Toxophora aurea Macquart, 1848

Cunha, André Mallemont, Lamas, Carlos José Einicker & Couri, Márcia Souto, 2009, Redescription of two Neotropical species of TOXOPHORA Meigen (Diptera, Bombyliidae, Toxophorinae), Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia 49 (18), pp. 221-227 : 222-224

Toxophora aurea Macquart, 1848

( Figs. 1-8 )

Toxophora aurea Macquart, 1848:197 (37); Kertész, 1909:91; d’Andretta & Carrera, 1950:362; Hull, 1973:236; Painter & Painter, 1974:84; Painter et al., 1978:20; Evenhuis & Greathead, 1999:70.

Toxophora aurifera Rondani, 1848:98 ; Kertész, 1909:91; d’Andretta & Carrera, 1950:357; Hull, 1973:236; Painter & Painter, 1974:84; Painter et al., 1978:20; Evenhuis & Greathead, 1999:70.

Toxophora dryitis Séguy, 1930:532 ; Hull, 1973:236; Painter & Painter, 1974:84; Painter et al., 1978:20; Evenhuis & Greathead, 1999:70.

Toxophora verona Curran, 1934:363 ; Hull, 1973:236; Painter & Painter, 1974:84; Painter et al., 1978:20; Evenhuis & Greathead, 1999:70.

Male: Head: As wide as thorax; holoptic; frons gray pollinose; base of antennae with yellow scales; scape twice the length of the other two articles, covered by short dark brown scales and short white scales on ventral surface; pedicel with short dark brown scales, except on external surface, with nearly half the length of flagellum ( Fig. 1 ); flagellum with short dark brown setae and long stylum; face white pollinose; proboscis dark-brown, long, with nearly twice the length of the head; palpus unisegmented, brown with short brown setae and length nearly half of proboscis; occiput gray pollinose with yellow hairs; ocellar tubercle with two strong dark brown setae directed forward.

Thorax: pronotum gray pollinose with seven pairs of strong dark brown setae, one median pair directed backwards, one paramedian pair directed to the center, and five lateral pairs ( Fig. 1 ); mesonotum dark brown with yellow hairs and strong dark brown setae on lateral margin, dark brown scales mainly on posterior region with greenish reflex; one pair of prescutellar setae; pleurae gray pollinose with yellow hairs on the anterior region of katepisternum and anepisternum, the last one with dark-brown setae on the postero-superior margin and row of dark brown setae on the superior margin, metepisternum with fine yellow hairs; rest of pleurae bare; halter with stem brownish-yellow and knob light yellow; scutellum with dark brown scales and greenish reflex, yellow pile and dark brown bristles on posterior margin.

Wings: costa with dark brown scales; hyaline surface with yellow to light brown infuscation on anterior half; r-m crossvein on apical third of discal cell; two submarginal cells; calypter with long yellow hairs.

Legs: coxa I and II with white scales, coxa III with white scales, white pile and three long brown setae; trochanter II with three dark brown setae; femur I with dark brown scales and yellow scales on apex of posterior surface, femur II with dark brown scales on anterior surface and yellow on posterior, femur III with yellow scales on anterior surface and dark brown on posterior; tibia I and II with yellow scales on posterodorsal surface, tibia I with two parallel rows of setae on the dorsal surface and one setae on the base of the posterior surface, tibia II with a row of setae on dorsal surface alternating with long and short setae, tibia III with dark brown setae on all surfaces, yellow scales on the anterodorsal surface and dark brown on the posterodorsal; tarsi dark brown, with brown pile and dark brown bristles on ventral surface; pulvilli light brown with nearly the same length as claws.

Abdomen: stout; dark brown scales with greenish reflex; tergite I covered with dark brown scales and yellow scales laterally; tergite II with dark brown scales, yellow scales laterally and one spot on the basal center; tergite III-VI with dark brown scales on basal half; tergite VII with yellow scales and with a small stripe of dark brown scales on basal margin ( Fig. 2 ); sternites I-VII with white scales and sparse yellow pile.

Genitalia: epandrium with posterior margin strongly concave ( Fig. 3 ); hypandrium absent; gonocoxites fused, without median internal ridge; distiphallus with beak-like form, not surpassing apex of posterior process of gonocoxa; epiphallus wide with broad apex ( Figs. 4 and 5 ); gonostylus short with thin and pointed apex; lateral aedeagal apodema and ejaculatory apodema long, both surpassing gonocoxal limits.

Female: Similar to males, except for the following: dichoptic; trochanter without setae; tibia I and II with row of setae on posterior surface.

Spermathecae: furca U-shaped with an anterior spine ( Fig. 7 ). Spermathecal duct five times longer than sperm pump, sperm pump with well developed sclerotized collars, with indented margin. Spermathecal bulbs sclerotized, tubular and strongly coiled ( Fig. 6 ).

Egg: oval form, 1.5 to 2.0 times longer than wide, with an operculum ( Fig. 8 ).

Variation: In some specimens there are brownish-yellow scales on the base of antennae.

Examined material: BRAZIL: 17-VII-1928, 1 female (781), AM Parko col., n° de proc. 11/836 ( MNRJ) ; Amapá: Porto Platon , 20-IX-1957, 2 females e 1 male (782), Campos colection, K. Lenko col ( MNRJ) , 21-IX-1957, 1 female, 18-IX-1957, 1 male, J Lane col. ( MZUSP) ; Amazonas: Audes , VI-1948, 1 female (786), JCM Carvalho col. ( MNRJ) ; Manaus , 27-IX-1955, 1 female (785), 30-XII-1955, 1 male (785), Ellias e Roppa col. ( MNRJ) ; Distrito Federal: Brasília , I-1961, 1 female e 1 male (783), HS Lopes col. ( MNRJ) ; Mato Grosso: Fazenda Murtinho , XII-1929, 1 female (778), R Spitz col., HS Lopes det. ( MNRJ) ; Utiariti, Rio Papagaio , 7-VIII-1961, 1 male, K Lenko col. ( MZUSP) ; Pará: Belém Utinga , VII-1936, 1 female (779), Almeida col., HS Lopes det. ( MNRJ) ; Piratuba, Abaere , 1938, 1 female (784), Ceelva col. ( MNRJ) ; Rio Acará , 23-VIII-1954, 2 females, N Cerqueira col. (1 MNRJ e 1 MZUSP) ; Urucurituba , 4-IV-??, 1 female (20.071), CHT Towncend col. ( MZUSP) ; Rio de Janeiro: Duque de Caxias, São Bento , I-1954 e 5-I-1955, 2 females, PA Teles col. ( MZUSP) ; Petrópolis, Retiro Pedro Rio , 25-I-1957, 1 female, CA Campos Seabra col. ( MZUSP) ; São Paulo: Araçatuba, Fazenda Jacarecatinga , XI-1962, 1 male, Lane e Rabello col. ( MZUSP) ; Castilho , left margin of Paraná river, X-1964, 1 female e 1 macho, Exp. Depto. Zool. ( MZUSP) ; Onda Verde, Fazenda São João , I-1946, 1 male (20.080), F Lane col. ( MZUSP) ; Porto cabral, Paraná river, 20-31-III-1944, 1 female e 1 male (20.069), Trav., Carrera e E Dente col. ( MZUSP) ; Rio Claro , I-1941, 1 male (20.084), Pde. Pereira col. ( MNRJ) ; Severínia , XII-1940, 1 female (20.076), AG Silva col. ( MZUSP) ; PARAGUAY: Assuncion, XI-1943, 1 female (780), Mis. Cient. Brasil col. ( MNRJ) ; SURINAME: Marowijine river , VII-1965, 1 male (7236), Cambridge Expedition, EAM Gale col. ( MNRJ) .

Distribuition: Brazil: Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Distrito Federal, Mato Grosso, Pará , Paraná, Rio de Janeiro,

Roraima, São Paulo; Guyana; French Guiana; Paraguay; Suriname.

Figures

FIGURES 1‑8: Toxophora aurea Macquart, 1848: (1) General habitus, lateral view; (2) Abdomen, dorsal view; (3) Epandrium, dorsal view; (4) Male terminalia, ventral view; (5) Male terminalia, lateral view; (6) Spermathecae; (7) Furca; (8) Egg.