Stipomorpha lanei (Curran, 1936)

Reemer, Menno, 2013, Taxonomic exploration of Neotropical Microdontinae (Diptera: Syrphidae) mimicking stingless bees, Zootaxa 3697 (1), pp. 1-88 : 58-59

Stipomorpha lanei (Curran, 1936)

Figs 165–168 , 238 .

Microdon lanei Curran, 1936: 5 .

Studied type specimens. HOLOTYPE. BRAZIL. Female. Label 1: "Juquia - S.P., J. Lane, XI, 1929"; label 2 (red): " Microdon lanei Curran Holotype ". Coll. AMNH.

Additionally studied specimens. FRENCH GUYANA: 1 female, Kaw mountains, 04°33.562'N – 52°12.425'W, 21.X.2002, leg. V. Soon, coll. RMNH; 1 male, Roura, Kaw road, PK 37, Relais Patawa, N 04°32’42”–W 52°09’09”, malaise trap, XII.2009, leg. J.A. Cerda, coll. RMNH; SURINAM: 1 male, Paramaribo, 9.XII.1957, leg. P.H. van Doesburg Jr., coll. RMNH; 1 female, Kwatta, 8.II.1964, leg. D.C. Geijskes, coll. RMNH; 1 male, Paramaribo, Leiding, 05°17'03"W, 28.I- – 6.II.2006, leg. M. Reemer, coll. RMNH. VENEZUELA: 1 male, T.F. Amaz., Cerro de la Neblina, 140 m., 0°50’N – 66°10’W, 21-28.II.1985 (malaise trap in rain forest), leg. P.J. & P.M. Spangler, R.A. Faitoute & W.E. Steiner, coll. USNM.

Redescription (based on holotype)

Adult female. Body size: 8 mm.

Head. Face occupying about 1/4 of head width in frontal view; shining yellow with yellow pilosity, except on a bare median line occupying 1/2 of the width of the face. Gena yellow. Oral cavity with lateral margins not produced and not notched anteriorly. Frons yellow; short black pilose, laterally and posteriorly. Vertex yellow, except brown on ocellar triangle and posterior to it; short black pilose. Occiput yellow; black pilose dorsally, yellow pilose ventrally and over entire posterior surface. Eye appearing bare under low magnification. Antennal fossa about as wide as high. Scape and pedicel dark brown, basoflagellomere reddish brown. Antennal ratio 4:1:7. Basoflagellomere parallel-sided with narrowly rounded apex; with oval sensory pit, occupying 1/5 of height of basoflagellomere, located at 2/3 from base, within a vague 'sensory groove' that ranges from ventrad of the base of the arista almost to the apex. Arista slender, about 2/3 of length of basoflagellomere.

Thorax. Yellowish brown, except for two wide, vaguely demarkated dark brown lateral vittae on the scutum, narrowly divided in two along the transverse suture; medially the scutum is yellow anteriorly and dark brown posteriorly. Scutum short black pilose, except for two submedian vittae of short yellow pile and narrow lateral fasciae of yellow pile along the transverse suture. Postpronotum yellow pilose. Postalar callus and scutellum black pilose. Scutellum semicircular, without calcars. Anterior and posterior part of anepisternum not divided by a sulcus; anterior part yellow pilose, posterior part bare. Anepimeron yellow pilose on dorsal half. Katatergum and anatergum pilose and microtrichose, respectively. Other pleurae bare. Calypter and halter yellow.

Wing: hyaline, with veins yellowish anteriorly and apically. Microtrichose except bare along vein RS between veins R1 and R2+3, on basal 2/3 of cell br, posterobasal 1/4 of cell bm, anterobasal 1/6 of cell cup.

Legs: Entirely yellow and yellow pilose, including coxae and trochanters.

Abdomen. Yellowish brown. Tergite 2 wider than thorax, with widest point at half the length; tergites 3 and 4 narrower, with tergite 4 strongly narrowing posteriorly. Tergites 3, 4 and 5 fused, with sutures vaguely visible. Tergites entirely yellow pilose; shining, tergite 3 dull on anterior 2/5, because of a fascia of microtrichia, which occupies most of the tergite's width; tergite 4 with two anterolateral dull oval markings of microtrichia of 1/3 of the length of the tergite. Sternites yellow. Sternite 1 bare. Pilosity of other sternites hard to assess in type specimen.

Male (based on specimens from Surinam): More or less as female, except hind femur, hind tibia and abdomen black pilose. Genitalia as in fig. 238.

Diagnosis. Instantly recognizable by the unproduced yellow vertex (compare e.g. S. guianica , in which the vertex is strongly produced). The male is unique among Stipomorpha species in the fact that the abdomen is somewhat constricted, with its smallest width at the transition between tergites 3 and 4. In the female this constriction is also present to some extent, but less pronounced.

Distribution. Known from Brazil, Surinam and Venezuela.

Figures

FIGURES 163 – 172. 163 – 164. Stipomorpha lacteipennis male (holotype). 163. habitus lateral; 164. head frontal. 165. Stipomorpha lanei male (Surinam, coll. RMNH), habitus dorsal. 166 – 167. Stipomorpha lanei female (French Guyana, coll. RMNH). 166. head frontal; 167. head dorsal. 168. Stipomorpha lanei female (holotype), habitus dorsal. Photo: American Museum of Natural History. 169 – 170. Stipomorpha litoralis male (holotype). 169. habitus dorsal; 170. habitus lateral. 171 – 172. Stipomorpha mackiei male (holotype). 171. habitus dorsal; 172. habitus lateral.

FIGURES 233 – 239. Stipomorpha, male genitalia. 233. S. fraudator (holotype); 234. S. goettei (Surinam, coll. RMNH); 235. S. guianica (Surinam, coll. RMNH); 236. S. inarmata (holotype); 237. S. lacteipennis (lectotype); 238. S. lanei (Surinam, coll. RMNH); 239. S. litoralis (holotype).