Hemipenthes celeris (Wiedemann)

Ávalos-Hernández, Omar, 2009, A review of the North American species of Hemipenthes Loew, 1869 (Diptera: Bombyliidae), Zootaxa 2074, pp. 1-49 : 14-17

5. Hemipenthes celeris (Wiedemann)

(Figs. 5–6, 35–42)

Anthrax celeris Wiedemann, 1828: 310 .

Anthrax floridiana Macquart, 1850: 112 . New synonymy. Anthrax sagata Loew, 1869: 21 .

Anthrax orbitalis Williston, 1901: 281 .

Villa celer (Wiedemann) : Painter & Painter, 1962: 90

Villa (Hemipenthes) pima Painter in Painter & Painter, 1962: 92. New synonymy. Villa (Hemipenthes) floridiana (Macquart) : Painter & Painter, 1962: 109. Villa (Hemipenthes) sagata (Loew) : Painter & Painter, 1962: 123. New synonymy. Villa (Hemipenthes) orbitalis (Williston) : Painter & Painter, 1962: 120. Hemipenthes celeris (Wiedemann) : Hull, 1973: 385

Hemipenthes floridiana (Macquart) : Hull, 1973: 385.

Hemipenthes pima (Painter) : Hull, 1973: 386.

Hemipenthes sagata (Loew) : Hull, 1973: 386.

Hemipenthes orbitalis (Williston) : Painter et al., 1978: 49.

2 syntypes of Anthrax celeris in NMW. Holotype of Anthrax floridiana in BMNH. Holotype of Villa pima in USNM. Lectotype of Anthrax sagata designated by Evenhuis (1982: 16) in MCZ. Lectotype female of Anthrax orbitalis designated by Painter & Painter, 1962: 120.

Diagnosis: Pigmentation on cells cup and a entirely infuscated or just with tip hyaline; cell r1 infuscated at half; mesopleuron and sides of first abdominal tergite white pilose; male with fifth and sixth abdominal tergites with white scales on sides, sometimes not covering the whole tergite; female with fifth and sixth tergites with yellow and white scales at sides, sometimes not covering the whole segment.

Description: Male. Body length: 7–15 mm; wing length: 8–15 mm. Head: Eyes separated by a little more than width of ocellar triangle. Front black pilose, black tomentose, white scales may be present in middle, near antenna. Face cinereous, rounded, with black hairs and white tomentum. Scape black, slightly swollen on inner apical margin, with black hairs, twice as long as pedicel; pedicel black, twice as wide as long, with short black hairs in dorsal portion, bare in ventral portion; flagellomere black or brown, longer than scape and pedicel combined; base subconical, tapering to styliform apical two-thirds; stylus minute, terminal. Proboscis short, not projecting beyond oral margin. Palpi black or brownish with black hair, some white or yellowish hairs may mixed in. Occiput with white hairs and white scales.

Thorax: Mesonotum anterior margin white or pale yellow pilose; lateral margin entirely black pilose; tomentum on disc black; bristles black. Proepisternum and anepisternum white or yellow pilose, some black hairs may be mixed in, katatergite white or yellow pilose, katepisternum not tomentose, black pilose. Proepimeron with white hairs. Mid coxa with black hairs, coxae not tomentose. Legs brown, femora black pilose black tomentose on anterior surface and white tomentose on posterior surface; bristles black. Halter steam and knob yellow. Scutellum black, black pilose and black tomentose; bristles black. Black setulae on basicosta. Cells c, br, and bm entirely infuscated (Fig. 5 & 6); cells sc, a and cup entirely infuscated (Fig. 6) or hyaline near wing margin (Fig. 5); cell r1 with basal half (Fig. 6) or two basal thirds infuscated (Fig, 5); cell dm with basal half infuscated; cells r2+3, m2, r5, and cua1 infuscated just at base; cell dm infuscated at or beyond r-m crossvein; r-m crossvein at or slightly behind middle of cell dm; no crossvein between R4 and R2+3; cell r5 not narrowed at wing margin; first section of vein CuA1 two and a half or three times the long of r-m crossvein, second section twice the long of r-m crossvein, third section one and a half the long of first two sections combined; cell a twice wider than cell cup; alula well developed.

Abdomen: Abdominal dorsum white or yellow pile on tergite one, rest black pilose, pile not dense; black tomentum on tergites one to four, white tomentum on sides of fifth to seventh tergites, tergite center black tomentose or with some white scales scattered; sides of abdomen with first and basal half of second tergites white or pale yellow pilose, black hairs on third, fourth and apical half of second tergites, rest not pilose.

Venter black and white pilose, with stripes of white and black tomentum. Genitalia brown with black hairs. Epandrium in lateral view, triangular, lower margin straight, basal corner narrowed; gonocoxite broad, basal half enlarged; gonostylus large, as long as half the width of the gonocoxite, hooked apically; epiphallus in lateral view narrow ( Figs. 35 , 37 , 39 & 41 ) slightly curved, not cap-shaped, apex not swollen, rounded; with a ventral extension broad at base with apex rounded, portion of the epiphallus behind ventral extension shorter than aedeagus; epiphallus in ventral view broad ( Figs. 36 , 38 , 40 & 42 ), lateral margins straight, without spines; aedeagus broad at base narrowed at apex, swollen dorsally; gonopore terminal.

Female. Nearly identical to male. Eyes separated by twice width of ocellar triangle. Scape with black hairs, some white hairs may be present on inner margin. Mesonotum lateral margin black, white and yellow pilose. Tomentum on disc black with a triangle of yellow scales near scutellum. Mesopleuron white or yellow pilose, tomentum and pile on katepisternum white or yellow. Scutellum yellowish tomentose along posterior margin, white or black tomentum on base. Tomentum in coxae white or black. White scales on fifth and seventh abdominal tergites least abundant than in male, not reaching the tergite center.

Distribution: Mexico (Colima, Durango, Guerrero, Michoacán, Morelos, Puebla, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tamaulipas, Veracruz), USA (Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, Texas).

Specimens examined: Mexico. Colima: 5 mi S Colima, 27-VII-1962, R. H. and E. M. Painter (2 females; USNM). Guerrero: 8 mi N Taxco, 1-VI-1959, H. E. Evans (2 females; USNM); 3 mi N Chilpancingo, 31- VIII-1939, R. H. and E. M. Painter (1 male 1 female; USNM); 4 mi N Chilpancingo, 28-VIII-1959, R. H. and E. M. Painter (1 male; USNM). Michoacán: 10 mi S Apatzingán, 2-IX-1960, Chas H. Martin, (1 female; USNM). Morelos: Quilamula, 25-V-2004, O. Avalos and M. López (2 males 2 females; MZFC). Puebla: 4 mi SE Matamoros, 3-IX-1959, R. H. and E. M. Painter (3 males 3 females; USNM). San Luis Potosí: El Salto, 27-VII-1962, R. H. y E. M. Painter (1 female; USNM). USA. Arizona: Tucson, 9-VIII-1930, R. H. Painter (1 male PARATYPE genitalia; USNM); Patagonia St. Cruz Co., 24-VII-1958, C.W. O’Brien (1 male; USNM); 6 mi N Pearce, 6-VIII-1955, G. Butler and Z. Noon (1 male PARATYPE; USNM); San Carlos Lake, August, D. K. Duncan (1 female PARATYPE; USNM). Florida: Citrus Co., 23-VII-1956, H. V. Weems Jr. (1 female; USNM); Torreya State Park Liberty Co., H. V. Weems Jr. (2 females; USNM); Matecumbe, 27-VI-1933, M. Bates (1 female; USNM). Georgia: Vidalia, 2-VIII-1937, W. Fattig (1 male genitalia; USNM); Lee Co. Leesburg, 12-VIII-1932, L. K. Gloyd (1 female; USNM). Texas: Victoria, IX-1942, W.E. Hinds (1 male genitalia; USNM); Edwards Co., 20-VII-1939, R. H. Painter (1 male genitalia; USNM); Brownsville, 8-V- 1935, J. N. Knull (1 male; USNM).

Remarks: Until this study Hemipenthes celeris , H. floridiana , H. pima , and H. sagata were considered as different species. Painter and Painter (1962: 90) with respect to H. celeris commented that the two females syntypes, which are rubbed and greasy and the H. floridiana type has some fungus and the head is glued. They noticed that these two species are very similar and suggest that may be synonyms or a subspecies ( Painter and Painter, 1962: 91). Painter and Painter (1962) also described H. pima and distinguished it from other species by the pigmentation on cell a, half or more hyaline, a character also present in H. celeris (Fig. 5). Regarding H. pima, Painter and Painter (1962: 94) stated: “There is considerable variation in the amount of the anal angle that is hyaline. Sometimes this hyaline part is reduced to a narrow margin along the posterior border.” To distinguish H. sagata from H. celeris and H. floridiana, Painter & Painter (1962) used the white pile on the sides of the first abdominal tergite, but H. celeris has the same characteristics. Genitalia dissections were made from specimens identified by Painter as H. celeris ( Figs. 35 & 36 ), H. floridiana ( Figs. 37 & 38 ), H. pima ( Figs. 39 & 40 ), and H. sagata ( Figs. 41 & 42 ). Considering this evidence that the characters used to identify these species present great variation and that the genitalia are identical, H. floridiana , H. pima and H. sagata are here proposed as synonyms of H. celeris .

Hemipenthes celeris is related to H. curta , H. martinorum , and H. pleuralis as all these species have the same genital structure and similar wing pigmentation, with a smooth color margin, not sinuous as in the other species in the genus. H. celeris can be distinguished from H. curta by the pigmentation in cell a, which is half or more infuscated in H. celeris ; from H. pleuralis by the pigmentation on cells r1, r2+3, dm, and a, which are half or more hyaline in H. celeris ; and from H. martinorum by the pilosity on mesopleuron, being white or yellow in H. celeris .

Hemipenthes celeris is distributed throughout most of Mexico and has its most northern distribution in New Mexico.

Figures

FIGURES 35 – 36. Hemipenthes celeris male terminalia. 35, lateral view; 36, ventral view.

FIGURES 37 – 38. Hemipenthes celeris (= H. floridiana) male terminalia. 37, lateral view; 38, ventral view.

FIGURES 39 – 40. Hemipenthes celeris (= H. pima) male terminalia. 39, lateral view; 40, ventral view.

FIGURES 41 – 42. Hemipenthes celeris (= H. sagata) male terminalia. 41, lateral view; 42, ventral view.