; 10. spermathecal bulb.