Stipomorpha elcopala, Reemer, Menno, 2013

Reemer, Menno, 2013, Taxonomic exploration of Neotropical Microdontinae (Diptera: Syrphidae) mimicking stingless bees, Zootaxa 3697 (1), pp. 1-88 : 47-48

Stipomorpha elcopala spec. nov.

Figs 138–141 , 231 .

Studied type specimens. HOLOTYPE. COSTA RICA. Male. Label 1: “ COSTA RICA. Cartago, Cordillera / central, Pejivalle, Humo, El Copal / 1026 m asl. Malaise trap. / 09°46’55.9”N 83°45’09.2”W / 9-10.IX.2010. Leg. J.T. Smit.”. Coll. INBIO .

PARATYPE. HONDURAS. Male. Label 1: “ Honduras: Yoro, Palo de / Comba, 15°11’N, 87°39’W / 29.IX.1995 / leg. R. Cave”. Coll. MZLU.

Description (based on holotype)

Adult male. Body size: 5 mm.

Head. Face occupying 1/4 of head width in frontal view; black with narrow yellow lateral margins; entirely white pilose. Gena black. Occiput black; black pilose dorsally, white pilose ventrally. Oral cavity with slightly produced lateral margins. Frons black; short black pilose, except for bare triangular part posterior to lunula. Vertex black; black pilose. Eye bare. Antennal fossa about as wide as high. Antenna black; scape and pedicel black pilose; antennal ratio 3:1:6; basoflagellomere parallel-sided with narrowly rounded apex, with small sensory pit at 3/4 from base; arista slender, about 3/4 of length of basoflagellomere, appearing bare under low magnification.

Thorax. Black. Postpronotum, scutum and postalar callus short black pilose, except for two small patches of white pile along transverse suture and two small white pilose patches anterior to scutellum. Scutellum subrectangular, without calcars; white pilose. Anepisternum a little convex, without sulcus, black pilose anterodorsally and along posterior margin. Anepimeron black pilose dorsally, white pilose ventrally. Katepisternum white pilose dorsally. Katepimeron bare. Calypter brownish yellow, halter blackish.

Wing: hyaline, with very faint dark cloud between apex of costal cell and vena spuria , and with yellowish veins bordering and posterior to pterostigma; microtrichose except bare basally on cell r1 along vein RS, on posterior 1/2 of cell br, basal 5/6 of cell bm, anterior 1/2 of cell cup and mediobasal 1/5 of alula.

Legs: brownish black, except fifth tarsomeres of all legs yellow. Legs black pilose, except anterior four tibiae posteriorly pale pilose and hind-tibia pale pilose on basal 2/3; pile on hind-tibia about as long as width of tibia. Coxae and trochanters black pilose.

Abdomen. Reddish, except lateral margins of tergites 1 and 2 blackish brown. Tergite 2 wider than thorax, widest point at around half the lentgh; tergites 3 and 4 strongly narrowing. Antetergite very large. Tergite 1 laterally mixed black and yellow pilose, bare medially. Tergite 2 black pilose laterally, yellow pilose anterolaterally and sublaterally; almost bare medially. Tergites 3 and 4 fused, without a visible suture; sparseley black pilose medially. Sternite 1 bare, separated from sternite 2 by a membrane of about the width of sternite 1. Sternite 2 bare, laterally more than twice as wide as medially, separated from sternite 3 by a membrane of twice the median width of sternite 2. Genitalia as in fig. 231.

Female. Unknown.

Etymology. The name of this species refers to its type locality: El Copal, a nature reserve in the Central Valley of Costa Rica. The name is to be treated as an adjective.

Diagnosis. Although the black thorax and legs in combination with the reddish abdomen remind of Stipomorpha apicula (Curran) , this species is morphologically most similar to Stipomorpha lacteipennis (Shannon) . These two species share similar length ratios of the antennal segments, a pilose posterior margin of the anepisternum, a pilose dorsal part of the katepimeron, a partially bare alula, a notably triangular abdomen, and similar morphology of the male genitalia. However, the reddish abdomen readily separates S. elcopala from S. lacteipennis .

Notes. The paratype differs from the holotype in its larger size (6.5 mm) and the entirely yellow tergites 1 and 2 (lateral margins not blackish brown as in holotype).

Distribution. Known from Costa Rica and Honduras.

Figures

FIGURES 130 – 141. 130 – 133. Stipomorpha crematogastri female (holotype). 130. head frontal; 131. head lateral; 132. puparium dorsal; 133. puparium lateral. 134 – 137. Stipomorpha dichromata female (holotype). 134. habitus dorsal; 135. habitus lateral; 136. head frontal; 137. head lateral. 138 – 141. Stipomorpha elcopala male (holotype). 138. head frontal; 139. habitus lateral; 140. habitus dorsal; 141. wing.

FIGURES 222 – 232. 222 – 224. Stipomorpha wheeleri. 222. male (paratype), head frontal. 223. female (holotype), habitus dorsal; 224. female (holotype); habitus lateral. 225 – 227. Stipomorpha zophera male (holotype). 225. habitus dorsal; 226. habitus lateral; 227. head frontal. 228 – 229. Stipomorpha, tergites 1 & 2 dorsal. 228. S. mendax; 229. S. mixta. 230 – 232. Stipomorpha, male genitalia lateral. 230. S. apicula (holotype); 231. S. elcopala (holotype); 232. S. fallax (holotype).