Strongylophthalmyia oxybeles Evenhuis

Evenhuis, Neal L., 2016, World review of the genus Strongylophthalmyia Heller (Diptera: Strongylophthalmyiidae). Part I: Introduction, morphology, species groups, and review of the Strongylophthalmyia punctata subgroup, Zootaxa 4189 (2), pp. 201-243 : 232-233

Strongylophthalmyia oxybeles Evenhuis , n. sp. ( Figs. 98, 101 )

Diagnosis. This new species is similar to S. malayensis Evenhuis on the basis of the shared setal pattern of spicules and stiff hairs on the male fore femur, but can be distinguished from it by the yellow pleura and abdominal tergites (brown in S. malayensis ), and the white halter knob (yellow in S. malayensis ).

Description. Lengths. Ƌ: body, 3.3–3.4 mm; wing, 2.7–3.0 mm. Male. Head: elongate; frons shining brown, yellow above ptilinal suture; ocellar tubercle black; face yellow; gena yellow, silvery pollinose, row of short yellowish black hairs ventrally; occiput yellow; clypeus thin, white; palpus bacilliform, unmodified, yellowish white, with a few short yellow hairs ventrally; proboscis yellow.

Antenna ( Fig. 98 ): scape and pedicel yellow; flagellomere yellow, ovoid, clothed with white hairs, with long, slender, slightly curved brown dorsal process densely clothed with decumbent white hairs, 1.5 times length of flagellomere; arista slightly longer than dorsal process, styliform, bare.

Thorax: shining; mesonotum yellow with broad yellowish brown dorsocentral vittae, sparsely clothed with short yellowish brown hair-like setulae in admedial and medial rows; scutellum brown; pleura yellow; anepisternum with scattered yellowish hairs medially and along notopleural suture, a few along pleural suture; katepisternum with long yellowish hairs ventrally near mid coxa.

Wing: hyaline; vein R2+3 nearly straight, ending in costa before level of crossvein dm-cu; crossvein r-m at basal one-fifth of cell dm; veins R4+5 and M1+2 slightly converging distally; crossvein dm-cu sloping to CuA1; last section of CuA1 to wing margin subequal in length to dm-cu; halter white.

Legs: yellow; fore coxa with 1–2 long yellowish white hairs subapically; fore femur ( Fig. 101 ) dorsally with small patch of 8–10 very short black thorn-like spicules mid-dorsally, ventrally with subbasal thorn-like cluster of orange-yellow hairs, two long stiff yellowish lateral setae basally, 3–4 stiff shorter yellow setae distal to basal setae, dense stiff brownish hairs dorsolaterally, scattered stiff white hairs ventrally; tarsi white.

Abdomen: yellow, with short sparse brown hairs dorsally, these hairs longest on tergites V–VI.

Male genitalia. Not dissected; epandrium and surstylus shining dark brown, with brown hairs; cerci brown, narrow basally, flared and rounded apically, with long white hairs dorsally, shorter black hairs apically and ventrally.

Female. Unknown.

Material examined. Holotype ♂ and paratype ♂ from INDONESIA (Sumatra) : Aceh: Gunung Leuser National Park, Ketambe Research Station , 350 m, 3°41'N, 97°39'°E, 1–31 Jan 1990, D.C. Darling, IIS 900001, 1° rainforest, young forest, Terrace 3, light gap, Malaise trap head ( ZMB). Holotype deposited in the Zoological Museum, Bogor . Paratype in ROM.

Distribution. Indonesia (Sumatra).

Etymology. This species is named the sharp spiky stiff setae of the fore femur; oxy = sharp; beles = pointed.

Figures

FIGURES 97 – 102. Strongylophthalmyia live habitus. 97. S. ustulata (Zetterstedt) male, Russia, showing coarse mesonotal vestiture; photo Dimitry Gavryushin, via Flickr; 98. S. sp., Philippines, female, ovipositing in fallen log; 99. S. angustipennis Melander, Canada, male (top) and female (bottom) in copula; 100. S. sp., Vietnam, female ovipositing in beetle bores; 101. S. angustipennis, male; 102. S. elegantissima, male, Vietnam. Figs. 98 – 102 courtesy Stephen A. Marshall.