Blepharoneura isabelae Hernández-López & Hernández-Ortiz, 2024

Hernández-López, Mónica & Hernández-Ortiz, Vicente, 2024, Descriptions of six new Mexican species of the genus Blepharoneura (Diptera, Tephritidae) belonging to the femoralis species-group, Zootaxa 5448 (2), pp. 225-247 : 230-232

Blepharoneura isabelae Hernández-López & Hernández-Ortiz , new species

( Figures 3 A–F )

Diagnosis. This species belongs to the two-banded apical wing group (AAB, PAB), but can be distinguished from them by its largely blackish scutum and scutellum, almost entirely yellow pleuron, and dark subscutellum and mediotergite. The submedial and sublateral stripes are largely fused on the post-sutural scutum, forming a coalescent dark spot, while the submedial stripes extended upward to the anterior scutal margin. In addition to the differences in the scutum pattern, wing pattern somewhat resembles B. punctistigma Norrbom & Condon , and B. brevivittata Norrbom & Condon , the former being distinguished by having a hyaline spot on the pterostigma, whereas the latter differs by the absence of the apical spot [#25] on apical third of dm cell, which is completely dark.

Description. Head ( Figs. 3A–B ): Face yellow; frons with two dark brownish stripes joined medially, and projected laterally to the insertion of orbital setae; vertex yellow with ocellar tubercle blackish; upper occipital margin has a black band running through medial vertical setae, passing at the base of postocellar setae, and joined above to black coloration of the ocellar tubercle; medial and lateral occipital sclerites mostly yellow; 2–3 frontal setae and 2 orbital setae; ocellar setae long and well developed, as long and stout as the posterior orbital setae; scape, pedicel and flagellomere yellow; arista shortly plumose, basally yellow, and apically dark; rows of spinules on labella present; genal area with a small brown diffuse mark; genal seta black.

Thorax ( Figs. 3A–B ): Mesonotum length 2.28–2.30 mm, and 1.46–1.70 mm wide (M-ratio= 1.34–1.58, n=3); the following setae are present: 3–5 scapulars; 1–2 postpronotals (2 in one specimen); 1 presutural supra-alar; 1 postsutural supra-alar; 1 postalar; 1 intra-alar; 3 asymmetrical intra-postalars; 1 dorsocentral almost aligned with postalar; 1 acrostichal; 3 scutellars. postpronotal lobe yellow; scutum dark brown setulose, non-microtrichose except on the lateral margins; scutal submedial stripes broad anteriorly extending posteriorly to scutal margin, merging with the postsutural sublateral stripes, forming a wide postsutural dark spot; presutural sublateral stripes absent; scutellum microtrichose, mostly brown on disc and sides; spot below postalar seta present; subscutellum and mediotergite mostly brown medially separate; the pleuron and notopleuron mostly yellow with the basalare, anepisternum, katepisternum, anepimeron, katatergite, anatergite, and meron yellow; legs pale yellow, including the femora, tibiae, and tarsi.

Wing ( Fig. 3C ): wing length ranges from 5.00– 6.15 mm, and 2.80–3.10 mm wide (W-ratio= 1.79–2.17); crossvein R-M at 0.57–0.89 the distance from BM-Cu to DM-Cu; apex of vein R 1 ends at the level of R-M; dorsal setulae on vein R 4+5 widespread beyond R-M; vein Cu 1 dorsally setulose along the body of cell bm, extending close to DM-Cu; basal third of wing pattern brown with hyaline marks on basal cells r 1, br, bm, bcu; anal lobe and alula smoked; apical third of wing pattern has an unbroken apical band (AAB) along costal margin, ending approximately at the middle of cell r 4+5, and a posterior apical band (PAB) nearly as wide as AAB. Costal cell has two subquadrate hyaline marks, separated by a well-defined brown vitta; pterostigma brown; cell br with basal hyaline mark [#12] present, and two hyaline spots proximal to R-M [#13, #44]; cell bm with two hyaline spots [#19,#20]; cell bcu with a small hyaline dot, posteroapical corner brown; medial section of cell r 1 at the end of R 1, with a triangular hyaline mark [#5] that narrows downwards, extending into the cells r 2+3 [#8] and r 4+5 [#14]; the apical section of cell r 1 brown along the costal margin; basal and apical sections of cell r 2+3 are brown; cell r 4+5 with hyaline spot above DM-Cu [#15], apical margin of cell with a wide hyaline mark open to costal margin, runs obliquely inside r 2+3, ending close to vein R 2+3; cell dm with two medial hyaline patches partially fused, sometimes one of them extends to the upper margin connecting to hyaline spot [#13] of cell bm; subapical upper hyaline spot [#25] present; cell m with two broad hyaline marks that reach wing margin, linked to the hyaline patch on cell r 4+5; medial spot [#49] on cell m absent; medial hyaline spots [#32, #33] in cell cu 2 form an H-shaped mark, that reaches the posterior wing margin; subapical hyaline spot [#37] present and isolated from the medial hyaline mark.

Abdomen: Abdominal tergites mostly dark brown, yellow medially; syntergite 1+2 yellow anteriorly, brown posteriorly, remaining tergites mostly dark brown, except for yellow on lateral margins.

Male terminalia ( Figs. 3D–F ): Epandrium subspherical, brownish dorsally; lateral surstylus elongate, strongly curved medially, longer than medial surstylus in posterior view, apically spatulate, and posteriorly curved in lateral view; medial surstylus large, stout, triangular-shaped with two conspicuous prensisetae of similar size, clampshaped, separated by a moderate concave margin; phallus short, glans short and stout, basally membranous without basal lobe, bulbous medially and strongly sclerotized with basal striations, apically yellow with a short digitiform projection at apex.

Female: Unknown.

Material Examined. Holotype ♂ ( IEXA) MEXICO. Veracruz, Teocelo, Llano Grande , 730m, 19.36351°N 96.8795°W, McPhail trap, 20 Jan 2022, V Hernández & F Dzul . Paratypes: same data as holotype (2♂ IEXA) .

Etymology. We named this species after Mrs. Isabel Trujillo Navarro, recently deceased and owner of the farm where this species was found, in appreciation of her kindness and support during the fieldwork.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Blepharoneura isabelae, new species: A) general male habitus, dorsal view; B) head and thorax, lateral view; C) wing pattern (scale 1 mm). Male terminalia: D) epandrium and surstyli, posterior view; E) detail of lateral and medial surstyli, postero-ventral view; F) glans.